The Myanmar military, or Tatmadaw, staged a military coup on 1 February 2021, just before the new parliament elected through the 2020 General Elections was to convene. The coup triggered mass nationwide protests and a civil disobedience movement, causing over 900 people being killed and thousands being detained to date. On the
First published on FAFEN's website on 11 May 2021. Calls for a broader public debate and political discourse on the meaningful electoral reforms to enhance representation and inclusivity ISLAMABAD, May 11, 2021: The Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN) has urged the government to desist from any haste in introducing the changes
Transparency Maldives found in their observation of the Local Council and Women's Development Committee Elections on 10 April 2021 that the voting procedures were properly followed but COVID-19 risk mitigation strategies were not effectively enforced. TM trained and deployed 55 accredited observers who observed 34 polling stations in 29 islands across 19
ANFREL, Asia Democracy Network (ADN) and the Migrant Forum in Asia are holding a stakeholders' strategic conversation on migrant workers' franchise rights on 22 April 2021, at 2-4 p.m. (Manila time) via online meeting platform Zoom. Invited panelists are Ellene Sana, executive director of Center for Migrant Advocacy in the Philippines, Wahyu
Described as a “fight to death” between a kobra and a mongoose, the struggle to topple the military junta and restore democracy in Myanmar have been relentless as people from different walks of life stage peaceful protest actions around the country. The military junta, however, has responded to the peaceful protests with
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
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
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)
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 Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) is hosting a webinar on 1 December 2020, Tuesday 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
ANFREL member in Pakistan, the Free and Fair Election Network (FAFEN), released the preliminary election observation report of the Gilgit-Baltistan Assembly elections held on 15 November 2020. FAFEN said the Election Day was largely peaceful with no major incidents of violence reported from anywhere in the region throughout the day. E-Day was
First published on PACE's website on 1 November 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic has hugely affected the campaign period in Myanmar, according to the preliminary report of the election observation of the People's Alliance for Credible Elections - PACE. In Yangon and Rakhine where the stay-at-home order was enforced in the entire region
Press Release Yangon, Myanmar 29 October 2020 The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) formally launched its international election observation mission to the 2020 Myanmar General Elections with the deployment of 13 long-term observers (LTOs) on 26 October 2020. As the country is set to hold its general elections on 8 November
First published on CMEV's website on 5 October 2020. ANFREL member in Sri Lanka, Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), designed and published a booklet providing a glimpse into the nature of reporting carried out by mainstream newspapers during the election period in the country. CMEV said the media is a stakeholder
The level of interest in politics is on a downward trend since 2015, according to a pre-election survey the People's Alliance for Credible Elections (PACE) conducted. The survey was conducted between August 3 to 5, 2020 with a total of 2,577 interviews across the country. PACE noted that they were not able
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) continues to engage various stakeholders in Asia, especially in Sri Lanka and Myanmar, during the third quarter of 2020. ANFREL released the report of its assessment of the 2020 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election held on 5 August 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (The report can
First published on NAMFREL's Facebook Page on 25 September 2020. NAMFREL today emphasized the importance of holding the 2022 elections as scheduled, as mandated by the Philippine Constitution, despite the pandemic. This is in response to Pampanga 2nd District Rep. Mikey Arroyo's suggestion for the Comelec to consider postponing the 2022 elections.
Elections during the COVID-19 pandemic can succeed when election stakeholders cooperate among each other, said panelists of the ANFREL webinar on COVID-19 and the 2020 General Elections in Myanmar. Mr. Kyaw Htin of the New Myanmar Foundation said stakeholders need to cooperate among each other and share information. He said transparency on
The Asian Network for Free Election (ANFREL) conducted a media observation training for the Myanmar Network Organization for Free and Fair Elections (MYNFREL) from 8 to 9 September 2020. The Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) shared their experience observing the media coverage of the 2015 General Elections and 2019 Presidential Election in
The Asian Network for Free Election (ANFREL) is organizing a webinar on COVID-19 and the General Election in Myanmar this Monday, 14 September 2020, at 4 p.m. (Yangon Time).* The 2020 Myanmar General Election is being conducted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. While some countries have postponed their scheduled elections this year due
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) released its assessment report of the 2020 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Elections providing insights on the conduct of elections amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 16,263,885 eligible voters were invited to cast their votes on 5 August 2020 for the parliamentary elections organized with certain
The media and its role to inform the public and scrutinize the electoral processes are important during elections, said a panel during the 8th Conference on Media Development in Myanmar, yesterday, 24 August 2020. The Asian Network for Free Elections - ANFREL was one of the panelists of the plenary session on
First published on the website of PACE on 24 August 2020. The Union Election Commission stated that it will grant accreditation letter to PACE (People’s Alliance for Credible Elections) only after PACE has been registered under Association Registration Law, even though it stated earlier that accreditation for election observation in 2020 General
The National Election Observation Committee (NEOC) released their public perception survey on electoral risks management in Nepal. The two-month long survey was done from 1 June to 31 July 2019 using a questionnaire containing at least 40 questions to measure various risk factors that may have compromised electoral credibility in the past.
NAMFREL Press Statement, August 18, 2020 The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) welcomes the decision of the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to resume the registration of voters for the 2022 elections on September 1 nationwide, except in areas under Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ) or Modified ECQ. NAMFREL also commends the
In the second part of the ANFREL Webinar Series, election monitoring groups in Myanmar encouraged voters to participate in the electoral process. Amid calls for "no vote", Daw Mya Nandar Thin of the New Myanmar Foundation (NMF) said democracy in Myanmar is very young and that the country is still under democratic
First published on the website of PACE on 13 August 2020. Press Statement – Restrictions on Observation PACE Concerned that Restrictions on Domestic Election Observation of 2020 General Elections will Decrease the Transparency and Credibility of the Election 13 August 2020, Yangon The Union Election Commission (UEC) has responded to the application
