The secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has called on Burma's government to ensure the coming elections help lead to national reconciliation. Surin Pitsuwan hopes Burma's conflicts with the international community over its human rights record may also be resolved after the vote, according to VOA’s Ron Corben from
Several leaders of the National League for Democracy (NLD), Burma's recently dissolved main opposition party, are traveling in Kachin State with a prominent ethnic leader to meet with local party members and lobby for a boycott of next month's election. NLD central executive committee member Ohn Kyaing told The Irrawaddy that he
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Friday expressed "grave concern" at the Burma junta's refusal to free opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi ahead of a November election. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, pictured in September 2010, on Friday expressed "grave concern" at the Burma junta's refusal to free opposition leader Aung
The Chinland Guardian is pleased to present a comprehensive list of party candidates from Chin State, contesting parliamentary seats in the three legislatures (Pyithu Hluttaw, Amyotha Hluttaw & Pyine Hluttaw) in upcoming 2010 Elections.
The Union Solidarity and Development Party (USDP), which is backed by Burma’s military, is campaigning ethnic Kachin churches, using small donations to gain votes on November 7th, according to Kachin church sources. On October 11, USDP candidate, U Thein Zaw, campaigned at the Kachin Roman Catholic Church in Gat Shang Yang Village,
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) has invalidated votes from more than 442 polling centers and is recounting votes from an additional 828 centers. The decisions came after IEC tally center staff in Kabul identified irregularities in results forms retrieved from the provinces. Irregularities included a suspiciously high number of votes recorded for individual candidates and forms that
KABUL - Afghanistan's electoral watchdog said Wednesday it was dealing with almost 4,000 complaints over the parliamentary election, which has been tainted by accusations of fraud and Taliban intimidation. Election officials said 4.3 million Afghans voted on Saturday despite insurgent threats and attacks, in their second parliamentary poll since the 2001 US-led
KABUL—Taliban intimidation and violence during Afghanistan's parliamentary elections kept many voters away from the polls, producing the lowest turnout in any Afghan election since the U.S. invasion in 2001, amid reports of widespread fraud. "Ballot-stuffing was seen to varying extents in most provinces," said the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan,
Mr Ban Ki-moon noted that the participation of over 2,500 election contestants, including 400 women was a significant step for the civil society of Afghanistan. He also admired the efforts of the Afghan National Security Forces for maintaining security during this democratic process that took place in more than 5,000 polling centres.
Fifty-six people, half of whom were election workers, were detained for stuffing ballot boxes with fake votes in central Logar province, officials said. The suspects were detained on Saturday after polling centres closed in Dobandi area of Khwakhi district, Zarghone area of Muhammad Aghan district and Barakibarak district and Porak village of
IEC announced on Saturday evening that the Afghan parliamentary elections ended successfully despite fears of fraud and Taliban attacks Although there were some who attempted to commit fraud, but it wasn't possible because the IEC was closely monitoring everything, head of the Independent Election Commission (IEC), Fazal Ahmad Manawi, told reporters at
KABUL - Campaigning for Afghanistan's parliamentary elections formally ends at midnight Wednesday, when thousands of candidates must take a break from hustings ahead of Saturday's poll. In cities across the country, almost every available inch of public space has been festooned with election posters showing photographs of the candidates and the symbol
Most of Afghanistan’s political parties were unable to register in time to get their names on the Sept. 18 election ballot as a result of requirements in a new election law passed in September 2009. Before the new law was passed, more than 100 parties had registered with the Ministry of Justice (M0J). But
Shortly after the promulgation of the Union Election Commission Law in March, Burma's junta appointed a Union Election Commission of 18 members. The commission is led by former major-general Thein Soe, who has served as a military judge advocate-general and deputy chief justice of the Supreme Court. The Irrawaddy compiled brief profiles
On Aug.18, the Independent Election Commission (IEC) posted the final list of polling centers (PCs) for the 2010 Wolesi Jirga elections comprising 5,897 PCs with 18,762 polling stations (PSs). To generate this list, Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF), in cooperation with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), led an initial threat assessment to determine locations secure
For the 2010 Afghan Wolesi Jirga elections, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) is conducting an observation mission and analyz- ing the electoral process before, during and after election day. This mission involves more than 140 international analysts and Afghan observers throughout the country. For more information, visit NDI.org and AfghanistanElectionData.org.
Representative from the All Mon Region Democracy Party (AMRDP) say the party plans to delay sending in its Hluttaw [candidate list] as long as possible, to avoid drawing notice from government-run political groups. According to a vice campaign organizer, the AMRDP is withholding its candidate list because it fears that early announcements
The Election Commission (EC) yesterday rejected a claim by the opposition Pheu Thai Party that it had discarded a complaint against the Democrat Party in last Sunday's by-election in Bangkok's Constituency 6. Suthep Romayanond, chief of the EC's Bangkok office, said that the five election commissioners have been informed about a complaint
Late in the morning on May 27, 2009, a shouting throng raised their voices at the gate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees compound in Mae Sot, Thailand... Author’s Note: Nelson Mandela, a man who knows, has said: “There is no easy road to freedom anywhere, and many of us
A polling staff member was shot dead in a drive-by shooting in Surat Thani's Khiri Ratthanikhom district yesterday. Ratchawan Palangsuwarat, 50, was attacked at 5am by two men on a motorcycle while she was leaving home to work at the 4th polling unit at Khuanmaprao village in tambon Thamsingkhon of Khiri Ratthanikhom
Inordinate delay by the Burmese Election Commission (EC) to grant approval to the Kachin State Progressive Party (KSPP) led by former Vice-Chairman of ‘Kachin Independence Organization’ (KIO), has considerably delayed organizational work. “We are awaiting party registration from the Commission to start organizational work. We feel that there is deliberate delay in
Official campaigning has begun in the Philippines for the first presidential elections in six years. President Gloria Arroyo is not allowed to run again in the vote on 10 May. Competition is intense between two opposition figures, with Mrs Arroyo's nominee and a former president lagging in the polls. Long proud of
Burma will hold parliamentary elections on Nov. 7, the first in 20 years. According to the new Constitution approved in a referendum in 2008, the country has a bicameral parliament at the national level and a regional parliament in each of seven states and seven divisions. On Aug.11, the Union Election Commission
ANFREL warmly congratulates the people of Taiwan and all the institutions involved in this recent political exercise. We commend the peaceful process, the high degree of professionalism in the conduct of the elections, and the good security atmosphere, before, during, and after the elections. The high turnout of voters in this election,