Advancing Electoral Democracy in Asia
The people of Myanmar continue the civil disobedience movement, which include street protests, civil service strikes, the boycott of military-linked business, and the social punishment campaign which netizens name and shame police, military personnel and their family members on social media and business owners refused to provide service to them. Myanmar saw
Every year, on March 8, the world celebrates the International Women’s Day, shedding light on the plight of women in pursuit of gender equality. Among them, representation and participation in governance and politics. Indeed, women have come a long way with the increase in the number of women elected in parliament as
The Bangladeshi authorities must end their escalating crackdown on human rights, and respect and protect people’s rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in Bangladesh to curb protesters demanding justice for writer Mushtaq Ahmed’s death in prison on 25 February, the nine undersigned human rights organizations said in a joint statement
According to article 14 of the amended election law, the Independent Election Commission of Afghanistan managed to successfully elect its administrative board to wit: Head, Deputy Head, and Secretary, as a result Mr. Awrangzeb has been elected as the Head of IEC, Mr. Mawlana Abdullah as the Deputy Head of IEC, and
The 2021 Myanmar military coup began on 1 February 2021 when the Myanmar military, Tatmadaw detained numerous government officials, including State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and Union Election Commission (UEC) Chair U Hla Thein, as well as pro-democracy activists and politicians from the ruling National League
First published on FAFEN's website on 23 February 2021. ANFREL member in Pakistan, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), said they observed an improved quality of electoral processes during the by-elections held from 16-21 February 2021 in five provincial and three national assembly constituencies. FAFEN said the management of voting and
We, the undersigned organizations, call on the United Nations Security Council and UN member states to urgently institute a coordinated, global arms embargo on Myanmar in response to the February 1, 2021 military coup that has deprived the people of Myanmar of the right to democratically elect their government. Our concerns are
ANFREL member in Indonesia, the Association for Elections and Democracy (Perkumpulan untuk Pemilu dan Demokrasi | Perludem), published and launched the first edition of The Asia-Pacific Journal of Elections and Democracy on 17 February 2021. The journal is an off-shoot of their Journal of Elections and Democracy, a national publication, which expanded
Kabul-16, February 2021-for urgent release The Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA) expresses its deep concerns over IEC’s failure (wasting time) and delay to bring electoral reform. FEFA believes that wasting time or ignoring electoral reform will have negative impinge upon election process, building public trust on elections, gaining international
First published on MARUAH's website on February 11, 2021 MARUAH unequivocally condemns the military takeover of Myanmar on February 1, 2021. The Tatmadaw (military)overthrew the elected government of Myanmar, detained government leaders, civil service officers, activists, and human rights defenders, imposed a year-long Emergency on the country and has blocked intermittently access
On 1 February, the armed forces of Myanmar (Tatmadaw), ostensibly acting on allegations of voter fraud in the general elections of 8 November 2020, detained numerous government officials, including State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and Union Election Commission (UEC) Chair U Hla Thein, as well as
Joint Statement by Domestic Election Observer Organizations January 29, 2021 There is a growing concern within the public that the electoral disputes over the results of the 2020 general elections and different electoral processes would cause post-election instability, the delay of the peaceful power transition, and even the country’s democratic transition to
Several domestic election observer groups, during a webinar that ANFREL hosted, urged the Union Election Commission (UEC) to provide more opportunities for election stakeholders to participate in the electoral process in Myanmar. ANFREL hosted a webinar about post-election findings of election observer groups in Myanmar on 25 January 2021. The ANFREL Webinar
Human rights group Odhikar released their 2020 report on the human rights violations including the state of the electoral system in Bangladesh. Odhikar said in the report that "the Awami League government and the Election Commission have completely destroyed the electoral system depriving the people of their right to vote in all
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is hosting a webinar on 25 January 2021, Monday, at 4 p.m. (Yangon time) about the post-election observation findings of election observer groups in Myanmar. This is part of a series of webinars which aims to create public awareness on democratic elections and create a
19 January 2021-Kabul The Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA) welcomes announcement of preparation of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) for conducting the parliamentary election in Ghazni, provincial council elections, district council elections, and municipality elections in major cities and support of government from this plan. FEFA believes conducting and
First published on FAFEN's website on 19 January 2020. ISLAMABAD, January 19, 2021: Despite COVID-19 associated challenges, the PS-52 Umer Kot-II by-elections witnessed an encouraging male and female turnout with low incidence of procedural violations indicating improved election management by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). This was first by-election held after
18 January 2021 Kabul: IEC and the Afghan Government have agreed to hold a certain number of elections in the coming year at times when there is no suitable conditions for elections to take place. This is down to wide-spread insecurity as citizens even in Kabul and many other capital cities across
ANFREL member in Myanmar, the People's Action for Credible Elections (PACE) released two pre-election studies on migrant workers' perception of the 2020 Myanmar General Elections. The elections were held on 8 November 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. PACE, with the Foundation for Education Development, conducted a survey with migrant workers from Feb.
