ACE Electoral News

ACE Electoral News

More Afghan poll sites to stay closed as security woes rise, Reuters (2010)

This article reports on the Independent Election Commission's reaction to the security issues in Afghanistan. This week, the Commission decided that more polling stations will not open (15% of all the stations). The September parliamentary elections will be crucial to test the country's stability, but threats from Taliban are rising. Last month, the IEC decided not to open 940 of the 6,900 polling stations due to security reasons in the most violent areas. After this week decisions, the total number of closed stations will be more than 1,000.

Afghan Elections: Why So Many Politicians Run in Kabul, TIME (2010)

This article discusses the political situation and the electoral campaign in the Afghan capital, Kabul. More than a quarter of all candidates are running in this city, and the article tries to explain the reasons for this. Most of the people in Afghanistan moved to Kabul to find refuge from the lawlessness and violence in the provinces. Many candidates are even running for their provinces of origins from the capital, without ever going in their home town. Another factor that is drawing candidates to the capital is the amount of money coming from the war economy.

Women hopefuls face particular risks in Afghan poll, Reuters (2010)

This article reports on the difficulties that women have to face while running for the elections in Afghanistan. Endless threats, abusive emails and phone calls are only the tip of a widespread trend of intimidations against female candidates. The quota for the women in the lower house of the parliament set by the Afghan Constitution is 68 out of 249.

CE attaches special importance to parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan, News.az (2010)

The article reports about activities of the Council of Europe towards parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan in November. The CE is planning to organize trainings and workshops for court officials which will cover cover submission and reviewing the appeals, as well as trainings for journalists which will focus on coverage of elections.

OSCE/ODIHR deploys mission to observe parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan, OSCE/ODIHR (2010)

The press release reports about the opening of election observation mission for the 10 October parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan. The mission comprises 17 experts based in Bishkek and 22 long-term observers, who will be deployed throughout the country on 10 September. In addition, ODIHR will request 300 short-term observers from OSCE participating States to be deployed immediately prior to election day.

Rwanda: Kagame speaks about his election victory, claims on political repression, The Independent (2010)

This article presents an interview to President Kagame. The Independent Managing Editor, Andrew M. Mwenda, questions the newly-elected president about his electoral campaign, the deaths and intimidations to opposition parties, and finally his overwhelming victory. In last month's elections, Kagame received 93% of the total votes.

Nomination of candidates for single-mandate constituencies starts in Azerbaijan, APA (2010)

Teh article informs that nomination of the candidates for single-mandate constituencies has started in Azerbaijan. The time allocated for the submission of the necessary documents and initial financial report is untill 18.00 October 8. The pre-election campaign will start on October 15 and end at 8.00 November 6.

Russia: Putin hints at Kremlin return, The Irish Times (2010)

This article reports on the possible candidacy of Vladimir Putin to the 2012 presidential elections. The constitution sets a two-consecutive-terms limit, so it prevented Putin from running in 2008, but he could do that in 2012. In 2008, president Medvedev changed the constitution to extend the presidential term to six years.

Spain's Catalonia to hold elections November 28, The People's Daily Online (2010)

This article reports on the announcement for new elections in the Catalonia region in Spain. Jose Montilla, head of the Catalan government, confirmed yesterday that new elections will be on November 28.

Amendments to Niger Constitution to Raise Requirements for Presidential Candidates Voanews.com (2010)

Next month the new constitution is being voted, in Niger. It has been generally approved except for the age and the educational requirement.

Ivory Coast Presidential Candidates Agree on Voter List VOAnews.com (2010)

The final voters list in Ivory Coast has been approved by the 3 major candidates, Henri Konan Bédié, Laurent Gbagbo and Alassane Ouattara, who also agreed on the date. Therefore the presidential elections will be held on October 31st 2010.

Burundi: Election boycott will only relegate opposition to the background, The Independent (2010)

This article discuss opposition boycotts in Burundi. In the presidential elections earlier this year, the main opposition parties boycotted the poll to protest against massive fraud in local body elections and the lack of independence in the electoral management. As expected, Nkurunzinza returned to office for a second five-year term, despite the Amnesty International reports on torture for political prisoners.

Liberia Sets Voter Registration for 2011 Presidential Election VOAnews.com (2010)

In order to prepare the upcoming elections in Liberia, the voters’ registration list is being done. According to Electoral Commission Chairman M. James Fromoyan, having a good voters’ registration list is the beginning of having credible election.

Nigeria:Jonathan - I Will Run for President allafrica.com (2010)

The President Goodluck Jonathan is going to run for the presidency in the upcoming elections. He will make it official on the 18th of september.

In Haiti, where money is scarce, campaigns a costly endeavor, The Miami Herald (2010)

This article reports on the costs of the Haitian electoral campaign. Experts believe that this year's electoral campaign will be the most expensive in Haitian history for the 19 candidates competing. A single candidate will spend between 10 to 20 million dollars, while in the 2006 presidential race this number was much lower (3-6 million). The election itself, on the other hand, will cost $29 million to the government and donors.

Haiti: Unfair and undemocratic, The Miami Herald (2010)

This article discusses the main issues of the upcoming elections in Haiti. In particular, the author criticizes the Provisional Electoral Council's decision to prevent thirteen political parties from running in the elections.

Rwanda: Commonwealth issues final report on 2010 presidential elections, AllAfrica (2010)

This article discusses the final report of the Commonwealth electoral observation mission to Rwanda. The Commonwealth Observation Group monitored the August presidential elections in the country. The Group believe that overall the poll was well-organized and peaceful. However, among other things, the observers expressed concerns for the lack of critical opposition voices.

Myanmar: Pre-poll censorship slammed, The Straits Times (2010).

This article discusses the increasing censorship of press in Myanmar ahead of the November 7 general elections.

USA: Q+A: Congressional midterm elections, Reuters (2010)

This article discusses the most debated issues in the electoral campaign for the midterm elections in the United States. The article tries to answer some of the most "critical" questions, like who will win the elections, and what would a republic leadership of the congress mean.

Probe hits ahead of Brazil elections, The Wall Street Journal (2010)

This article reports on the electoral campaign in Brazil. The federal police started investigating on illegal tax records reviews. Supposedly, tax officials affiliated with President Silva's party illegally accessed the filings of opposition figures without authorization. President Lula and his chosen successor and frontrunner Dilma Rousseff denied any knowledge of these facts.