2023 Parliamentary Openness and Monitoring Forum Joint Statement

March 15, 2023 - We, as representatives of parliamentary monitoring organizations participating in the Parliament Openness and Monitoring Forum held in Taiwan in March 2023, we deeply recognize the importance of parliamentary monitoring, especially as many countries are facing the threat of democratic regression. We believe that parliamentary monitoring organizations play a

ANFREL concludes media fellowship on election reporting for Asian journalists

Nine journalist trained, mentored; 10 stories produced Nine Asian journalists completed the five-month intensive training on election reporting publishing 10 election-related reports developed and produced under the ANFREL Asian Media Fellowship on Election Reporting. The media fellowship program ran for five months from October 2022 to February 2023. It provided media fellows

ANFREL submits election observations, recommendations ahead of Sri Lanka ICCPR review

The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) submitted to the UN Human Rights Committee election-related issues concerning human rights in Sri Lanka ahead of the country's ICCPR review on 8-9 March 2023. ANFREL said the postponement of the local government elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns about its legitimacy given

CMEV’s statement on the violation of people’s democratic rights

The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) strongly condemns the blatant violation of the people’s democratic rights by the Election Commission, Treasury, Executive, Government Printer and senior officers of the Sri Lanka Police. Examining each of these public authorities and officials in turn, reveals how they have worked together to totally disrupt

Joint Statement: Media and civil society groups deeply disturbed by government’s decision to revoke VOD’s media license and the sexual harassment of a female reporter

Phnom Penh, February 13, 2023 – We, the undersigned media and civil society organizations, are deeply disturbed by Prime Minister Hun Sen’s order to revoke the license of Voice of Democracy (VOD), one of the last remaining independent media outlets in Cambodia. We also condemn the recent sexual harassment and intimidation of

2022 Nepalese Federal and Provincial Elections: Achieving Maturity

The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) said the 20 November 2022 Nepalese Federal and Provincial Assembly Elections were largely peaceful and orderly but significant inclusion of women and other vulnerable sectors could be improved. ANFREL said in the final comprehensive report of their international election observation mission to the 2022 Nepalese

East Timor: Fighting Confusion and Voter Disenfranchisement during Elections

By Cristiana Ximenes Belo In March and April 2022, Timor-Leste held its presidential elections using the two-round system. During this election period, the Secretariado Técnico de Administraçᾶo Eletoral (STAE) or the Technical Secretariat for Election Administration (TSEA in English) established three parallel voting centers (PVCs) in Dili, the country’s capital, with the

PAFFREL, CMEV put up complaints units for local gov’t polls

ANFREL members People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) and Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) have put up special units where electoral stakeholders can report election-related violence and violations in Sri Lanka. PAFFREL set up a Special Election Complaints Unit where voters can submit complaints about violation of election laws

FAFEN Urges Reforms for Fair Geographical Representation on Seats Reserved for Women

ISLAMABAD, February 2, 2023: Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has called for introducing divisional quotas for seats reserved for women in the National and Provincial Assemblies to ensure the geographical representativeness of women as well as to incentivize their greater political role in the areas where women’s participation is marginal. In

Joint Statement by International Election Experts and Organizations on Myanmar

We, the undersigned organizations specializing in election observation, electoral and democracy assistance, committed to the Declaration of Principles for International Election Observation1 and to upholding the integrity and credibility of such endeavours, denounce and distance ourselves from the sham “election” that the illegal and illegitimate military junta of Myanmar, the State Administrative

Maldives remains at the same position on the Corruption Perceptions Index 2022 rankings

Press Statement -31 January 2023 The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2022 released today by Transparency International reveals that the Maldives, remains at the same position on the CPI rankings amongst the two-thirds of countries to score below 50. The CPI annually scores and ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived level

Harassment of women in politics on the rise

Election monitors and activists express concern that digital harassment of female politicians will increase when the local council elections campaign gets into full swing in the coming weeks. According to the preliminary results of a survey conducted by the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE), more than 70 percent of female

Registered, Not Represented: The Fate Of Pakistan’s Non-Muslim Voters

The current electoral system and the incentive structures it creates effectively disenfranchise Pakistan's non-Muslim voters As Pakistan gears up for general elections this year, the country’s religious minorities appear dejected over their parliamentary representation. Beset by a spate of issues ranging from underemployment, a dwindling population and undercounting to victimization at the

2023 Elections: Policy Advocacy for LGBTQIA+, Women, and Children or Just an Election-Campaign Scheme?

Story by Attachai Had-anCover illustration by Kittiya On-in In preparation for the upcoming election on May 7, 2023, “The Opener” has studied the spread of misinformation and how it might impair the quest for a free and fair election in Thailand. Lessons from the 2019 election campaign until now indicate that while

FAFEN Urges Political Consensus on Critical Electoral Reforms Ahead of General Elections

Parties Need to Agree on Regulating Political Finance, Refining Results Management, Devising Mechanisms for Overseas Voting, and Catering to Representativeness Issues In Elections ISLAMABAD, January 27, 2023: Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) calls upon the political parties to immediately initiate a comprehensive dialogue on addressing the weaknesses in the existing legal

Results Management Issues Overshadow Peaceful and Well-managed Polling Day — FAFEN

Violations of Campaigning Restrictions and Lax Compliance with Ballot Issuance Persist ISLAMABAD, January 19, 2023: Voters in Karachi and Hyderabad Divisions turned out variedly to elect more than 3,508 councilors in long-delayed local government elections on January 15, 2023, that remained peaceful and relatively orderly, but were tainted by allegations of rigging

GEWG Appeals to Political Parties to Nominate Women to Contest Local Council Elections

The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), together with the Gender and Election Working Group (GEWG), conducted a press conference on 09 January 2023 to request all political parties to ensure better representation and safer participation for women in Local Government Elections. D.M. Dissanayake, Chief of Operation, CMEV stated that Sri Lanka

ANFREL Newsletter (October-December 2022)

ANFREL released the interim report of its observation of the 2022 Nepal elections, took in 10 journalists from Asia as media fellows, and welcomed new team members during the last quarter of 2022. Four teams of international election observers were deployed in Nepal for 10 days to monitor electoral processes. Nepal held

ANFREL welcomes new capacity building program officer, intern

The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) welcomes the addition of two new team members who will be contributing to ANFREL's mission of advancing electoral democracy in Asia. Ain Nesiehah is ANFREL's new program officer for capacity building who will be working on ANFREL's training programs and workshops for our members and

The Village In Punjab Where Women Are Forbidden From Voting

Tradition threatens electoral democracy and universal suffrage: not a single woman cast a vote in the 2018 General Elections in Mohri Pur First published on The Friday Times, "The Village in Punjab Where Women are Forbidden from Voting" (Urdu version) was produced under the ANFREL Asian Media Fellowship on Election Reporting. In

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