Over 200 electoral stakeholders representing Asian election management bodies (EMBs), election observer groups, think tanks, among others, are gathering in Kathmandu, Nepal from 6 to 7 December 2023 for the sixth Asian Electoral Stakeholder Forum (AESF-VI). The Election Commission, Nepal (ECN) and the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) are co-hosting AESF-VI,
Between 13 and 26 November in Bangladesh, a series of significant political events unfolded, including the announcement of the election schedule for the upcoming election, reflecting the country's tense and dynamic political climate. The period began with the police filing a case against two deceased BNP leaders for violence on October 29.1
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) congratulates the Unity Government for some of the institutional reforms carried out in its first year and urges for more as promised by the respective coalitions and parties in the government, in particularly Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional. We opined that a post-election coalition
In recent events in Bangladesh, the political landscape has been marked by escalating tensions and crackdowns between the ruling Awami League (AL) and opposition parties, primarily the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). The AL has pledged to resist what it perceives as 'anarchy' instigated by the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.1 Meanwhile, the Election Commission
October 30, 2023, Quezon City. The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) continues to observe election day processes focusing on Accountability issues of vote buying, abuse of state resources, and election-related violence. For this 2023 BSKE, we saw how impactful COMELEC's aggressive campaign against election law violators vis-a-vis candidates' compliance with election
October 30, 2023, Quezon City. The Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) continues to observe election day processes, with particular focus on the voting experiences of Persons with Disability (PWD), Older Persons (OP), Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDL), and Indigenous Peoples (IPs). Voting of Persons with Disability, Older Persons, and Heavily pregnant
NAMFREL Bantay ng Bayan UPDATE #1October 30, 2023, 12:30pm The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) released its preliminary observations on the conduct of the October 30, 2023 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan Elections (BSKE). NAMFREL has been accredited by the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) as citizens' arm for the 2023 BSKE,
October 30, 2023, Quezon City. As early as 4:00 AM, the Legal Network for Truthful Election's 1,000 election observers nationwide proceeded to their assigned voting centers to observe the preliminaries to voting, the opening of polls, and the implementation of COMELEC innovations. Early Voting in Naga City & Muntinlupa City In Naga
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) filed a submission to the United Nations Human Rights Council on the situation in Cambodia ahead of the 46th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group. ANFREL's submission is based on the pre-election assessment missions it conducted during the 2022 Commune and Sangkat
October 18, 2023, Quezon City. Since 28 August 2023, the Legal Network for Truthful Elections (LENTE) has been monitoring electoral activities for the upcoming Barangay and SK Elections (BSKE). This is a component of a pioneering initiative to analyze how incumbent officials use state resources for their electoral advantage, affecting the standard
On 20 September 2023, the People’s Majlis passed a resolution to direct the Elections Commission to hold a public referendum by 30 October 2023, on changing the existing system of government. The resolution was approved by 35 members, following the approval of the resolution by the Committee of the Whole House. Following
15 September 2023, Quezon City. LENTE strongly urges the public to be vigilant of the politicization of programs and other social welfare services in view of the COMELEC’s recent decision to exempt DOLE and DSWD programs from poll spending ban. These programs, based on LENTE’s on-going in-depth research and monitoring, have historically
Transparency Maldives, in their interim statement on the 2023 Presidential Election, said the Election day processes went well but expressed some concerns about the election environment especially on abuse of state resources. Election Day The report indicated that the Election Day administration was well managed by the Elections Commission (EC). The opening
Transparency Maldives said in their initial observation statements that the 2023 Maldivian Presidential Election was generally peaceful and orderly. The opening procedure at polling stations went well with all polling stations open by 9 a.m. and 85% of polling stations open within the first 10 minutes of the required opening time. The
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) and co-host Election Commission, Nepal have decided to move the sixth Asian Electoral Stakeholder Forum (AESF-VI) to 6-7 December 2023 in light of two big cultural and traditional events in Nepal. AESF-VI was first announced to be held on from 6-7 November 2023. Still in
