September 11, 2013 Sheikh Hasina Wazed Prime Minister Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh Old Sangsad Bhaban Tejagaon Dhaka-1215 Bangladesh Re: Continued Detention of Advocate Adilur Rahman Khan Dear Prime Minister, We are writing to express our deep concern over the arrest of Adilur Rahman Khan on August 10,
Download Full Statement as PDF Here 11 August 2013, Bangkok - The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), an organization and network of democracy and political rights promoting groups, expresses grave concern regarding the unjust arrest and troubling continued detention of Mr. Adilur Rahman Khan, the Secretary of Odhikar, a leading human rights focused organization
Download as PDF Here 05 August 2013, BANGKOK – Given the level of widespread complaints and reports of irregularities related to the July 28th General Election in Cambodia, the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) believes that greater transparency and a thorough and impartial investigation that includes a wide variety of participants
Download Full Statement as a PDF here For Immediate Release: ANFREL Calls on Election Commission of Pakistan for Greater Transparency on Pressing Electoral Matters BANGKOK, 03 June 2013 – The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), a regional network based organization of 21 civil society groups from across Asia, views with great
Malaysia GE13: Serious Concerns Require Investigation and Reform The 5th May 2012 general election in Malaysia, the country’s 13th, had an encouraging record turnout of 80 percent of eligible voters exercising their franchise and the election day processes of polling and counting were generally peaceful. But taking both of those
ANFREL Statement on Observer Accreditation in Malaysia For Immediate Release More, Not Less: A Call for Greater Election Observation in Malaysia BANGKOK, 28 June 2012 – The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) wishes to acknowledge the Election Commission of Malaysia’s (SPR) recent accreditation of several organisations to observe the upcoming elections. Official
ANFREL Press Statement : Malaysian Electoral Reforms Crucial for Democracy in ASEAN FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Malaysian Electoral Reforms Crucial for Democracy in ASEAN BANGKOK, 04 May 2012 – While the significance of the rallies on 28th April will undoubtedly continue to be debated for some time, it is important that the debate
ANFREL Press Statement - Aceh 2012 For Immediate Release: ANFREL Press Statement on Governor & Regent Elections in Aceh BANDA ACEH, 11 April 2012 – The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) wishes to commend the people of Aceh for turning out in large numbers to exercise their democratic right in what
Press Statement on the Myanmar by-elections The by-elections in Myanmar marks a historic phase in the country’s transition towards democracy and ANFREL-Foundation takes this opportunity to congratulate the people of Myanmar. The by-elections were extremely significant to sustain the reforms process in Myanmar and strengthen the process of democratization in the future.
For Immediate Release: BANGKOK, 24 FEBRUARY 2012 - The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) views with concern the political crisis in the Maldives following the ouster of President Mohamed Nasheed. Because some of the specifics surrounding the events of early February are still disputed, it is imperative that an independent and
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) encourages countries to allow citizens living abroad to be able to participate in their home countries’ elections. A citizen’s right to participate in their country’s election is a universal one and shouldn’t be restricted when good methods exist to allow voters abroad to participate. This
Credible Elections but a Tilted Playing Field Introduction The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), at the invitation of the Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Taiwan Grassroots Alliance for Peace & Citizen Congress Watch, observed Taiwan’s historic Presidential and Legislative Yuan elections in January of 2012. This mission is the third Election Observation
Members of an international election observation team on Tuesday urged Taiwan to increase the pace of electoral reform to ensure fairer and freer elections. "There should be limits to the budget that can be used for campaigning," said Sakool Zuesongdham, a member of the Asian Network for Free Elections. Zuesongdham said that
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL-Foundation) welcomes recent political developments in Burma, progress which includes less censorship of the media; more engagement with the NLD, Aung San Suu Kyi, and some ethnic groups; the release of some, though not all, political prisoners; and finally, the re-registration of the NLD as a
The Open Forum for Democracy Foundation (PollWatch), The People Network for Elections in Thailand (P-Net), and the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) today called for a restructuring of the electoral system in Thailand in an endeavour to more fully realize the democratic rights of Thai voters. After a 3-day seminar of
On the occasion of the 23rdanniversary of the 8888 people’s uprising in Burma, ANFREL wishes to express itssolidarity with the people that on that day twenty-three years ago todayexpressed their fundamental desire for democratic change. What had begun primarily as a studentprotest expanded over time to include people from all walks of
The run up to the July 3 election, marred by reports of violence from different parts of the country, has become a cause of concern for everyone. There have been several reports of violence from Samut Prakan under Phra Pradaeng district as well as from other provinces. The stabbing death of a
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) has expressed its profound disappointment in the conduct of Myanmar’s 2010 Parliamentary & Regional Assembly Elections. After missing a chance to hold truly free and fair elections, ANFREL hopes that Myanmar’s military junta and the new parliament, once formed, take this post-election period as an opportunity to institute
The most controversial election in ASEAN region has been ended. But, vote counting process is still going on. The poll results are still in the pipe line. nonetheless, the public eye returns to Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent 15 of the past 21 years under arrest but is due to be freed
The Asian Network For Free Elections (ANFREL-Foundation) calls attention to an important point from November 7th & 8th‘s counting activities that requires the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and the Union Election Commission (UEC) of Myanmar to urgently clarify why the counting process was not made transparent to the public and the media beginning with
The Asian Network for Free Elections(ANFREL) was established in 1997 as Asia’s first regional network of civil society organizations. Its director, Somsri Hananuntasuk, has just returned from Afghanistan where the group was allowed to freely monitor the polls, interview candidates and hold press conferences. It’s a world away from Burma, she tells DVB, where
Since the news about the fake voter cards made a headlines, ANFREL is taking this opportunity to request all election stakeholders to exercise a thorough observation since Election Day is just 48 hour away. ANFREL concern is how this finding (see photo) can be detected and how it will tarnish the credibility
KABUL - The Asian Network for Free Elections comprising of 30 citizen observers from 11 countries across Asia, congratulate the people of Afghanistan for their participation in the Wolesi Jirga Election.The September 18th election is another milestone towards strengthening democracy and respect the rule of law. The statement covers the pre election
KABUL - Strong and resourceful candidates, expropriating government assets and machinery, attempted to influence Saturday's Wolesi Jirga elections, an observer group alleged on Wednesday. Threats, violence and money were widely acknowledged as an effective strategy to win the electoral battle, preventing many candidates from contest the polls freely, said the Asian Network
