The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) thanked the Maguindanaoans for taking part in the historic plebiscite on Saturday, 17 September 2022, where they voted on whether or not they agree in dividing the province into Maguindanao del Norte and Maguindanao del Sur. LENTE, however, observed that proper health protocols were not
The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) observed the conduct of the 17 September 2022 Maguindanao Plebiscite to divide the province into Maguindano del Norte and Maguindano del Sur. NAMFREL volunteers reported that the procedure was smooth and peaceful, in general. Security remained an issue in many parts of Maguindanao, however.
Malaysians Deserve Better! Make Voting Easier for Out-of-Region and Overseas Voters The celebration of Merdeka Day and Malaysia Day this year is especially meaningful. As a nation, we have come of age. The weak institutions that allowed a Prime Minister to rob the nation of billions of Ringgits are being restored now
ANFREL member in Sri Lanka, the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) opened calls for applications from interested members of the youth to participate in a certificate course on Electoral Studies and Democracy Empowerment. CMEV is offering the course free of charge to members of the youth sector aged 18-35 years old
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) staunchly rejects the push by certain quarters in UMNO to have an early 15th General Election (GE15) to save kleptocrats from justice in court. BERSIH calls upon all parties to instead support a new convention of ‘fixed term parliament’ by allowing the 14th Parliament
The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) provided the following update on a August 23 senate committee hearing on the postponement of the scheduled Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (Young Council) elections in the Philippines. LENTE highlighted two major challenges that emerged from the hearing: The Senate Committee on Electoral Reform and People's
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) applauds the Federal Court’s decision in upholding former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s convictions and sentences on all 7 counts of abuse of power and misappropriation of funds in the SRC International case, citing that the defence “was inherently inconsistent that it fails to raised
NAMFREL repeats its call for the holding of the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) on 5 December 2022, as mandated under Republic Act No. 11462, and takes this opportunity to counter the arguments in favor of postponement as raised during the 16 August 2022 hearing of the House of Representatives Committee
In a report on its observation of the recently concluded resumption of voter registration, submitted to the COMELEC on August 10 and a copy of which was sent to the Senate and the House of Representatives, NAMFREL urges Congress to amend current laws or pass new laws to fundamentally change the country's
We, young NAMFREL members, urge Congress to allow the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) to push through on December 5, 2022. In a democratic state such as the Philippines, the will of the people should always be heeded in the way they are governed. Based on Article II, Section 1 of
ISLAMABAD, August 7, 2022: Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) calls upon the Parliament and political parties to strengthen the regulations on political finance to curtail the role of money in elections that has practically deprived the majority of the population of exercising their right to contest elections. FAFEN urges the political
MANILA, Philippines – The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) remains hopeful that the Senate and the House of Representatives would override President Bongbong Marcos’ decision to veto a bill exempting the honoraria, allowances, and other benefits of poll workers and staff from taxes. LENTE stood its ground by stating that the
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) congratulates the Federal government and Pakatan Harapan (PH) on the passing of the long-overdue Constitutional (Amendment) (No 3) Bill 2022 (Anti-Hopping Amendments) at the Dewan Rakyat today. The passing of this Bill is a testament of the success of the Memorandum of Understanding for
Transparency Maldives, one of the signatories in this joint statement, is a member of the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL). 25 July 2022: The undersigned 10 organizations call on the government of Maldives to repeal or amend the deeply problematic provision in the Evidence Act (Act No. 11/2022) that compels journalists
The General Elections Observation Committee (GEOC) in Nepal released the final report of their observation mission to the 13 May 2022 local elections. GEOC, a network of 11 organizations, said there was “appropriate management” of polling areas with separate queues for men and women and support facilities for persons with disabilities which