The year 2020 has been quite a challenging year for many as the COVID-19 pandemic affected many aspects of everyday life. For this edition of ANFREL's newsletter e-Bulletin, we highlight our activities and programs not just for the last quarter of 2020 but our journey throughout the year. The Asian Network for
We, the undersigned organisations, strongly condemn the killing of elections monitor and democracy advocate Mohammad Yousuf Rasheed in Afghanistan and urge the authorities to bring those responsible to justice. On the morning of 23 December 2020, Rasheed, executive director of the Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA), was shot by
Several election observer groups during a webinar ANFREL hosted on 21 December 2020 said that while there have been observed changes in the electoral process, more reforms and improvements are still needed to sustain electoral democracy in Myanmar. The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) invited People's Alliance for Credible Election (PACE)
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is saddened by the passing of our dear friend Mohammad Yousuf Rasheed from Afghanistan. On the morning of 23 December, Rasheed was shot in Kabul by unidentified gunmen while he was commuting to his office. He was transported to a hospital where he passed away
Four observers teams of the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) were deployed in the provinces of Surin, Samut Prakan, Nakhon Pathom, and Nonthaburi to monitor the Thai provincial elections held on 20 December 2020. These were the first local elections conducted since the civilian government was toppled by a military coup
The elections in Thailand this Sunday, 20 December 2020, is an important democratic milestone since it'll be the first local elections to be held since the military-led coup took over the civilian government in 2014, panelists of ANFREL's webinar agreed. ANFREL organized a webinar on Tuesday, 15 December 2020, to discuss the
Kabul 15 December 2020 The Free and Fair Election Forum of Afghanistan (FEFA) welcomes government’s focus on peace which has been a long-standing dream of the Afghan nation and believes that peace is not only a priority for the national stakeholders but also for the international stakeholders of Afghanistan success of which
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is hosting a webinar about the Thai local elections looking into the opportunities and obstacles for decentralization in Thailand on Tuesday, 15 December 2020, at 4 p.m. (Bangkok Time). Local elections in Thailand are scheduled for 20 December 2020. ANFREL invited Dr. Orathai Kokpol, deputy
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is hosting a webinar on 21 December 2020, Monday at 4 p.m. (Yangon Time) about the findings of election observer groups in the recently concluded 2020 Myanmar General Elections. This is part of a series of webinars which aims to create public awareness on democratic
The international community should take a strong stand for the protection of human rights in Bangladesh, seven human rights groups said on International Human Rights Day. As Bangladeshis grapple with the impact of Covid-19, the ruling Awami League has used the pandemic to tighten the screws on critics and the free press,
While the Election Day in Myanmar has been observed to be generally peaceful, a panel of local election observer groups agreed that certain measures need to be taken to improve the electoral process in the country. ANFREL invited New Myanmar Foundation (NMF) executive director Mya Nandar Thin, Phan Tee Eain – Creative
