ACE Electoral News

ACE Electoral News

Philippine: Smartmatic: All 50.9 million ballots printed, ABS-CBN News (2010).

This article discusses the printing of 50.9 million ballots for Philippines' automated elections on May 10, 2010.

Philippine: Comelec to retain ballot template until May elections, GMA News (2010).

This article discusses the digital copy template of ballots that allows to replace ballots that are lost or damaged.

Thai red-shirts offer conditional talks with government, BBC News (2010).

This article discusses Thailand's anti-government protesters who issued conditional offer of talks with the government that parliament had to be dissolved in one month, after occupying parts of Bangkok for six weeks.

Indonesia: Minister Explains Controversial Proposed Laws, The Jakarta Globe (2010).

This article discusses the criteria to run for office as proposed by Home Affairs Ministry in the amendments of the 2004 Regional Governance Law.

Indonesia: Home Minister Urges Parties to Play Fair in Polls, The Jakarta Globe (2010).

This article discusses the ongoing campaign by candidates to contest in regional elections.

South Africa: Floor nominations seen as vital in ANCYL race for top job, SABCNews (2011)

Nominations and elections for the ANC Youth League leadership will only happen once reports had been tabled. This are warning coming out of a tense Youth League conference held in Midrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.

South Africa: Zille: Our democracy has advanced, IOL (2011)

Democratic Alliance leader, Helen Zille claims that one day, May 18 will be regarded as a turning point for our democracy. She said this in her speech in Frischgewaagd in the North West province during the Youth day celebration on June 16.

Uganda: Voter turn-out could decide poll, The Daily Monitor (2010)

This article reports on the preparations for the elections in Uganda. According to the author and to many experts, a key factor that will influence the outcome of the election will be the voter turnout. Currently, here are 13.98 million registered voters in the country (in 2006, approximately 10 million registered), and the Electoral Commission is currently revising the national register to erase "ghost voters".

Burkina Faso presidential election goes on peacefully, The People's Daily Online (2010)

This article reports on the voting operations in Burkina Faso. The Sunday presidential elections were carried out peacefully and no disruption was reported. 12,000 polling stations have been set across the country. An observer from the Economic Community of West Africa (ECOWAS) mission reported some activities aimed at influencing voters, but believes that the elections were in general transparent.

Singapore: No online or postal voting for next General Election, TODAY Online (2010)

This article reports on the Election Department's decisions regarding online and postal voting. The Department stated that online voting is too vulnerable to hacking and service attacks, and it makes it impossible to audit the voting results in case of a petition. On postal voting, the electoral authorities believe that there is no guarantee of the secrecy of the vote, and logistical problems could undermine the integrity of the elections (delays in the mail, for example). The authorities stated that for now the ballot paper is still the simplest and most transparent method of voting.

Ireland's financial rescue triggers early elections, Deutsche Welle (2010)

This article reports on the decision to call for early elections in Ireland. This week, Prime Minister Brian Cowen secured a financial rescue and members from his party and from the opposition asked for early elections. The Prime Minister stated that he will call for early elections after the conclusion of the budgetary process. The two main opposition parties, Labour and Fine Gael, demanded an immediate dissolution of parliament instead.

119 candidates disqualified after Afghan parliamentary elections, CNN (2010)

This article reports on the work of the Electoral Complaints Commission in Afghanistan. The Commission disqualified a total of 119 candidates since the September 18 elections, 94 of them before the preliminary results were even published. More than 330 polling stations have been declared invalid.

Local elections in Poland test government's popularity, Deutsche Welle (2010)

This article reports on the effects of the local elections in Poland. These polls are considered a key test for the government and the Civic Platform party ahead of next year's parliamentary elections.

Azerbaijani election results sent to constitutional court, RFE/RL (2010)

This article reports on the final results of the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan. The Central Election Commission has approved the final results and sent them to the Constitutional Court for approval. Results from 28 polling stations were considered invalid, but according to the commission this did not change the general outcome. On November 7, the ruling Yeni Azerbaycan Party won 72 seats in the parliament, while independent candidates gained 41 and opposition parties received 12. The opposition Musavat party and the Azerbaijan Popular Front refused to recognize the results.

Azerbaijan CEC: Election results in 46 polling stations invalid, Trend.Az (2010)

This article reports on the approval of the final results by the Central Election Commission in Azerbaijan. The CEC annulled the results of 46 polling stations in 20 different constituencies, but declared that this did not affect the final results of the November parliamentary elections. A spokesperson stated that significant improvements were introduced since the last elections, and that new reforms will be introduced to improve the process even further.

New Zealand: MMP vote will lead to total review of system, The New Zealand Herald (2010)

This article discusses the Electoral Referendum Bill that is currently being reviewed in the parliament in New Zealand. The government has promised a referendum on the MMP voting system next year. The Bill rules that if a majority of the voters is in favor of an electoral reform, a new referendum will be held in 2014 to choose between MMP and the most popular of four alternatives: First Past the Post, Preferential Voting, Single Transferable Vote or Supplementary Member. The Bill also introduces a $300,000 limit on advertising spending for political parties.

New Zealand: Government backtracks on electoral finance law, The New Zealand Herald (2010)

This article reports on the electoral finance laws that are being discussed in New Zealand. All political parties in the parliament have agreed on a law to impose public disclosures of donations and lobby groups. Yesterday, the justice minister announced the changes to the electoral finance law, including a 300,000 spending limit on "promoters" or "third parties" who campaign for or against a certain political party or candidate.

Two members of European Parliament to observe local elections in Ukraine (Kyiv Post, 2010)

EP members to monitor local elections in Ukraine.

President of Ukraine to Meet the Opposition to Ensure Transparency of October 31 Elections (PR Newswire, 2010)

The President of Ukraine Victor Yanukovych will meet with representatives of the opposition parties to ensure transparent elections.

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