Stories about Elections from July, 2006
DRC: As Elections Approach, the Congo's Bloggers Discuss Recent Violence, Media Repression and the Limits of Foreign Aid
With the July 30th elections just days away, many pro-opposition Congolese bloggers remain deeply cynical about the prospects of a free, fair and peaceful electoral process. Violent repression of opposition demonstrations and the killing of several journalists in the last few months have left many wondering whether, even if successful,...
Mexico: Unresolved and Forgotten Elections
Ceci Connolly says that the public at large is starting to lose interest in Mexico's unresolved election. Ana Maria Salazar claims that a recent interview in the New York Times shows that Lopez Obrador is trying to change his image abroad. And political pundit “Enigma” tries to dissect “the fall...
Philippines: State of the Nation Address
Manuel L. Quezon III in Manila does an excellent roundup of Filipino blogger's reaction to the President's State of the Nation address.
DRC: Demonstrations Leading Up to Election
Opposition party blog UDPS Liege announces an intensification of peaceful protests in the capital Kinshasa leading up to the July 30 election. Protests are planned for July 25, 27, 28 and 30.
Ukraine: Politics and Bribes
Orange Ukraine and Vilhelm Konnander discuss the political situation in Ukraine. Petro's Jotter and Foreign Notes write about corruption of the country's leading politicians.
Bosnia and Herzegovina: Worrying Political Developments
T K Vogel of East Ethnia writes about “worrying” political developments taking place in Bosnia.
Mexico: The Never-ending Election
Alina Rocha Menocal says that “if there is no vote-by-vote recount, the next president risks being haunted by the unfinished business of 2006 throughout his term in office and further alienating an already polarised citizenry.” Boz's Friday poll numbers, however, reveal that “60% [of Mexicans] believe that a full recount...
Guyana: Election date announced
Following the announcement that a long-anticipated general election will be held in Guyana on 28 August, Demeraralighthouse analyses the election strategies of the country's two major political parties, while Living Guyana predicts a violent election season: “all de nastiness an’ de madness now start”.
Ukraine: Maidan, Again, Sort Of
Kyiv, Independence Square: “President Kuchma – shame, Yushchenko – the nation's disappointment. Moroz – betrayed the Maidan!” – by Veronica Khokhlova Nearly two years after the Orange Revolution, there are tents at Kyiv's Independence Square (Maidan Nezalezhnosti) again. The camp isn't big, and it looks dormant for now, but as...
Belarus: KGB Letter
TOL's Belarus Blog posts an approximate translation of a letter allegedly written by a group of Belarus KGB officers, which contains “revelations about what happened during the presidential elections and in its aftermath. Not a lot of new information – but the very attempt to drag attention to such anonymous...
Mexico: Election Update
Various election updates from the usual suspects. Mark in Mexico is shocked that only half a percent of Mexicans living in the United States voted by absentee ballots. Ceci Connolly says López Obrador might have a few surprises in store. And Ana Maria Salazar has her usual rundown of the...
Hong Kong: Anson Chan
After the July 1 rally, Anson Chan continued to promote democratic reform in Hong Kong. T-salon puts together her speech on discourses on Hong Kong's Democracy and Financial Times comment on her recent move.
Armenia: Armenian Style Elections
Nessuna links to a video about elections the Armenian way. She reports that those who made the short film were instructed not to make anymore such videos if they wished to graduate from their university.
DRC: Police Repression at July 11th Demo
Le Blog du Congolais writes (Fr):” Kinshasa, June 3oth Boulevard, Tuesday July 11th 2006. The Congolese police, trained and equipped by the European Union, unleashed itself against the 19 presidential candidates to the July 30 elections and the demonstrators of the Front to Defend the Congo (FDC) led by UDPS....
Ukraine: Old Faces, New Positions
Abdymok updates Ukrainian ‘who is who in politics’ list – old names, new positions. He writes: “there is no point theorizing about coalition configurations and broad coalitions when criminals and political thugs [read: yanukovych, azarov, pyskun, kivalov, dziha, moroz, symonenko, etc.] are running the show.” And: “if the president decides...
Serbia: Government Changes
Doug Muir of A Fistful of Euros writes about changes in the Serbian government looming ahead: “So, elections in Serbia, probably this autumn, almost certainly by early next year.”
Mexico: The Neverending Election
Professor Matthew Shugart posts an excerpt of his interview with Mexico Watch on the Mexican elections. Professor Michelle Dion is skeptical of a “statistical analysis of the 2000 election votes in Mexico.” Mark in Mexico says that things aren't looking good for Lopez Obrador in the case of a recount....
Mexico: AMLO vs. Al Gore
Like many others, Wave Making compares this year's election in Mexico with the contested 2000 election in the United States. (Also available in Spanish) Ana Maria Salazar has another thorough summary of the day's news in Mexico.
Mexico: Election Update
Ceci Connolly has a thorough update on the state of Mexico's contested election including a recent poll which found that “about 60 percent of Mexicans do not think there should be a recount, while 37 percent believe one should be conducted.” Ana Maria Salazar has a more general update of...
Slovakia: Ruling Coalition
Doug Muir of A Fistful of Euros writes about Slovakia's new government: “It is rather, well, nationalist socialist.”
Voices from Zimbabwe and the Great Lakes
Zimbabwe: Zimbabwe's blogosphere has virtually been deflated by threats of new legislation allowing government to surreptitiously spy on people's cyber activities. Their numerous voices have been silenced leaving a marked void in the chronicling of the one the world's worst crises. Please keep this troubled nation's valiant bloggers in your...