Civil society organizations renew calls to end impunity for crimes against journalists in the Maldives

28 NOVEMBER 2023: Maldives Journalists Association (MJA), Transparency Maldives,Association for Democracy in the Maldives (ADM), International Federation of Journalists (IFJ),Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urge the Government of Maldives to expedite investigations and for the relevant authorities to pursue, where evidence permits, prosecutions to end impunity for serious crimes

Reforms at Snail’s Pace: First Year Assessment of the Unity Government on Electoral and Institutional Reforms, 2022-2023

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) congratulates the Unity Government for some of the institutional reforms carried out in its first year and urges for more as promised by the respective coalitions and parties in the government, in particularly Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional. We opined that a post-election coalition

ANFREL members recognized for election work, championing FOI

Several ANFREL members were recently recognized for their election work and for championing freedom of information. The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) in the Philippines was one of the awardees during the 2023 FOI Awards which recognize government agencies, partners, individuals and civil society organizations that significantly contribute to the development

The Presidential commutation sets a detrimental precedent for the rule of law and undermines efforts to combat corruption and kleptocracy

Transparency Maldives strongly condemns the commutation of the sentences of Ahmed Adeeb and Abdulla Ziyath, with four days until President Solih’s term expires. This is not only an abuse of the clemency and sentence commutation powers of the President, but represents the epitome of the protection, impunity and privilege enjoyed by political

New Steering Committee of BERSIH 2023-2025 elected

Press release of Election Committee of BERSIH10 November 2023 New Steering Committee of BERSIH 2023-2025 elected The Election Committee established to conduct the election of the new Steering Committee of the Coalition for Clean and Fair Election (BERSIH) for the term of 2023 – 2025, had completed the process of polling from

Regional Roundtable Concluded with the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Apportionment and Boundary Delimitation

The “Asia & the Pacific Roundtable Discussion on Boundary Delimitation & Malapportionment: Practice & Solutions”, concluded after two days of discussion on 28th and 29th October with the Kuala Lumpur Declaration on Apportionment and Boundary Delimitation. It was jointly organised by The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), The

Monitoring Efforts of LENTE in Ensuring Accountability for the 2023 Barangay and SK Elections

October 30, 2023, Quezon City. The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) continues to observe election day processes focusing on Accountability issues of vote buying, abuse of state resources, and election-related violence. For this 2023 BSKE, we saw how impactful COMELEC's aggressive campaign against election law violators vis-a-vis candidates' compliance with election

NAMFREL releases update on its observations on the conduct of the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE)

NAMFREL Bantay ng Bayan UPDATE #2October 30, 2023, 7pm The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) released a second update on its observations on the conduct of the October 30, 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE). NAMFREL has been accredited by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) as citizens' arm for

Developments in the Focused Monitoring Efforts of LENTE for Vulnerable Sectors for the 2023 Barangay and SK Elections

October 30, 2023, Quezon City. The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) continues to observe election day processes, with particular focus on the voting experiences of Persons with Disability (PWD), Older Persons (OP), Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL), and Indigenous Peoples (IPs). Voting of Persons with Disability, Older Persons, and Heavily pregnant

NAMFREL releases preliminary observations on the 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE)

NAMFREL Bantay ng Bayan UPDATE #1October 30, 2023, 12:30pm The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) released its preliminary observations on the conduct of the October 30, 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE). NAMFREL has been accredited by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) as citizens' arm for the 2023 BSKE,

Persons with Disabilities, Older Persons, and Heavily Pregnant Women avail of Early Voting hours and Mall Voting; LENTE observes incidents of unlawful electioneering and illegal assistance of watchers, deviation from election day procedures as BSKE polls open

October 30, 2023, Quezon City. As early as 4:00 AM, the Legal Network for Truthful Election's 1,000 election observers nationwide proceeded to their assigned voting centers to observe the preliminaries to voting, the opening of polls, and the implementation of COMELEC innovations. Early Voting in Naga City & Muntinlupa City In Naga

BERSIH to hold election for new Steering Committee

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) will be having an election to determine the new leadership line up for the term 2023-2025. As the name suggests, BERSIH is a coalition of 58 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and each NGO is eligible to nominate, vote and have a say in the coalition’s

