ACE Electoral News

ACE Electoral News

Jordan: Municipal elections to be held on December 27, Jordan Times (2011)

This news article is about the announcement of the government on Tuesday 11 October, that municipal elections will be held on December 27, ending speculation that they would be postponed until after the end of the year.

Tunisia: Swiss observer upbeat about elections, Swiss Info (2011)

In this news article an interview with Andreas Gross who has been chosen by the Council of Europe to head its mission to observe the elections. Gross, a member of the Swiss parliament for the centre-left Social Democrats, is one of the Swiss representatives in the Council. He says the bodies in Tunisia responsible for organising the elections have shown themselves strong and capable, and democracy is being respected.

Egypt: Tunisian, Egyptian, Morrocan journalists undergo training on election coverage, Afrique en ligne (2011)

This news article says that the UN Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and The New York Times Knowledge Network are collaborating to train Tunisian, Egyptian, Moroccan, US and French journalists on covering elections in their respective countries. A statement by UNAOC on Tuesday, stated: 'Ahead of the imminent elections in Tunisia and Egypt, UNAOC is working with The New York Times Knowledge Network, which offers online adult and continuing education opportunities, to provide a six-week online course to Tunisian, Egyptian, Moroccan, French and American journalists and journalism students.'

Tunisia: Campaigning for post-revolt poll peaks in Tunisia, Oman Tribune (2011)

This news article talks about the monotonous stream of political campaign messages assails Tunisians over public radio and television for up to four hours every day.

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Rwanda: Kigali talks seek ways to back Sudan in upcoming elections, The EastAfrican (2010)

A retreat of special representatives of the African Union and the United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur has agreed that the conflict in Darfur must be addressed in a more holistic manner in order to prevent it from interfering with Sudan’s April elections

Tanzania: New election law 'to boost women in 2010 poll', The Citizen (2010)

Commemorating the International Women's Day, President Kikwete said that the new Election Financing Act should ensure that women compete with men for elective posts on an equal basis. He also called on parties to nominate female candidates and urged women to vote in the upcoming elections.

Italy opposition protest for second day over decree, The New York Times (2010)

After a decree was passed to reinstate government candidates for the March regional elections after mistakes were made in presenting their candidacies, Italian opposition groups protested in Rome. According to the polls, the government is still expected to perform well in the elections though.

2011 headed for a record number of presidential candidates for Zambia, Lusaka Times (2011)

It is reported that Zambia will experience a record number of presidential candidates in this year’s elections. This comes after a success rate of filling in of nominations by different political parties.

SADC told to grow some teeth, Mail and Guardian (2011)

Many civil society organisations warned of the deteriorating political situation in many SADC countries. It is reported that in most of these countries, there is violence, killings of human rights defenders and increasing human insecurity amongst other things.

Botswana: Hypocrisy out, BNFYL tells BDP, Mmegi (2011)

The Botswana National Front Youth League (BNFYL) says because Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) was happy to receive undeserved praise for upholding democratic principles from the international community, they should also accept criticism. This comes after the BDP saying the international community should not interfere in Botswana's internal affairs. The BNFYL has gone to label this as the "ruling party's hypocrisy".

Malaysia: Batu Sapi By-election On Nov 4, Bernama (2010).

This article discusses schedule for Batu Sapi parliamentary seat election on November 4 as announced by the Election Commission.

Thailand: Thaksin to increase activities ahead of Thai polls, Channel News Asia (2010).

This article discusses political activities of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra ahead of elections that is scheduled to be held by the end 2011.

Myanmar: As Vote Nears, Moods Range from Disdain to Determination, The Irrawaddy (2010).

This article discusses voters’ atmosphere in Myanmar ahead of the November 7 elections.

Czechs Vote in `Referendum' on Austerity That May Weaken Cabinet Stability (Bloomberg, 2010)

Czech Prime Minister Petr Necas’s three-month-old government may be weakened by municipal and Senate elections that began today amid growing anger over spending cuts.

Slovenian centre-right tops local elections (AFP, 2010)

Slovenia's centre-right opposition Democratic Party (SDS) has topped local elections but failed to unseat the centre-left mayor in the capital Ljubljana, preliminary results have shown. With more than 80 percent of the votes counted, former prime minister Janez Jansa's SDS was on the lead with 18.9 percent of all the ballots cast, slightly better than the 17.3 percent registered at the last local elections in 2006.

Independent parties make biggest gains in Slovenian local elections (M&G, 2010)

Slovenian Prime Minister Borut Pahor's Social Democratic party and its coalition allies fared poorly in Sunday's local elections, results on Monday showed. The social democrats captured just around 12 per cent of the municipal seats in Slovenia, according to preliminary results. In 2008 parliamentary elections the party won 30 per cent of the votes

Slovenian local polls seen as warning to government (Reuters, 2010)

Slovenia's ruling party scored poorly in Sunday's local elections but analysts said gains by some opposition and independent candidates were not a serious threat to the center-left government.

New possibilities but old problems after Bosnian elections (bne, 2010)

Bosnia-Herzegovina's election has opened up some new possibilities, but for the time being the divided country and its beleaguered economy look to be in for more of the same.

Singapore: 208 Candidates Vying To Contest In Singapore's 14th General Election, Bernama (2011)

This article notes that there are at least 208 candidates applying to contest the Singaporean general election scheduled in 7 May 2011.