The Speaker announces to the Parliament the Supreme Court decision on the petition against the amendment proposed to the Local Government Ordinance by Jayantha Katagoda MP. Today (8th August), the Speaker announced to the parliament the decision of the Supreme Court on the petition filed by PAFFREL and several other parties against
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Election (BERSIH), together with Astro Awani, is pleased to launch the #VoteLokal campaign for the upcoming six state elections (6PRN). The primary goal of the campaign is to raise voters turnout for the state elections. Historical data of state elections that are not held in conjunction
With the budget process for the 2025 Automated Election System (AES) scheduled to begin in July 2023 and procurement by 2024, the undersigned stakeholders call on the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) to adopt for the 2025 Automated Election System (AES) the standards of transparency, cost-effectiveness, accessibility and inclusivity,reliability, security, safety, and fairness,
The Asian Network for Free Elections said in their final comprehensive observation report on the 2023 Timor-Leste Parliamentary Elections that the polls were marked by peace, genuineness and transparency. ANFREL said the elections were participated by several political parties and saw a vibrant and peaceful election campaign environment with only a few
ANFREL released its interim statement and report on the 2023 Thai General Election and 2023 Timor-Leste Parliamentary Elections while ANFREL member organizations selected a new set of officers and members to the ANFREL Executive Council during the second quarter of 2023. ANFREL conducted international election observation missions to the recently concluded elections
ANFREL released its pre-election assessment mission report on the 2023 Cambodian General Election on 5 July 2023. ANFREL found that the elections scheduled for 23 July 2023 in Cambodia will continue to fall short of being free and fair. Read the executive summary of the report below: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Asian Network
Human rights advocacy groups are hosting a panel discussion about the 2023 Cambodian General Election on Wednesday, 5 July 2023. The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL), Human Rights Watch (HRW), International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and FORUM-ASIA will discuss the human rights and democracy challenges ahead of the general election in
Since May 2022, LENTE pushed for the conduct of the supposed December 2022 Barangay and SK Election (BSKE) and continuously stood firm against its postponement. LENTE welcomes the decision of the Supreme Court declaring Republic Act No. 11935* unconstitutional as well as the guidelines set by the court on future postponement of
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) welcomed a new batch of interns from Taiwan and Myanmar. Three students of the Department of Global Politics and Economics in Tamkang University will be with ANFREL for a month as interns under the Global Service Internship Program while an international relations and development student
Transparency Maldives released their findings of the pre-election interim assessment of the 2023 presidential election. The election is scheduled for 9 September 2023. Transparency Maldives (TM) is a non-partisan, non-governmental and non-profit organization. It has been the main domestic Elections Observer Group since 2008. Prior to fielding its nation-wide observation, TM conducts
The People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) and the March 12 Movement launched a social media competition in Sri Lanka which seeks to "create an online space for people's voiced on democracy to be heard." The "Democracy In Our Language" social media competition invited the public to create and share
The National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL) gathered over 90 represetatives of civil society organizations, the academe, political parties, electoral reform advocates and the media on 26 May 2023 to discuss how to enhance the automated election system (AES) for the 2025 national and local elections in the Philippines. The NAMFREL
The Coalition for Clean and Fair Elections (BERSIH) calls on the Election Commission (EC) to immediately allow eligible voters to apply as postal voters for the upcoming state elections, namely Kedah, Kelantan, Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Terengganu. The EC need not wait until all the states have dissolved their respective state
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) members selected a new set of Executive Council officers and members during the General Assembly held in Bangkok, Thailand on 18 May 2023. The following are the new officers and members of the ANFREL Executive Council who will serve a three-year term: • Chairperson: Rohana
The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) deployed five international election observers in Timor-Leste to monitor the 2023 Parliamentary Elections. The election observers have been interviewing various stakeholders and observing election-related activities including preparations and campaign rallies. On Election Day, 21 May 2023, ANFREL will observe polling and vote tabulation processes. This