Stories about Elections from January, 2012
Moldova: Anti-Government Protests Receive Little Endorsement From Netizens
For the past two weeks Moldovans have been out in the streets, protesting. These protests, however, have received very little endorsement from Moldova's online community. Diana Lungu explains why.
Myanmar (Burma): Betwixt and Between
Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Burmese Opposition Leader Aung San Suu Kyi this week addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, urging further support from the international community in Myanmar. Such engagement will be particularly important for refugees and internally displaced people.
Taiwan: 2012 Election Sets Example for Mainland Chinese Democratization
On January 14, Taiwan held its presidential and legislative election. In the wake of the polls, netizens wonder if Taiwan can set an example for the future democratization in mainland China. I-fan Lin reports.
Questions for China’s democracy opponents
David Bandurski from China Media Project introduced a discussion among mainland Chinese public opinion leaders on the Taiwan presidential election and translated a Weibo post which raised a series of questions for China's democracy opponents.
Sierra Leone: Top 5 Revolutionary Election Songs
This is Switmot's list of Sierra Leone’s top 5 revolutionary election songs: “In 10 months Sierra Leoneans will head to the polls to exercise their right to vote…In the last elections, music played an important role in creating political awareness and also to mobilize supporters for the SLPP, and the...
Bermuda: Re-Registering to Vote
Respice Finem contends that the proposal for voter re-registration “seems a not very subtle attempt to take away the vote of working class people.”
Romania: “I, the Citizen”
Street protests in Romania have been going on for over a week now. The protesters are demanding early elections; they do not yet have a leader, but they nevertheless have a powerful voice. Oana Maria Dan reports.
Russia: Community of Election Observers Launched
Creators of popular citizen crowdsourcing projects RosYama and RosPil Alexey Navalny and Georgiy Alburov launch a new project RosVybory [ru], a community of election observers. Users submit their data to the website, then project moderators apply for the necessary observer documents and send registered users to the nearby voting ballots.
Russia: “Mikhail Dmitrievich Prokhorov: An Unpredictable Kremlin Project”
Although some believe the 2012 Russian presidential election's outcome to be pre-scripted, the complexities surrounding Mikhail Prokhorov's candidacy should not be overlooked. Donna Welles reports.
East Timor: Monitoring the 2012 Elections
There are 10 candidates so far in the coming elections in East Timor. Centru Jornalista Investigativu Timor-Leste is one of the media networks monitoring the polls
Liberia: Was the Presidential Oath of Office Taken Improperly?
Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf took the oath of office on January 16, 2012 in Monrovia. One Liberian blogger argues that Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is not Liberia's President because she did not raise her right hand and kiss the Bible while taking the oath as the procedure requires.
Unhappy Hong Kong Envious of Taiwan's Democracy
Having witnessed Taiwan's 2012 presidential election, Derrick Tao, a Hong Kong photographer, made a video (with English subtitles) to contrast democratic development of the two societies. As a prosperous but undemocratic city state, “Hong Kong could either join Taiwan as pioneers of freedom and democracy in the Chinese societies”, or...
Bahamas: A Belief in Democracy
“To date, my country has not put in place anything to serve and build me; to every politician who has served in parliament in the time I have been voting, people like me have been invisible. In our democracy, we do not count”: Hence the reason Blogworld puts forward her...
Russia: Kremlin Crisis Management
Ania Viver of Foreign Policy Blogs posts an interesting analysis on the Kremlin's attempts at calming down popular protests against the Russian leadership, and tries to explain why they fail in their crisis management.
Slovakia: TV Show on Corruption Cancelled
The Slovak public TV channel STV cancelled [sk] a scheduled live talk show on the alleged widespread corruption of 2005-2006 [en], which involved many of the country's past and present politicians. Head of RTVS (Radio and TV Slovakia) said [sk] that broadcasting such a program, produced by an external producer...
Russia: Obama's McFaul Sworn in as U.S. Ambassador
President Obama's closest adviser on affairs of state of the Former Soviet Union and architect of the 'reset' in the U.S.-Russia relations, Michael McFaul, has officially replaced President Bush's appointment as the United States' Ambassador to Russia.
Bolivia: New Judges Face Systemic Challenges
The 56 judges elected during the October 2011 judicial election in Bolivia were sworn in on January 3, 2012. Emily Achtenberg, from the NACLA blog Rebel Currents, writes about the election process and the obstacles the new judges will face.
Russia: Making A Run For It
Andy Young of Siberian Light reports that opposition politicians Mikhail Prokhorov and Grigory Yavlinsky have now collected the two million signatures needed for running for Russia's presidency in the upcoming 4 March elections, and portrays the complexities of collecting signatures in support of a candidacy.
Bahamas: Need for a Voters’ Manifesto
“It’s 2012 and the silly season is officially upon us”: Blogworld notes that “it’s a rare situation this election. For the first time in 35 years, it’s a proper three-way race…[yet] predictably, and unfortunately so, the discussion is progressing the way football hooligans support their favourite teams.”
Russia: Overview of Top RuNet Trends and Events in 2011
At the end of this turbulent and inspiring year, Global Voices RuNet Echo editors present you with the list of events that had a profound impact on the Russian Internet and will serve as important steps in the development of the country's online community.
Russia: Social Networks Mobilise Society
Facebook, the possibility to calculate numbers of protest participants, slogans from the Internet, a wide variety of gadgets - these are four new important factors in the analysis of demonstrations in Russia. Marina Litvinovich reports.
