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
First published on COMFREL's website on 10 June 2022. Civil Society Organizations that have collaboratively deployed election observers to monitor the situation of the Commune/Sangkat Councils Election in the 5th mandate, which took place on 5 June 2022, have found election irregularities occurring during the polling process on the voting and counting
First published on COMFREL's website on 10 June 2022. During the campaign phase of the Commune /Sangkat Councils Election, 5th mandate 2022, the Committee for Free and Fair Elections in Cambodia (COMFREL) deployed Long-Term Observers in the Capital and provinces to monitor the electoral process. During this election campaign process, COMFREL observed
The People's Action for Free & Fair Elections (PAFFREL) conducted a series of discussions with district coordinators and observers from Kurunegala, Puttalam, Kandy, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya, Matale in Sri Lanka to review local and international guidelines to develop an election observation handbook. Mr. Jayantha Dehiaththage led the discussions.
The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) conducted on 31 May 2022 a half-day program to discuss the way out of the current political, economic and social crisis in Sri Lanka through the constitution and electoral reforms at Hotel Janaki, Colombo. The program consisted of three panel discussions with distinguished experts in
His Excellency Gotabaya Rajapaksa,President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri LankaPresidential SecretariatColombo Dear Sir Let’s make the objective of the 21st Amendment, a reality While expressing our sincere appreciation of your agreeing to restore the Good Principles of Public Administration into the Constitution through the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, we
ANFREL member in the Philippines, the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) and other like-minded organizations launched a petition calling for the next Congress not to postpone the scheduled Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections. Sign the petition here. We amplify our call to the next Congress not to postpone the December 5,
CMEV expresses its deep concern about the rapid deterioration of democracy and the rule of law in the country. Following the devastating violence in many parts of the country on May 09, 2022, CMEV has reports that the police investigations and arrests of perpetrators are taking place under political influence. It has
The local level election held today has been completed largely peacefully and successfully apart from few sporadic incidents. There was encouraging participation by people with disability, senior citizens and members of all community, and gender. Compared to the past, the parties, candidates and voters all were more patient and peaceful. Except in
NAMFREL raises concern on reports it received stating that the public has been barred from entering voting centers to observe the closing of voting, and to take pictures of the posted Election Returns, which contain the results of the election for every polling place in the voting center. In addition, some NAMFREL
The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) continues to observe election day processes, with particular focus on the voting process of Vulnerable Sectors (Persons with Disability, Senior Citizens/Older Persons, Persons Deprived of Liberty/Detainees, and Indigenous Peoples) and the voting situation in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). LENTE also continue
LENTE said they observed long queues, technical and non-technical issues, and unlawful electioneering as the 2022 Philippine national and local elections opened. LENTE asked COMELEC to reinforce that the use of phones, even if utilized as a voter’s “kodigo” inside the polling place, is not allowed. COMELEC earlier stated that the use
The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) released its preliminary observations on the conduct of the 2022 National and Local Elections, as observed by its volunteers who are currently onsite in different voting centers across the country. NAMFREL has tens of thousands of volunteers observing in voting centers nationwide for today's
