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
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
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
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.
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
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
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
First published on The Diplomat on 9 March 2022, "Elections in a Pandemic: How Filipinos Can Safely Elect Their Leaders" was produced under the ANFREL Southeast Asia Media Fellowship on Election Reporting. The Philippines will soon conduct one of Asia’s largest elections in 2022. One expert says the campaign period is beginning
The special envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for Myanmar and Cambodia's foreign minister Prak Sokhonn announced that he is to visit Myanmar for four days on 20-23 March 2022. This comes after some of the ASEAN member countries criticized the Myanmar junta for making no progress in resolving
This monthly brief intends to provide an update on democracy and election-related issues in selected countries and territories under a restrictive environment. Download here: Monthly Brief on Countries under Restrictive Environment - Series #11: Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong & Myanmar (February 2022)
The junta has threatened the Myanmar political parties of potential disbandment if they do not comply with its order to submit their financial accounts for inspection by 9 March 2022. The junta-appointed Union Election Commission (UEC) has said that if the parties do not comply with the instruction, they would face legal
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) conducted the annual foreign ministers meeting on 16-17 February 2021 without the participation of Myanmar as ASEAN denied junta’s Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin joining the meeting in Phnom Penh. The decision not to invite Foreign Minister Wunna Maung Lwin also reflected a disagreement within
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is dismayed by the continuous retreat of democracy in Asia, as measured by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)’s latest Democracy Index. The overall regional average score for Asia and Australasia peaked at 5.74 in 2016, and has continuously declined since 2019 from 5.67 to 5.62
Cambodian Prime Minister and the current chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Hun Sen admitted that it was a mistake for taking credit in helping to free the Australian Professor Sean Turnell, an economic adviser to ousted Myanmar state counselor Aung San Suu Kyi, detained by the junta in
On 1 February 2022, Myanmar completed a year since the military coup during which the junta detained Myanmar state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, Chairman of the Union Election Commission Hla Thein and many other political leaders and activists in the early hours of 1 February 2021. ANFREL has
Over the past year since the coup, the Myanmar military junta has weaponized laws to further restrict rights and freedoms in the country. Here are key provisions and amendments to laws that the junta has proposed and enacted:
