Stories about Elections from May, 2011
Twitter monitor of Thailand election
The twitter account @ThaiElection11 provides English news updates about the July 3 general election in Thailand. The news source is from The Nation, a leading broadsheet in Bangkok.
Guatemala: Voters Register for Upcoming Elections
Antigua Daily Photo posts a picture of a registration booth in City Hall in Antigua, Guatemala: “This is an election year in Guatemala and the Tribunal Supremo Electoral (TSE) is rushing to get all potential voters registered and updated.”
China: Netizens Declare Candidacy In Upcoming Elections
Their chances may not be good, but a small and growing number of Internet celebrities and microbloggers have decided to run in grassroots elections this coming September in constituencies around the country.
Peruvians Say No to Fujimori in ‘March for dignity, Fujimori never again! #26m’
Global Voices author and Spanish Translation Manager Juan Arellano is updating a Storify post [es] on the developments of “March for dignity, Fujimori never again! #26m” taking place in Lima right now, on May 26. Protesters have mobilized to show their rejection of ‘fujimorismo’ and their discontent with the possible...
Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago: FIFA Disciplinary Hearing
B.C. Pires says that the most recent corruption allegation against FIFA vice-president Jack Warner “looks for Jack like it did for Tony walking into that diner in the last episode of the Sopranos; but…it seems more likely Jack will emerge from Sunday’s disciplinary hearing, not in a hail of bullets,...
Thailand’s First Female Prime Minister?
Yingluck Shinawatra, who is the sister of deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra, has emerged in the past week as a popular candidate in the coming July election in Thailand. She could be Thailand’s first female Prime Minister.
El Salvador: Poll Results Show 65% Approval for President Funes
In Central American Politics, Mike points out that although May poll numbers show “65% of San Salvador's residents approve of the job that [President Mauricio Funes] is doing” his party, the FMLN, is not doing as well.
Barbados: Code of Ethics for Elected Officials
The irony of the acting Prime Minister “ha[ving] the audacity to lecture the Barbados news media on ethics and the purpose of journalism” in the absence of a “code of ethics for elected and appointed government officials” is not lost on Barbados Free Press.
Macedonia: Raising Awareness of Election Monitoring Techniques from Uganda
An article on bribery and intimidation published in Macedonian and Albanian by the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections in Macedonia mentions the example of Uganda Watch, recommended in two GVO articles.
Argentina: Buenos Aires Mayor Quits Presidential Race
On May 7 Mauricio Macri, current mayor of Buenos Aires, announced he would seek re-election as mayor on July 10 of this year. After weeks of suspense, his decision confirms that he is giving up the October presidential race, prompting several discussions in social media outlets in Argentina.
Peru: Fear in the Election Campaign
Almost 20 days before the date set for the second round of the presidential elections, the electoral campaign has begun to include more than just kissing babies and smiling for photos. In the past weeks, a series of events are showing the polarisation and even radicalisation that has come to surround candidates Keiko Fujimori and Ollanta Humala.
Ecuador: Citizen Reflections on Referendum Results
Ecuador's latest referendum results, which among other things gave President Rafael Correa more powers over the media and the judiciary, sparked a debate about the campaign and prompted reflections by all sectors within Ecuadorian society about the implications of the results.
Thailand: Social media, elections, and politics
Jon Russell writes how politicians in Thailand are using the social media in preparation for the coming elections.
Macedonia: “Very Different Survey Results”
Belatedly, a link to the explanation by Razvigor :-) of why the results of a telephone survey on Macedonian political parties differed significantly from a similar personal in-home survey results.
Guatemala: Presidential Divorce Allows First Lady to Run in Elections
In the blog CARPE DIEM [es], Luis Figueroa describes [es] how the approval of President Colom´s divorce by Guatemalan courts may actually be a “violation of a norm.” The granted divorce now allows his wife, Sandra Torres, to run for the presidency in the upcoming September, 2011 elections.
India: Lessons Learnt In The Assembly Elections
Rajesh Jain at Emergic writes about the lessons learnt after the results of the assembly elections in five Indian states.
World: FIFA Election – House of Knaves or Knights?
Football fans have been treated to some really interesting times in the last few months. The latest is the FIFA election, which comes at a time when one of the most powerful non-governmental bodies in the world has suddenly has started looking vulnerable.
India: Kerala Election Results With A Subtle Warning
As the new seven member state cabinet of Kerala is to be sworn in on Wednesday the 18th of May 2011 there are no obvious signs of celebrations across the ranks. People are fed up of the usual gimmicks of money and muscle power; they are rejecting corruption and speaking up finally for their rights.
Bermuda: New Politics
Bloggers are “energised by the emergence of the One Bermuda Alliance”, saying: “We can’t afford any more ‘professional politicians’ who simply demand respect as our Leaders while wallowing in a constant circus of mismanagement and financial excess.”
China: Another Failed Grassroots Election
A retired worker from Jiangxi province, China, Liu Ping, had decided to run an economic justice campaign in the grassroots level election for her local seat in China's People's Congress. In the process, she and her supporters have been harassed by local police and on May 13, 2011, she was forcibly detained.
Peru: Second Electoral Round in Review
Jacqueline Fowks reviews [es] Peru's presidential elections one month after the first round of voting. Candidates Ollanta Humala (Gana Perú) and Keiko Fujimori (Fuerza 2011) seek to gain voter's support in the second electoral round which will last for another 3 weeks until June 5.
