Advancing Electoral Democracy in Asia
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
May 12, 2022 President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.The White HouseWashington, DC Re: Thailand’s abusive draft law on not-for-profit organizations Dear President Biden, We, the undersigned non-profit organizations, are writing to express our serious concerns regarding Thailand’s Draft Act on the Operations of Not-for-Profit Organizations, which the Thai Cabinet approved in principle on
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) congratulates the people of the Philippines for their mass participation in the 2022 National and Local Elections, domestic election observer groups including PPCRV, LENTE, and NAMFREL, media and civil society organizations for their contributions to an inclusive and transparent election landscape, as well as the
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is holding a press conference on Wednesday, 11 May 2022 at 9 a.m. (Manila time) to release the initial findings of its observation of the elections in the Philippines. The Philippines held national and local elections on 9 May 2022. ANFREL deployed teams of international
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
More than 65.7 million registered voters in the Philippines are invited to cast their vote for the national and local elections on 9 May 2022. The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) deployed election observation teams across the country to monitor the electoral process. Here are some photos that ANFREL observers have
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) published its pre-election assessment report of the 2022 Cambodia commune and sangkat council elections on 6 May 2022. Cambodia will hold its fifth commune and sangkat council elections on 5 June 2022. About 9.2 million registered voters are expected to elect the chief and councilors among over
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) will hold a joint press conference with the ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights, Human Rights Watch and the International Commission of Jurists this Friday, 6 May 2022, about the human rights and democracy situation in Cambodia ahead of the Commune and Sangkat Council Elections. Cambodia
A Myanmar junta court convicted the former state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi for corruption and sentenced her to five years in prison. The European Union condemned the sentencing as “politically motivated” and “another step to dismantle the rule of law”. Aung San Suu Kyi had been sentenced to six years in
For Immediate ReleaseApril 26, 2022Seoul, South Korea The Asia Democracy Network (ADN) and its partner civil society organizations in Asia are deeply concerned regarding the economic crisis experienced by the people of Sri Lanka. We are deeply moved to see men and women struggling to find essential food including lifesaving medical items
On LENTE's plans for Election Day The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) has launched several initiatives with its partner organizations and monitoring projects to ensure Safe, Accountable, Transparent, and Inclusive elections this May 9, 2022. LENTE is among the civil society organizations that were convened by the Commission on Human Rights
First published on BERSIH's Facebook page The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) urges the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSSC) on Anti-Hopping Law (AHL) to maximally inform and involve the public, so that the resultant bill would meet public expectation and necessary compromises would enjoy public support. BERSIH calls upon the
Myanmar military junta chief Min Aung Hlaing offered to meet with leaders of ethnic armed groups in person. He said through a brief broadcast from state-owned television that “2022 is the year of peace and that we will work for an end to all armed conflict”. The offer was not extended to
The discharge of the Commission on Elections’ duty under Section 2(1), Article IX-C of the Constitution and under the law to enforce and administer all laws relative to the conduct of elections for the purpose of ensuring free, orderly and honest elections does not escape public observation. The absence or lack of
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) launched today, 23 April 2022, its international election observation mission to the 2022 Philippine national and local elections with the deployment of six long-term observers and two electoral analysts. An additional four observers are expected to join the mission next week. ANFREL observers will be
PAFFREL is paying strict attention to the death of a youth and the significant number of people injured due to the police firing during the public unrest in Rambukkana yesterday (19th April). These protestors were not engaged in an anti-government struggle, but as participants in a campaign to ensure that they were
ANFREL member in Bangladesh, Odhikar, published the findings of their monitoring of the human rights situation in the country during the first quarter of 2022. From January to March 2022, Odhikar recorded nine cases of extrajudicial killings, two cases of enforced disappearances, 26 deaths in jails, among many other human rights violations
ISLAMABAD, April 19, 2022: Abysmally low turnout, inconsistent procedural compliance, and widespread campaigning and canvassing on the polling day marked the NA-33 Hangu by-election, which remained peaceful and free of any controversy. With only 14 percent of the registered voters – 19 percent male voters and six percent female voters – exercising
The Myanmar military junta granted amnesty to 1,619 prisoners, including 42 foreigners, and announced their release to mark Myanmar's new year. It is unclear if political prisoners were included. According to media reports, no political protesters had been released so far from Insein Prison in Yangon. There was also no information about
The National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG) said it has successfully completed 1,128 attacks on military junta targets in Yangon over the past seven months. Since NUG declared its war against the military junta, it attacked 443 administrative and 587 military targets and 98 military-owned businesses, killing 253 and injuring nearly 300.
MANDALUYONG CITY - The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) today said that it is encouraging all Filipinos to guard the election process in all its phases, from the pre-election period, to Election Day, to the post-election period. This is in line with NAMFREL's belief that all voters can be citizen
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) released its assessment report on Hong Kong's latest electoral changes on 8 April 2022 at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) in conjunction with a public screening of Hong Kong protest documentary film Revolution of Our Times. The report seeks to detail how the
Instead Prioritize Accountability for Human Rights Abuses Bangladesh authorities have responded to US Treasury Department sanctions on the notoriously abusive Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) by retaliating against victims’ relatives, human rights defenders and their families, and human rights organizations, twelve organizations said today. The US imposed the sanctions on the paramilitary unit
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) condemns the recent repressive and draconian actions of the Sri Lankan government in quelling the rights of their people to dissent and to protest. Thousands of Sri Lankan citizens have taken to the street calling for President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his government to resign
ISLAMABAD, April 5, 2022: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) successfully completed the second phase of the local government (LG) elections with around 41 percent of the 8.5 million registered voters in 18 districts turning out to vote on March 31, 2022 to elect 12,875 representatives on general and reserved seats in an election that
UN special envoy for Myanmar Noleen Heyzer met with the Cambodian prime minister and the current chairman of ASEAN Hun Sen and the ASEAN special envoy for Myanmar Prak Sokhonn. She said that she had initiated a “multi-exit framework based on a three-layered circle”, including its first layer of “center of the
ISLAMABAD, April 4, 2022: Expressing grave concerns at the recent political developments and ensuing constitutional crisis, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has identified multiple constitutional, legal and operational challenges to the conduct of an early election. While the constitutionality of the measures leading to the dissolution of the National Assembly
