Stories about Elections from May, 2011
Singapore: Changed political landscape
Catherine Lim explains why Singapore's political landscape has changed despite the victory of the ruling party in the recent general elections.
India: 34 Years of Communist Rule Ends in West Bengal
West Bengal today witnessed history in the making when the Indian state's 34 year long Communist rule was ousted from power by Mamata Banerje - leader of the All India Trinamool Congress. Netizens react to this landslide victory.
Russia: New Online Electoral Statistics Database Launched
Russian domestic election monitoring group Golos.org has launched an on-line database of electoral statistics stat.golos.org [ru] that contains official data from more than 36 thousand elections of different levels held in Russia since 2003. Golos members noted [ru] that the database greatly eases the access to Russian electoral statistics.
Peru: The Media's Role During the Presidential Elections
Ibis Liulla at CiComunica asks [es]: “How can the media help citizens make an informed vote, if they are polarized and so outrageously biased in favor of a candidate at the expense of the other?” in relation to the Peruvian run-off elections next June.
Jamaica: After “Dudus”
Nearly one year after, Jamaica Salt takes a look at the aftermath of the Christopher “Dudus” Coke extradition.
Russia: “United Russia” Party Targets Social Networks
Pro-government party “United Russia” plans to increase its presence on social networks, popular newspaper Kommersant reported. The party will create a separate group responsible for working with potential voters on social networks.
Ecuador: Voters Back President Correa in 10-Question Referendum
According to the latest results, President Correa's 10 question referendum has passed by a slimmer margin than exit polls first reported. Ecuadorians voted on the 10 questions on Saturday, May 7.
Postscript to Singapore Elections
Singaporeans trooped to the polls last Saturday and re-elected the ruling party which has been in power since 1959. But the opposition also scored some important victories and this generated a lot of reactions in the local blogosphere.
Palestine: Demonstrations Against Occupation, For Unity
In the last several years, West Bank Palestinian villages have seen their land claimed both by Jewish settlements in the West Bank and by the security wall erected by Israel. In villages such as Nabi Saleh, Bi'lin and Ni'lin, village residents have responded by holding weekly nonviolent protests. The week after Hamas and Fatah inked their unity agreement was no exception.
Ecuador: The 10 Questions Ecuadorians Will Vote On
Just the Facts provides an English translation –and explanatory notes– of the 10 questions Ecuadorians will be voting on tomorrow, May 7: “Polls indicate that while awareness of the questions is low, all of them will be approved.”
Guatemala: Rigoberta Menchú to Run for President
Nobel Peace Prize and indigenous activist Rigoberta Menchú will be nominated as the Frente Amplio de Izquierda presidential candidate, according to recent reports [es]. Mike in Central American Politics thinks that “even with the rejuvenated Guatemalan left, it's unlikely that Manchu (or any other left candidate) will impact the outcome of...
Costa Rica: Historical Firsts in May Day Crisis of Headless Congress
On the first of May, for the first time since 1949, the Costa Rican congress was unable to elect new representatives to lead them. And also for the first time in 75 years, because of the headless congress, President Laura Chinchilla was unable to give her yearly review in the May Day speech. Bloggers explain how the situation arose.
Nigeria: Social Media and the 2011 Elections
Pharmacist, journalist, photographer, social networker, poet and fiction writer. Meet Nigerian journalist Tolu Ogunlesi and find out his opinion on social media and his country's recent elections.
Bermuda: Paying for Past Policies
“The Bermuda Government should be sitting on several hundred million dollars of surpluses…instead we're incurring expensive debt which could take more than 10 years to retire”: Bermudian bloggers think the economic and social forecast looks grim.
Singapore: Mainstream Media and elections
MARUAH monitors how mainstream media in Singapore is reporting the General Elections campaign.
Monitoring Singapore elections via Twitter
As Election Day nears, Singapore netizens are using the #sgelections and #ge2011 hashtags to monitor election updates.
South Korea: Surprising Election, as Twitter Draws Youth to Polls
South Korea's ruling Grand National Party suffered a crushing defeat in by-elections on April 27, demonstrating a widespread yearning for change, and to many also heralding the power of Twitter in the political landscape. Many young voters uploaded photos from the polls to prove they have cast a ballot and encourage others to vote.
Singapore: Social Media, Youth, and Elections
Singapore’s youth sector will be a significant source of votes in next week's General Elections. This explains why political parties are also looking to social media to win more votes. Bloggers discuss the role of the youth in influencing the election results
