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
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) condemns the shutdown of the Voice of Democracy (VOD) in Cambodia today, a blatant attack on media freedom and a gross violation of the Cambodian people’s right to access information. Prime Minister Hun Sen ordered the revocation of the license of the country’s one of
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
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
The Asia Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) and members People's Action for Free & Fair Elections (PAFFREL) and Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) filed a joint submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council for the fourth periodic report of Sri Lanka at the 42nd session of the Universal Periodic Review
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is concerned with the recent arrest of Candlelight Party's Thach Setha in Cambodia.
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
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
ANFREL member in the Philippines, the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) observed a plebiscite on 17 December 2022 seeking the conversion of the municipality of Baliwag, Bulacan into a component city. NAMFREL said the process went smoothly and peacefully with no untoward incident observed. The closing and counting processes were
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) attended the implementation meeting of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM) Declaration of Principles (DoP) for International Election Observation from 6 to 8 December 2022, in Brussels, Belgium. ANFREL executive director Chandanie Watawala also spoke on cooperation among international and non-partisan citizen observer
ANFREL senior program officer for capacity building and international election observation Amaël Vier participated in a panel discussion on citizen mobilization and election observation at the "MOVE! A Colloquium on Electoral Reforms" on 9 December 2022. The three-day event held from 8 to 10 December 2022 was hosted by ANFREL member in
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) participated in a discussion on how disinformation affects elections at the Indonesia Fact Checking Summit on 30 November 2022. ANFREL program officer for outreach and communication and media program coordinator John Reiner Antiquerra shared insights on disinformation during elections based on ANFREL's observation of polls
Ten Asian journalists have been selected to take part in an intensive program on reporting elections, human rights and democracy under a media fellowship program hosted by the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL). The ANFREL Asian Media Fellowship on Election Reporting, through the generous support of the Mission of Canada to
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) congratulates the people of Nepal for their participation in the 2022 Federal and Provincial Elections, the Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) for holding the largely peaceful and orderly polls, as well as domestic election observer groups including EOC-N, Sankalpa, INSEC, BAS, DRCN, ANFREL members NEOC
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) deployed election observation teams in Nepal to observe the 2022 House of Representatives and Provincial Assemblies Elections. Some 275 House of Representative seats and 550 members of provincial assemblies were contested. Here are some photos from our election observation teams on the ground:
In the third quarter of 2022, the Asian Network for Free Elections released observation report on Philippine and Nepali elections, launched the Asian Media Fellowship on Election Reporting, and engaged with various electoral stakeholders. ANFREL released the final comprehensive report of its international election observation mission to the 2022 national and local
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is looking for a Program Officer to implement its Capacity Building projects and activities. The Program Officer will preferably be based in Bangkok, Thailand, but will be coordinating with ANFREL’s network organizations and traveling across the Asian region. Formed in 1997, ANFREL was organized as
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) strongly condemns the latest conviction of Myanmar’s ousted leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint on alleged election fraud charges with a three-year jail sentence. With the latest sentencing, Aung San Suu Kyi now faces a total of 20 years in prison after being
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) media fellowship program is back and we’re expanding the program to include journalists from all over Asia. ANFREL is offering a series of intensive training sessions on reporting elections, democracy, and human rights as well as mentorship and financial support for innovative and impactful election-related
ANFREL Executive Director Chandanie Watawala spoke to 39 international relations students from the University of Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta on Friday, 26 August 2022, about today's challenges to democracy in Asia.
In order for the Philippines to achieve its democratic aspirations, the festering systemic challenges of rampant vote buying, rule of political dynasties, and the widespread disinformation should be addressed, according to panelists of a forum that tackled pathways to strengthen democracy in the country. The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) hosted
The 2022 national and local elections in the Philippines were credible and genuine despite several lingering issues and challenges, said the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) in the final comprehensive report of their international election observation mission to the Philippine elections. ANFREL congratulated the electoral stakeholders in the country for the
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is hosting a panel discussion on strengthening democracy in the Philippines on 18 August 2022, Thursday, at 10 a.m. (Manila time) ANFREL invited representatives from domestic election observer groups to share their insights about the recently concluded May 2022 national and local elections in the
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is alarmed by the constitutional amendments passed on 28 July 2022 by the National Assembly of Cambodia that are detrimental to parliamentary democracy. The ruling Cambodian People’s Party (CPP), which controls all of the seats in the National Assembly, is preparing for the post-Hun Sen
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected the preliminary objections of the Myanmar military junta to the case on Myanmar’s alleged genocide against the ethnic Rohingya population in Rakhine State in October 2016 and August 2017. This case filed by Gambia is one of the attempts to use the international justice system
Ousted State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi denied electoral fraud charges against her at a closed trial inside the junta prison in Naypyitaw. The charges were filed under Article 130(a) of the Penal Code, accusing her of influencing the Union Election Commission (UEC) ahead of the November 2020 general election. Ousted president
The junta court sentenced U Hla Thein, the former chairman of the Union Election Commission (UEC) and two other members of UEC under Section 130 (a) of the criminal law for three years in prison. According to the junta-appointed UEC, 422 people, including the ousted state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi had
A junta court in Mandalay sentenced an elected lawmaker to three years in prison for incitement due to her alleged involvement in organizing anti-regime protests and encouraging government employees to join the civil disobedience movement. Win Mya Mya ran under the National League of Democracy (NLD) during the 2020 general election and
Press ReleaseKathmandu, Nepal4 July 2022 The Election Commission, Nepal (ECN) and the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to co-host the sixth Asian Electoral Stakeholder Forum (AESF 6). The MoU, signed by ECN Joint Secretary Mr. Shaligram Sharma Paudel and ANFREL Executive Director Mrs. Chandanie
The 2022 Timor-Leste Presidential Election demonstrated how democracy is celebrated and strong in the country, said the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) in the final comprehensive report on its observation of the election. ANFREL released the report on Tuesday, 28 June 2022, and thanked the electoral stakeholders for their commitment to