Stories about Elections from October, 2010
Tanzania: The Opposition Can Win Presidential Election
Chambi Chachage thinks that the opposition can win the presidential election in Tanzania: “It is quite clear that Dr. Wilbrod Slaa’s decision to run as a presidential candidate has tilted the balance of power. Now the debate is no longer about whether the ruling party’s candidate will get a landslide...
Kyrgyzstan: Parties Get Down to Coalition-Building
With no clear winner in Kyrgyzstan’s parliamentary election, the five parties that gained seats have immediately plunged into a race to build a ruling coalition with the right to choose the next prime minister, Dina Tokbaeva writes.
Kyrgyzstan: Assassination or provocation attempt?
Marat Sartpaev writes about the post-electoral scandal in Kyrgyzstan as the currently leading parliamentary party’s member said he was allegedly attacked by “the armed spec-op officers”, who, though, were “defeated” by unarmed guards at his house.
Cote d'Ivoire: Reports of Violence as Elections Approach
West Africa researcher for Human Rights Watch Corinne Dufka says:”While politicians and foreign diplomats have wrangled over election preparations, residents in western Côte d'Ivoire are consumed by fear of violent robbery or of being pulled from a bus and raped.” NGO Akendewa has set up a citizen reporting platform to...
Cameroon: Cameroonian Blogs Roundup
We begin our roundup of Cameroonian blogs with Dibussi Tande who takes us the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda in Arusha, Tanzania. He discusses the myriad challenges facing the tribunal- specifically the charge that the court dispenses winners’ justice. The ICTR, he argues, means different things to different people: The...
Azerbaijan: Free Expression under Attack
Global Voices Advocacy features a guest post from Rebecca Vincent, Article 19's Advocacy Assistant for Azerbaijan. The post details the situation with freedom of expression in the oil-rich former Soviet republic and the case of imprisoned video blogging youth activist Adnan Hajizade.
Brazil: Jose Serra ‘struck’ by paper ball
Earlier this week, Brazilian presidential candidate Jose Serra was struck by a ball of paper during a rally in Rio de Janeiro. Eduardo Guimarães at Blog da Cidadania [pt] has accused mainstream media outlets of representing Serra as a “victim” at the hands of the ruling party (PT), and laments...
Tanzania: Be Part of a National Election Monitoring Exercise
Ben asks Tanzanians to be part of a national election monitoring exercise: “Ushahidi comes to Tanzania! It comes in the form of uchaguzi.or.tz, implemented by TACCEO, a group of 16 Tanzanian civil society organizations that have partnered for election monitoring, with assistance from Hivos.”
Tanzania: Follow #uchaguzitz on Twitter
Presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in Tanzania on 31 October 2010. Follow Tanzania election-related tweets here.
D.R. of Congo/Guinea: Guinean Presidential Electoral Campaign in Kinshasa flyer for
What are flyers for Guinean presidential candidate doing in Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo?: “Yesterday evening, I couldn't believe it when I saw a campaign flyer for Guinean presidential candidate Alpha Condé in a shoe store owned by “Ndingaris”–as all West Africans are called here–at the bustling neighborhood...
Brazil: ten days of media fury
Over the next ten days, political blogger Eduardo Guimarães at Blog da Cidadania [pt] will chart the tumultuous role played by Brazilian mainstream media in swaying voters’ choices, as the 31st October date for the second round of presidential elections draws nearer.
Azerbaijan: Visa restrictions ahead of parliamentary vote
Back in a Bit confirms that new visa restrictions on foreigners wishing to visit Azerbaijan are now in place, and ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for 7 November. Having arrived at the airport in the oil-rich country's capital, Baku, without a visa and with no warning from even the airline,...
Jordan: Rules for Elections
JanMania proposes five rules for the Jordanian parliamentary elections.
Haiti: Upcoming Elections
“The November 28th elections are supposed to provide a beacon of hope for Haiti. Unfortunately, flawed and undemocratic elections which exclude large groups of essential Haitian stakeholders will kill this hope”: Wadner Pierre republishes a post about “whether unfair and exclusionary elections would be beneficiary for the country.”
Tanzania: Running for Office While Combining Kangas With Social Media
Danish blogger Pernille Bærendtsen looks at the use of traditional elements and social media in Tanzania election campaigns focusing on Zitto Kabwe, the parliamentary candidate for Kigoma North. Her post is titled "Running for Office (While Combining Kangas and Social Media). Kanga is a piece of printed cotton fabric worn by women and occasionally by men throughout Eastern Africa.
Cote d'Ivoire: A UN Seminar on Election Monitoring for Diplomats and International Observers
The UN Mission in Cote d'Ivoire announced that it held a two-day seminar (Oct 12-13) on election monitoring for diplomats and international observers in preparation for the elections [fr].
Brazil: Magazine censored by opposition party
The magazine Revista do Brasil, produced by the Rede Brasil Atual, has been censored by the opposition party, PSDB and its candidate, José Serra, for allegedly campaigning in favour of rival candidate Dilma Rousseff, informs [pt] Conceição Oliveira, in her blog, Maria Frô. Rede released [pt] a note repudiating the opposition's...
Slovenia: Elections in Ljubljana and Piran
Sleeping With Pengovsky reviews the results of the election in Ljubljana – here and here; Adventures in Wheelville writes about a Ghanaian doctor and politician Peter Bossman, who is running for mayor of the town of Piran.
Czech Republic: Local Elections
An update on the Czech local elections – at Dr. Sean's Diary.
Latvia: More on the Election Results
A note on the results of the Oct. 2 elections in Latvia – at Baltic.
Kyrgyzstan: Elections, a view from within
neweurasia’s Bermet toured 12 polling stations in Kyrgyzstan to observe the balloting procedure and shares impressions of what many experts say were the nation’s most important elections since independence.