LENTE’s Statement on Abuse of State Resources (ASR) Monitoring during the Election Period for BSKE 2023

October 18, 2023, Quezon City. Since 28 August 2023, the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) has been monitoring electoral activities for the upcoming Barangay and SK Elections (BSKE). This is a component of a pioneering initiative to analyze how incumbent officials use state resources for their electoral advantage, affecting the standard

Three-Month Human Rights Monitoring Report on Bangladesh: July-September 2023

Odhikar released its Three-Month Human Rights Monitoring Report on Bangladesh. The group said the human rights situation in the country remained repressive and retaliatory. From January to September 2023, Odhikar has recorded 12 cases of extrajudicial killings, 32 cases of enforced disappearances, 70 killed and 6,331 injured due to political violence, 309

Transparency Maldives calls on Members of Parliament to reject the proposed unconstitutional amendment to Article 262 of the Constitution.

Article 4 of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives stipulates that the power of the State of the Maldives is derived from and remains with the people. Article 262 (b) of the Constitution further stipulates that amendments proposed to Chapter II of the Constitution (The Maldivian Charter of Rights and Freedoms,

Press Statement: A referendum should be guided by a well-informed electorate, not short-term political expediency!

On 20 September 2023, the People’s Majlis passed a resolution to direct the Elections Commission to hold a public referendum by 30 October 2023, on changing the existing system of government. The resolution was approved by 35 members, following the approval of the resolution by the Committee of the Whole House. Following

BERSIH launches essay and video competition on democracy

UPDATE: Submission deadline extended until 31 October 2023. The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) launched an essay and video competition in conjunction with Malaysia Day and the International Day of Democracy. The public are invited to submit an essay or a video about the following: why democracy is important, most

Odhikar denounces the imprisonment of its Secretary and Director under the Information and Communication Technology Act

Dhaka, 14 September 2023: The Cyber Tribunal, Dhaka today has sentenced to two years imprisonment and Taka 10,000 fine each, to Odhikar’s Secretary Adilur Rahman Khan and Director ASM Nasiruddin Elan for allegedly breaching Section 57 of the repressive Information and Communication Technology Act 2006. They were charged for releasing a report

LENTE’s Statement on COMELEC Exemptions of Government Programs for the 2023 Barangay and SK Elections

15 September 2023, Quezon City. LENTE strongly urges the public to be vigilant of the politicization of programs and other social welfare services in view of the COMELEC’s recent decision to exempt DOLE and DSWD programs from poll spending ban. These programs, based on LENTE’s on-going in-depth research and monitoring, have historically

Minister’s Taskforce and PSSC Proceeding on AG Separation are Welcomed Moves, but PM Must Publicly Declare Timeline for Separation by 2025

The Coalition for Clean and Fair Election (BERSIH) welcomes the establishment of two taskforce to expedite the separation of roles and powers between the attorney-general (AG) and public prosecutor (PP) by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said, as well as the proceedings called by

Transparency Maldives’ Interim Report on the 2023 Presidential Election

Transparency Maldives, in their interim statement on the 2023 Presidential Election, said the Election day processes went well but expressed some concerns about the election environment especially on abuse of state resources. Election Day The report indicated that the Election Day administration was well managed by the Elections Commission (EC). The opening

Transparency Maldives’ statement on the opening and closing of polls during 2023 Presidential Election

Transparency Maldives said in their initial observation statements that the 2023 Maldivian Presidential Election was generally peaceful and orderly. The opening procedure at polling stations went well with all polling stations open by 9 a.m. and 85% of polling stations open within the first 10 minutes of the required opening time. The

Official NAMFREL Statement on the Issues Raised on the Results of the 2022 National and Local Elections

NAMFREL is issuing this statement firstly, to clarify its position on the issues raised and, secondly, to give its point of view on the very serious allegation of fraud attending the 2022 National and Local Elections. As Bantay ng Bayan torchbearers, NAMFREL provides a thoughtful and objective analysis of the allegations as

2023 Presidential Election: Pre-Election Assessment

As Maldives is set to hold a presidential election on 9 September 2023, ANFREL member Transparency Maldives released their pre-election assessment to provide recommendations to mitigate challenges for holding free, fair, and credible election. The assessment report seeks to review the electoral legal framework, understand emerging challenges for holding a free and

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