ACE Electoral News

ACE Electoral News

U.S. institutes: Ukraine's new election law step backwards for democracy (Kyiv Post, 2010)

The National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the International Republican Institute (IRI) offices in Ukraine have recently joined forces for the first time to draw attention to concerns we share about the new Law on Local Elections. Both institutes, which have promoted democracy in Ukraine since 1992, have serious concerns about aspects of the law and the manner in which it was adopted.

Ukraine: Hromadianska Pozytsia To Take Part In Local Elections (Ukrainian News Agency, 2010)

The Hromadianska Pozytsia political party intends to take part in local election, leader of the party, Verkhovna Rada deputy of the Our Ukraine People's Self-Defense Bloc faction Anatolii Hrytsenko told the Fifth TV channel on August 11.

Ukraine: BYuT claims authorities forging documents on registration of Regions Party branches (Kyiv Post, 2010)

District departments of justice in Kherson region are forging documents on the dates of the registration of the Regions Party's branches, Bloc of Yulia Tymoshenko (BYuT) MP Yuriy Odarchenko claimed at a press conference in Kherson on Tuesday.

Haiti: Wyclef Jean says he'll challenge election ruling, The New York Times (2010)

This article reports on the political situation in Haiti. Wyclef Jean announced that his lawyers will challenge the electoral commission's decision to reject his candidacy. The list of qualified candidates was released on Friday, and Mr Jean initially accepted the decision. On Sunday, however, he announced on Twitter the decision to appeal. An election official replied that there is no legal mechanism to contest the eligibility decision.

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Australia: Poll paints green picture for garden state, ABC News (2010)

This article discusses the results of the elections in Australia. A minority government is likely to be formed, as the initial results show that no party won a majority of the seats in the parliament. The Green Party appears to be the real winner. For example, the Greens won the federal seat of Melbourne, traditionally the Labor Party heathland.

Early Italian election draws closer, The Financial Times (2010)

This article discusses the possibility of an early election in Italy. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi agreed on a legislative agenda with former ally and speaker of the House Gianfranco Fini, but negotiations are still underway. On September 6th, Mr Berlusconi will call a confidence vote on the legislation reforming the judicial system, a highly debated topic. The law would eliminate three ongoing corruption proceedings against Mr Berlusconi.

Italy: Berlusconi ally pushes for early elections, Reuters (2010)

This article reports on the political situation in Italy. Prime Minister Berlusconi's main ally, Mr Bossi, declared that elections are necessary to solve the country's political crisis. Berlusconi, on the other hand, will challenge his majority (especially Gianfranco Fini's breakaway group) to a confidence vote in September or to face new elections in December. According to Bossi, the country should go to early elections anyways.

Venezuela puts vote machines to test, Press TV (2010)

This article reports on the test to the new touch-screen voting machines in Venezuela. The Venezuelan authorities announced that no problems were detected during the simulated elections on Sunday. The new machines will be used in the September 26 legislative elections.

Nepali parliament fails to elect new PM for 5th time, Xinhua (2010)

This article reports on the election of the Prime Minister in Nepal. The Nepal's House failed to elect a new Prime Minister for the 5th time since June 30, as all candidates failed to win the majority of the seats. According to the regulations, the voting in the House will continue until one of the two candidates will gain a simple majority of the votes.

Survey: Rousseff headed for first-round victory in Brazil elections, The Latin American Tribune (2010)

This article reports on the latest opinion poll in Brazil. Dilma Rousseff, candidate for the ruling Workers' Party, is leading the electoral race with a great advantage (17 percentage points) over her opponent, Jose Serra. Presidential elections will be held on October 3rd, and if the opinion polls are correct there will be only one round, as Ms Rousseff would gain about 54% of the votes.

"Dilmaboy" and Twitter: Brazil election goes online, Reuters (2010)

This article discusses the technological revolution of this year's elections in Brazil. The two main candidates soon became "tweeters" and they even took part in the country's first online presidential debate. The two parties are trying to learn from Barabbas Obama's online-campaigning skills: organizing supporters and online donations. The number of Internet users in Brazil doubled in four years, reaching 72 millions, and it is particularly important in the electoral period when strict limitations are imposed to TV and radio stations.

Italy: Berlusconi tells party supporters to prepare for early general elections, Bloomberg (2010)

This article reports on Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's warning to his own party. Mr Berlusconi told his party members to prepare for early elections. If elections are held, Berlusconi's term will end three years ahead of his term.

Venezuela:Venezuela Readies for Congressional Elections, Radio Santa Cruz (2010)

A day after holding a nationwide mock election, the Venezuelan Electoral Council is organizing new educational activities on Monday for the forthcoming September congressional poll.

México: Las reglas son precarias, dicen expertos, El Universal 82011)

El IFE tiene atribuciones para acordar reglas de aplicación del derecho de réplica, pero enfrentará las consecuencias de que el Congreso no haya votado una ley secundaria del artículo 6 constitucional en los últimos cuatro años, afirmaron el diputado Javier Corral (PAN) y el especialista en derecho electoral, Lorenzo Córdova.

Philippines: Comelec gives go signal to barangay polls proclamation, Philippine Daily Inquirer (2010).

This article discusses the withdrawn of postponing of result for the barangay elections by the Commission on elections (Comelec).

Indonesia: House may resort to vote to end deadlock, The Jakarta Post (2010).

This article discusses the revision of electoral management law regarding whether member of political parties can be member of the electoral management bodies.

Indonesia: Activist proposes bill unification to save time, cost, The Jakarta Post (2010).

This article discusses the proposal for unifying three election bills; legislative election bill, president and vice president election bill and the regional elections bill in Indonesia.

UN condemns Myanmar poll, human rights abuses, The Brunei Times (2010).

This article discusses the UN General Assembly Committee’s resolution which condemned the Myanmar elections and regret there were no step to ensure free, fair, transparent and inclusive electoral process.

Waltz leads in Warsaw race, Polish governing party wins local elections, Bloomberg (2010)

This article reports on the local elections in Poland. According to the preliminary results, the ruling Civic Platform won the majority of the votes (33.4%), including in the race for the capital Warsaw, while Law & Justice received 23.3%, and the opposition Left Democratic Alliance ran third with 15.8% of the votes.