· December, 2012

Stories about Elections from December, 2012

Opposition NPP Takes Ghana Presidential Election Results to Court

The largest opposition party in Ghana, NPP, has refused to accept the presidential election results. On 9 December 2012, the Electoral Commission declared President Mahama winner by 50.70% of the votes, beating his main challenger Nana Akufo-Addo of the NPP. NPP formally filed a petition at the Supreme Court on 28 December, 2012.

29 December 2012

Former Dictator's Daughter Elected As President of South Korea

On December 19, 2012, Park Geun-hye was elected as the next President of South Korea. She is from the ruling conservative Saenuri party and daughter of the former dictator Park Chung-hee. Despite Park's feat in being elected as the first woman president in a largely patriarchal society, young progressives and activists are strongly opposed to Park.

20 December 2012

Caribbean: What Happened in 2012 (Part 1)

This year, events in the regional blogosphere were curiously bookended by hunger strikes. Part 1 of this 2012 recap takes a look at the topics that most shaped online discussion in the Bahamian, Cuban and French-speaking Caribbean blogospheres.

19 December 2012

Catalonia: Independence from Spain to Do What?

It appears that Catalonia is now set to hold a referendum on its ties to the rest of Spain. Could an independent Catalonia lead to the break-up of the establishment dynamics that have dominated Spain since the late-1970s? The optimists believe so.

17 December 2012

In Egypt, the Silent Majority is Still Silent

Egyptians went to the polls to vote on a new constitution, being pushed for and supported by president Mohamed Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood Freedom and Justice Party. The first round shows that about 57 per cent of the voters are in support of the constitution, despite concerns from civil society and the opposition that the new constitution, shaped by Islamists, aims to limit freedoms, cement the role of the military, and the further the Islamisation of Egypt. The second round of this two-stage referendum takes place on Saturday.

17 December 2012

#Nimeregister Campaign to Promote Voter Registration in Kenya

As the deadline for voter registration exericise approaches, Kenyans on Twitter are using #nimeregister hashtag to encourage each other to vote and share voter registration information, experiences and photos. Nimeregister is a combination of Swahili and English, which means "I have registered."

14 December 2012

Egypt: “Which Article of the Constitution Are You Objecting?”

Recent events in Egypt demonstrate the deepening rift between the ruling Muslim Brotherhood (MB) and an increasing proportion of the population. Rayna St is bringing us up-to-date with the situation on the ground days ahead of a referendum on a controversial constitution.

11 December 2012

Ghana Election 2012, From the Ballot Box

Ghanaian voters went to the polls today to elect a new president and parliament. The main presidential contenders are the current president John Dramani Mahama representing the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) and Nana Akufo-Addo of the main opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP).

7 December 2012