ACE Electoral News

ACE Electoral News

Tensions Increase as Ukraine Election Looms (The Moscow Times, 2010)

Regardless of who wins a second round of voting Sunday to become the next president of Ukraine, an escalation of the country's apparently insurmountable political turmoil now seems inevitable.

EU foreign policy chief Ashton ‘closely following’ Ukraine election developments (The Sofia Echo, 2010)

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said on February 4 2010 that she was "following closely" developments in the run-up to the second round of the country’s presidential elections.

Georgia: Saakashvili Reiterates Local Elections Date, Civil.ge (2010)

Teh article mentions that Georgia's President Saakashvili will set May 30 as the date for local elections, 2010. A draft of constitutional amendment, which has yet to be approved by the Parliament with three readings, was submitted to the legislative body, which envisages holding of the local elections before June 1, 2010; the draft does not set a specific date.

Tajikistan: Registration of candidates for parliament and local legislatures ends today, ASIA-Plus (2010)

The article writes that by February 8, the final day of candidate registration for parliament and local legislatures (regional, city and district Majlis), 150 candidates have registered to run for the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) in 41 single-mandate constituencies. The Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament) has 63 members, who are directly elected for a period of 5 years. 22 are elected through a proportional, party list system from a single, countrywide constituency. To win seats, parties must pass a five percent threshold. The remaining 41 members are elected from single-mandate constituencies under a majoritarian system

Kenya :The disabled seek 20 seats in House, Daily Nation (2010)

The disabled have asked the Committee of Experts and the House to give them at least 20 seats in the next Parliament. This the number would comprise 15 seats in the National Assembly through mixed representation and five seats in the Senate. The group also wants at least one representative in all constitutional commissions.

Yanukovych-Tymoshenko gap down to 3.8% after 70% of vote counted (Ria Novosti, 2010)

A gap between Ukraine's presidential candidates Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko narrowed to less than 4% after 70.30% of votes were counted, the Central Election Commission said.

Ukrainian polls set for photo finish (Ria Novosti, 2010)

Ukraine is set for a nail-biting conclusion to tense presidential polls, with both Viktor Yanukovych and Yulia Tymoshenko still able to claim victory in the former Soviet republic.

Opposition Leader Declares Victory in Ukraine (The New York Times, 2010)

The opposition leader Viktor F. Yanukovich declared victory on Sunday in presidential elections in Ukraine, claiming what appeared to be an unlikely comeback from his humiliating defeat in the 2004 Orange Revolution, when he was shunned as a bumbling Kremlin sidekick.

Leader ousted by Ukraine's 'Orange Revolution' set to return (CNN, 2010)

In a remarkable comeback, former Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich seemed set Monday to become the president of Ukraine -- five years after he was ousted in a populist pro-Western uprising dubbed the "Orange Revolution."

Woman leads Costa Rican presidential vote, CNN (2010)

"Costa Rica's first female candidate held a two-to-one lead in the country's presidential election, as the second-place candidate, Otton Solis of the Citizen's Action Party, conceded defeat."

Laura Chinchilla to be Costa Rica's first female leader, BBC News (2010)

"Costa Rica is set to have its first female president, after election results gave governing party candidate Laura Chinchilla an unassailable lead."

Sri Lanka's defeated presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka beaten during arrest, Telegraph (2010)

The defeated presidential candidate, General Fonseka has been arrested for what a military statement called "certain fraudulent acts and other military offences committed by him". He is now expected to face a court martial trial. The opposition has denounced Fonseka's arrest as "brutal armed kidnapping".

Gunmen open fire on former official in Pakistan, The New York Times (2010)

Three people were killed and at least 5 wounded when gunmen opened fired on the election office of a former federal minister and opposition leader Sheikh Rashid Ahmed who is now running for a seat in the National Assembly by-election scheduled for February 24. The election is considered as a referendum on the performance of the Pakistan Muslim League-N, which is the dominant party in the Punjab province.

Palestinian municipal elections set for July 17, Forbes (2010)

The Palestinian government in the West Bank has announced that the municipal elections will be held on July 17. This will be the first election in the Palestinian territories since Hamas took control of Gaza. Municipal elections should also be held in Gaza, but it is unlikely that Hamas will agree. The municipality elections are seen as a popularity test for Abbas' Fatah.

Afghanistan bans 6, 000 election workers, Reuters (2010)

6, 000 out of the 165, 000 election workers who took part in last year's presidential elections have been banned from working on this year's parliamentary vote by Afghanistan's election commission. According to the Commission, this ban is for failing to abide by the commission's "mechanisms and procedures".

Ivory Coast elections could be delayed again, VOA News (2010)

President Gbagbo accused the election commission of approving a list with names of almost half million foreigners. The alleged fraud in the voter lists for the upcoming presidential elections may have serious consequences and may lead to further delays of the polls. The head of the election commission, Robert Mambe is accused of giving unauthorized names to the technicians who then added them to most of the voter lists. The deadline for publication of the definitive voter list has been pushed back to February 14, which according to observers, makes holding of the polls in March impossible.

Tymoshenko 'to challenge Ukraine election result' (Guardian, 2010)

Ukraine's prime minister, Yulia Tymoshenko, was today under pressure to concede defeat in the country's presidential election after international observers hailed Sunday's poll as fair and "truly competitive".

EU endorses Ukraine election result (EU Observer, 2010)

EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton has congratulated Ukraine on holding free and fair presidential elections, in remarks that will make it harder for the losing side to contest the result.

Yanukovych's party forming coalition in Ukraine parliament (Ria Novosti, 2010)

Ukraine's opposition Party of Region, whose leader Viktor Yanukovich looks set to become president after tight polls on Sunday, said on Tuesday it could put together a coalition this week giving him control over parliament.

Run-off confirms that Ukraine's presidential election meets most international commitments (OSCE, 2010)

Ukraine's run-off presidential election confirmed the international election observation mission's assessment that the electoral process met most OSCE and Council of Europe commitments.