· February, 2006

Stories about Elections from February, 2006

Belarus: Elections and the Atmosphere of Fear

  28 February 2006

Tobias Ljungvall writes about the beginning of the election campaign in Belarus, the backlash against the opposition, and the atmosphere of fear reported by Gunnel Arbin, a Swedish journalist who has recently traveled to Belarus. Among the scare techniques used by the regime is a new article in the criminal...

Ukraine: Pre-Election Observations

  28 February 2006

Less than a month before the election, Oleksandr of Messages From Canada assesses Ukraine's major political parties’ presense on the Web and their platforms: he's unsatisfied and bored with what he learns. LEvko at Foreign Notes discusses campaigning styles of the three major parties and predicts an increasing support for...

Peru: Reliabiligy of Peruvian Polling

  28 February 2006

Fabiola Bazo has a pdf file of the latest national poll just five weeks before Peruvians elect a new president. Un Lobo en Perú points out that “in the recent past, opinion polls have proven to be notoriously bad guides to electoral behaviour.”

Singapore: Missing Singaporeans

  28 February 2006

Littlespeck.com wonders where are all the missing Singaporeans. The number of new registered voters has risen slowly, despite a rising population, leading to the conclusion that many Singaporeans are going overseas to work, study or do business.

Ukraine: Party of Putin's Politics

  27 February 2006

Scott W. Clark of Foreign Notes writes about some Ukrainian parties competing in this year's parliamentary race; among them is the Party of Putin's Politics (Neeka's Backlog has more on it) and the Pensioners’ Party.

Jamaica: First Female Prime Minister

  27 February 2006

Continuing the global trend of more female heads of state, Portia Simpson-Miller won elections to become the first female party leader and Prime Minister in Jamaica's history. Although not his first choice, Leon Robinson says of Simpson-Miller: “she can cross party lines, she has a humble attitude, she's spiritual and...

Uganda: Museveni wins

  27 February 2006

Jewels in the Jungle reports on the Ugandan elections won by Yoweri Museveni and writes “Museveni's win leaves Western donors in a dilemma. Unhappy that the constitution was changed to allow him to run for a third term, they were further infuriated by the brief detention of Besigye prior to...

Lone Haiti-Based Haitian Blogger on Recent Haitian Elections

  26 February 2006

Yon Ayisyen, the sole Haiti-based Haitian blogger complains (FR) that he does not have an internet connection at home. But that has not stopped him from blogging regularly if not always promptly about the recent presidential elections. Special Rules for Favored Candidate? Riots over the possibility of a runoff in...

Mexico, El Salvador, Peru, Brazil: Poll Numbers

  24 February 2006

Boz has released his now infamous Friday poll numbers from around Latin America. Tim Muth breaks down the numbers in El Salvador which show the two main parties, FMLN and ARENA running neck to neck. Jon at PostHegemony gives more background context to the differences between the FMLN and ARENA.

Bolivia: The “Sound Mobile”

  23 February 2006

Eduardo Ávila has posted a video of his friend, Miguel campaigning in Quechua via a giant speaker attached to the roof of his car in the outskirts of Cochabamba. Ávila has also posted a picture of what he calls the “Sound Mobile:” a minivan equipped with booming speakers to get...

Ghana: Voting rights to Diasporans

  23 February 2006

The Trials and Tribulations of a Freshly Arrived Denizen comments on demonstrations in Accra, Ghana over the “ Representation of the People's Amendment Bill” which he says would “in effect, give voting rights to those Ghanaian residents overseas”

Ukraine: Minor Violence Reported

  22 February 2006

LEvko of Foreign Notes reports several “worrying violent incidents,” which may or may not be related to the upcoming election: the National State Tax Service Academy in Irpen has been stormed, a journalist in Donetsk attacked, and a news agency office in Lviv gutted.