The Association for Elections and Democracy (Perludem) and the International IDEA are launching a tool that allows people to understand how electoral boundaries are drawn, on 27 July 2022, Wednesday, at 1 p.m. (Jakarta time). The Electoral Redistricting App (ERA) will allow people to "create their own versions of boundary delimitation or
NAMFREL urges Congress to let the Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE) proceed, as scheduled under Republic Act No. (R.A.) 11462, on 5 December 2022. The Constitution allows the legislature to determine the term of elective barangay officials through legislation: “The term of office of elective local officials, except barangay officials, which
Conclusive probe into claims of alleged rigging and bias must for integrity of elections ISLAMABAD, July 19, 2022: An impressive 49.7 percent turnout in the by-elections for 20 Punjab Assembly constituencies on July 17, 2022 augurs well for an otherwise struggling democracy in Pakistan. The election day remained largely orderly and well-managed,
NAMFREL releases to the public the Executive Summary to its Preliminary Report on the May 2022 National and Local Elections (NLE). The Report was submitted last month to the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) in compliance with the terms of NAMFREL’s accreditation as citizens’ arm. The Report is the result of NAMFREL’s monitoring
Persisting Irregularities and Overcrowding Need to be Checked during Second Phase of LG Elections ISLAMABAD, July 8, 2022: Around 40 percent of the registered voters turned out to vote in the first phase of the local government (LG) elections to elect 5,331 general members of Union Councils, Union Committees, Municipal Committees, Town
ANFREL member in Bangladesh, Odhikar, published the findings of their monitoring of the human rights situation in the country during the second quarter of 2022. From April to June 2022, Odhikar recorded five cases of extrajudicial killings, five cases of enforced disappearances, 19 deaths in jails, among many other human rights violations
The Coalition of Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) calls on Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to advance an agenda of political transformation that can ensure political stability and accountability after GE15. The guessing game of GE15 is hurting the nation with not only uncertainty that affects decisions to be made in economy
Islamabad, June 29, 2022: Abysmally low female turnout and inadequate arrangements to protect secrecy of vote coupled with widespread instances of campaigning and canvassing on Election Day remain major issues clouding the by-election in PK-7 Swat-VI that was otherwise peaceful with generally compliant voting and counting processes, observes Free and Fair Election
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) received the letter of rejection from the Sarawak State Secretary to our application for our Chairperson Thomas Fann to enter Sarawak as part of the Ketuanan Pengundi Roadshow team that is due to hold a townhall session in Kuching coming Saturday. BERSIH regrets the
Transparency Maldives condemns the draft amendment bill to the Penal Code Act (9/2014) proposed by the Government that encroaches on freedom of expression. This bill is yet another step backwards by the Government, undermining democratic consolidation and fundamental human rights in the Maldives. While we are deeply concerned by the increasing intolerance,
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) reiterates that peaceful assembly is a fundamental right of all citizens guaranteed under Article 10 of the Federal Constitution, along with the right to freedom of speech, expression and to form associations. Furthermore, the freedom to protest without violence is enshrined in our supreme
In a meeting held on June 21, 2022, the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) National Council accepted the June 2 resignation of MR. AUGUSTO C. LAGMAN from NAMFREL and as its National Chairperson. Mr. Lagman joined NAMFREL in 1984 and headed its Operation Quick Count parallel vote tabulation until 2007.
Press Release from BERSIH22 June 2022The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) express gratitude to the Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge YA Noorin binti Badarudin decision for granting leave to the judicial review application against the decision of the Election Commission of Malaysia (EC) and the Government of Malaysia for barring
ISLAMABAD, June 20, 2022: Election on a working day deterred a majority of voters from casting their ballots in NA-240 (Korangi Karachi-II) by-polls that largely remained orderly, but was overshadowed by two high-profile incidents of violence widely covered on national media, reports Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN). According to FAFEN observers,
ISLAMABAD, June 17, 2022: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is delimiting the constituencies for elections to the National and Provincial Assemblies after the official publication of the results of 6th Population and Housing Census 2017. The latest exercise was compelled by the effect of Section 17(2) of the Elections Act, which
