Advancing Electoral Democracy in Asia
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
In the first quarter of 2022, the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) released reports of its observation of the local elections in Thailand and the presidential election in Timor-Leste. The 2021 Thai Tambon Administrative Organization (TAO) elections, ANFREL found, were more genuine and democratic in nature than the 2019 general election.
Update 7 April 2022, 12 noon: The registration is full. Walk-ins are not available due to limited seats available. The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) cordially invites you to the launch of its Hong Kong electoral changes assessment report and the screening of the "Revolution of Our Times" documentary. The details
The ASEAN envoy to Myanmar completed his three-day in Myanmar failing to meet key political figures and groups including ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, election preparations have been put on hold citing the current political situation, and the US has determined that the Myanmar military committed genocide against Rohingya. Here
Paper submission for the volume 2, issue 1 of the Asia-Pacific Journal of Elections and Democracy (APJED) has opened. Deadline is on 26 April 2022. Managed by the ANFREL member Association for Election and Democracy (PERLUDEM) and Djokosoetono Research Center for Universitas Indonesia, APJED is accepting theoretical, empirical, and policy-relevant submissions, covering
The ASEAN Envoy to Myanmar and Cambodia's foreign minister Prak Sokhonn arrived in Naypyitaw on 21 March 2022 to facilitate the peacemaking and implementation of the five-point consensus that the junta leaders and the ASEAN heads of the governments have reached in April 2021. The five-point consensus includes immediate cessation of violence,
21 March 2022Dili, Timor-Leste The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) wishes to congratulate the citizens of Timor-Leste, the Technical Secretariat for Election Administration (STAE), the National Elections Commission (CNE), and the national police force (PNTL) for a peaceful, genuine, and transparent first round of the 2022 Timorense presidential election. We salute
NAMFREL denies statements circulating on social media that it was involved in discussions of allegations of massive cheating in the forthcoming May 2022 national and local elections. NAMFREL deplores this propaganda, which undermines the outcome of elections that are still to be held, for which different stakeholders are working hard to ensure
It's election day in Timor-Leste! As 859,613 registered voters are invited to cast their votes to choose the next President of the Republic, five international observers from ANFREL are monitoring the opening, polling, and counting processes at polling stations in the municipalities of Ainaro, Baucau, Covalima, and Dili. Here are selected pictures
The hearing of alleged election fraud in 2020 Myanmar general election took place on 11 March 2022 in Naypyitaw at junta courts that the deputy director-general of the junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) has been questioned by the defense lawyers during cross-examination. Media reported that there are 22 witnesses for the prosecution
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is in Timor-Leste to monitor the first round of the country's presidential election, which will take place on 19 March. Five international observers are deployed across the country to observe the election campaign, Election Day proceedings, tabulation of votes, and announcement of results. Our observers
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), in its final comprehensive report on its observation of the 2021 Tambon Administrative Organization (TAO) elections in Thailand, said the polls were more genuine and democratic in nature than the 2019 general election. ANFREL said the conduct of the first tambon elections since the 2014
The pilot ANFREL Southeast Asia Media Fellowship on Election Reporting recently concluded helping train six journalists from different countries in the region as well as develop and produce compelling stories that reflect and amplify the issues and challenges that electoral stakeholders face. Launched in August 2021 thanks to the generous support of
First published on Burma Associated Press on 11 March 2022, "Myanmar’s junta switch to PR system beneficial only to them" was produced under the ANFREL Southeast Asia Media Fellowship on Election Reporting. The Myanmar military regime’s plan to switch to a proportional representation system for their planned election next year will not
NAMFREL wishes the new Chairman and Commissioners of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) all the best in their new posts. Their appointment comes at a crucial period as the Commission prepares for the upcoming May 9, 2022 elections. Foremost of the challenges ahead is securing the elections and ensuring that it is
