ACE Electoral News

ACE Electoral News

South Africa: Parties garner support ahead of tomorrow's by-elections, SABC News (2010)

The article reports on the preparations by parties for the upcoming by-elections in the Western Cape province.

South Africa: By-elections to take place in Western Cape today, SABC News (2010)

The article reports on two by-elections taking place in Western Cape province today. The wards became vacant after two councillors who were members of Independent Democrats (ID) and now have moved to the African National Congress (ANC).

Afghans getting an eyeful of election fraud, The Globe and Mail (2010)

This article discusses the outcomes of the September parliamentary elections in Afghanistan. In the Afghan televisions, a series of mobile-phone videos testify on the widespread fraud on elections day. In the footage, one can witness ballot-box stuffing, people ticking off stacks of ballots, underage voting, and other electoral malpractices. So far, the Commission has invalidates the results of 227 of the 5,400 polling centers.

USA: Clean and open American elections, The New York Times (2010)

This article discusses the report of the Center for American Progress, a policy group based in Washington, on the role of the United States Chamber of Commerce in the electoral campaign. According to the report, the Chamber would be actively inviting foreign corporations to invest and finance the electoral campaigns for the mid-term elections. The Chamber would receive "dues" payments from foreign companies, and then advocate on their behalf for candidates. The Chamber (who denied all charges) will spend $75 million for the elections, and according to the federal tax code donors can remain anonymous.

Jordan: Attitudes among Jordanians toward participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections 2010 - executive summary, Identity Centre (2010)

This executive summary on a study which is a part of Identity Center’s project “Enhancing Political Participation among Jordanian People” , implemented with support from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Jordan, in cooperation with the Ministry of Political Development; the Identity Center released on the 6th of September 2010, the study titled “Attitudes among Jordanians toward Participation in the Upcoming Parliamentary Elections”

Jordanian Elections website by "Identity Centre" (2010)

This website has been established by Identity centre to cover the activities of the Jordanian Elections 2010. (The website is available in Arabic only)

Jordan: "Identity" centre for Elections and NGOs

The Identity Center is an independent institution helping to lead development. Founded in 2009 and based in Amman, Jordan, the Center empowers people to fully participate in political, economic, and social development through outreach, advocacy, and training.

Peru: Lima's mayoral election: Green shoots for the Peruvian left, The Economist (2010)

Althought the results of the mayoral election held on October 3rd in Lima are still not official, the numbers released so far suggest that the country’s beleaguered left wing has eked out a rare victory.

Peru:Adjusted Difference in Elections for Mayor of Lima, Agencia Pulsar (2010)

The latest report from the National Office of Electoral Processes (ONPE) in Peru states that 74% of the votes counted the candidate of Social Forces (SF), Susana Villarán leads by 0.8% to the Christian People’s Party (PPC) candidate, Lourdes Flores.

Two days of talks, but still no end to Madagascar impasse, Mail and Guardian (2011)

Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting with Madagascar political leaders ended in a stalemate yesterday.

Puerto Rico: Governor signs electoral code changes, Caribbean Business (2011)

Puerto Rico's governor has approved changes to the nation's electoral code, which will see to, among other things, the shortening of the polit­i­cal cam­paign peri­ods and the imple­mentation of an elec­tronic vot­ing and bal­lot ver­i­fi­ca­tion system.

Ivory Coast violence continues since disputed election, BBC News (2010)

This article reports on the violence that broke out since last month's disputed election in Ivory Coast. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported about evidence of "massive" human rights violations.

More than 50 dead in Ivory Coast unrest, ABC News (2010)

This article reports on the post-election violence in Ivory Coast. According to the UN, more than 50 people died and more than 200 were injured during the riots that followed the disputed presidential election. The violence started right after the presidential run-off elections, when both candidates, incumbent Mr Gbagbo and his rival Alassane Ouattara, claimed to have won the poll.

Haiti: Election results delayed until O.A.S. review, The New York Times (2010)

This article reports on the government's decision to delay the announcement of the final results in Haiti. The O.A.S asked the president to review the vote and recount the ballots, and it is still not clear when the results will be released.

Jamaican election held over citizenship dispute, The Washington Post (2010)

This article reports on the by-election in Jamaica. The by-election was called after a governing lawmaker revealed that she held U.S. citizenship, and consequently had to step down. As a matter of fact, according to the law, legislators with allegiance to a non-Commonwealth country are prohibited from serving in the parliament. This rule was ignored for decades, but in recent times the tensions between the ruling Labor Party and the opposition intensified. The by-election will be crucial for the government to maintain its slim majority in the parliament (31-28).

Iraqi parliament due to vote on new government, BBC (2010)

This news article says that the Iraqi parliament is due to vote on the composition of its new government, after political wrangling delayed progress on Monday.

Argentine ex-President Duhalde seeks re-election, The Washington Post (2010)

This article reports on the decision of Eduardo Duhalde to announce his candidacy for the next elections. As a matter of fact, former Argentine President Eduardo Duhalde has formally launched his campaign for re-election. Presidential elections are scheduled for October 2011.

Saudi Arabia: Decks cleared for holding next municipal elections, Arab News (2010)

This news article is on a new set of rules governing the municipal councils and their elections have been sent to the Council of Ministers for approval, paving the way for holding the second round of municipal elections in the Kingdom later next year.

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi sentenced to prison for movie about Ahmadinejad election, The Los Angeles Times (2010)

This article reports on the arrest of Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, author of a movie about the 2009 post-election protests and riots in Iran. Mr. Panahi was convicted of national security violations and sentenced to six years in prison and barred from writing screenplays and traveling abroad for 20 years.

India: ECI, CEC of Russian Federation to sign MoU in field of elections tomorrow, Sify (2010)

This article reports on the Memorandum of Understanding on mutual understanding and cooperation in the field of elections signed by the Election Commission of India and the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. This MoU follows a long tradition of bilateral exchanges and cooperation between the two Electoral Commissions. In particular, the Russian Commission expressed great interest in the various electoral management systems followed by Election Commission of India, especially the Electronic Voting Machines.