Stories about Elections from August, 2008
Ecuador: Abortion a Controversial Topic in New Constitution
In a deeply religious country like Ecuador, the topic of a woman's right to choose an abortion is of concern and may determine some voters' decision in the upcoming Constitutional Referendum. Bloggers provide some views about how this controversial topic is seen by the country.
Bangladesh: Palin and the US
Mash writes on the Sarah Palin being chosen as the running mate for McCain and feels that something doesn't quite fit.
Zambia: A costly constitutional blunder
Cho identifies a costly constitutional blunder in Zambia: “A simple requirement in the constitution to have a presidential running mate would have saved Zambia (and its donor partners) a staggering $70m dollars – that is the estimated administrative cost of the upcoming bye-elections.”
Zimbabwe: Dirty Politics
Dirty, dirty politics in Zimbabwe: The MDC has unearthed a plot by the Attorney General’s office and members of the Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) to secure convictions against MDC MPs in a bid to reverse the MDC majority in Parliament.
Iran: Muslim Bloggers and election
The Muslim Bloggers Association, a very dynamic group of Islamist bloggers in Iran announced[Fa] that five members of its central committee were elected. You can watch several photos of their meeting and election here.
Bangladesh: Obama and America
Mash reacts to Obama's speech and his nomination as the Presidential candidate.
Barbados: Obama's Speech
Barbados Underground says that Barack Obama “delivered a high impact speech” at the Democratic National Convention, while Bajan Global Report refers to a story that claims Barbados’ Prime Minister “is…the only high ranking Caribbean official invited to witness the historic first embrace of an African-American as Presidential candidate for a...
Brazil: I want to live in Second Life
Wanderley Filho [pt] compares, ironically, Brazilian politicians achievements to life on Second Life: a parallel world. “The election air time on TV is a balm to comfort those citizens who imagined that their past elected governments had not done any work for the past 4 years. In a few minutes...
Angola: Media shut up – again?
Eugénio Costa Almeida [pt] is again puzzled by the disappearence of another news portal in Angola, Correio Digital, which displays a “temporarily suspended” error: “What is going on? And this is the second time this happens in a few months. It's an eventual effect of this independent news portal's too...
Zimbabwe: A new day for parliament?
Ethan discusses the latest political events in Zimbabwe, “Once you’ve thrown an election, the preferred next step is to return matters to normalcy, dissipating the anger of those who opposed you by making your leadership appear routine and inevitable. That’s been Robert Mugabe’s plan in Zimbabwe.”
Zambia: Zambia's Kingmakers
Following the death of Zambian President, Levy Mwanawasa, Zambian Economist produces a list of kingmakers in the country.
Hong Kong: Election Poll
ESWN writes an article discussing about the potential errors in the legco election polls.
Angola: The president's birthday party or an election stunt?
Edmundo Galiza Matos [pt] comments on the Angola President José Eduardo dos Santos’ 66th birthday party this Sunday 31th, which according to the blogger is just an election stunt. “Two names of Angolan music, acting and living outside their country for alleged spiritual and political “sufferings” have rushed back to...
Hong Kong: Long Hair
Both Sin bin and DM said that they would vote for Long Hair in the coming Legco election.
Anwar Ibrahim back in Parliament
Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will become Member of Parliament again after winning in a recent election. No Kacau, Don't Kacau sees a better political landscape for Malaysia.
Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Michelle Did Well
Trinidadian blogger Afrobella is a “great admirer of Michelle Obama” and thinks she nailed her speech at the Democratic National Convention, calling it “poignant and resonant”.
Brazil: An Olympic balance
For a country whose best record was its 15th place in Athens last time, Brazil's 23th medal table position in the Beijing Olympics, with only 3 gold medals was not an extraordinary defeat - however, from newspapers to blogs, the general feeling is that of disappointment. Here are some reactions from the blogosphere.
Brazil: Funny videos educate people about voting
Leonardo Fontes [pt] is having fun creativity of the lastest TV campaigns in Brazil to raise awareness about the importance of voting. “I can't remember having seen such a good humorous, non sense series linked to politics”. You can see the ads in Portuguese on his blog.
Angola: Election campaing is still lukewarm
Two weeks for Angolans to vote, there are “small incidents, fortunately most of them only verbal [incidents], to try to heat up an otherwise lukewarm campaigning that seems to be like the weather, very cold”, reports Jotacê Carranca [pt].
Georgia: McCain Benefits?
Nazarian says that the real winner in the war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia might be U.S. presidential candidate John McCain. The blogger also believes a new Cold War is in the making.
El Salvador: The Strategy of Fear in the Presidential Elections
Hunnapuh [es] compares the current FMLN candidate for the Salvadoran presidency, Mauricio Funes, with the late Shafick Handall and how the rival party used the strategy of fear to defeat the candidate and would seek to do the same with Funes.
