Stories about Elections from December, 2011
Russia: Anglophone Bloggers Comment on Election and Protests
Kevin Rothrock of A Good Treaty asks eleven Anglophone Russia bloggers to comment on the Dec. 4 parliamentary electionand its aftermath: “The result, I hope readers will agree, is a fruitful diversity of informed opinion from some of the Web’s most prominent and colorful Russia-watchers.” Kevin's own take on the...
D.R. of Congo: Congolese Diaspora Erupts Against Kabila
While the DR of Congo awaits the final tally of the presidential and parliamentary elections, the Congolese Diaspora, although not allowed to vote, has shown its commitment to making its voice heard. Julie Owono reports.
Mozambique: Jubilation with Mayoral Opposition Win
Supporters of opposition mayoral candidate Manuel de Araújo celebrated his victory in by-elections before the official results on Wednesday evening, both on the streets of the central city of Quelimane and Facebook. Araújo is a long-time blogger who led an innovative campaign both online and in real life.
Russia: Analyzing the Possible Scale of Saturday's Election Protests
As the situation with the Russian election results and the country's detained protesters has not yet been resolved, people in many cities are preparing for demonstrations on Saturday 10 December. Alexey Sidorenko analyzes online group demographics and the possible outcome of the protests.
Russia: Second Day of Post-Election Protests
The intrigue of the second day of post-election protests has centered around several major events: court appearances by bloggers Ilya Yashin and Alexey Navalny, a protest demonstration at Triumfalnaya Square, and discussions regarding the Kremlin's soft-power counter-revolution and various means of cyber warfare.
Mozambique: Reasons for Silence of Private TV Channel on Election Day
On a day of important by-elections in Mozambique, journalist José Belmiro, from the private channel STV, announced he would suspend his participation in discussion on Facebook [pt] on the vote for reasons “out of [his] control”. According to a citizen report [pt], during the lunchtime news, STV went off air...
Guyana: Police Versus Protesters
A new president has taken his place at the helm of Guyanese government following the country's recent general elections, but while the incumbent party got re-elected, it also lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in nearly twenty years. In the wake of the postponement of election results, the national mood was edgy, but the violence unexpectedly came after the new president was already sworn into office. A handful of bloggers discuss an incident in which police confronted opposition protesters.
Russia: Kremlin Removes Re-Tweet From Presidential Account
RuNetizens were surprised to see president Medvededv re-tweet a message [ru] with cursing against bloggers. The re-tweet was removed, but Kremlin published an explanation that “illegal engagement with presidential account has been made” and that “those responsible will be punished.” Vedomosti reminded [ru] that recently Medveved had complained he couldn't respond to...
Russia: Election and the “Other Side of the Panopticon”
The protests of recent days in Moscow were triggered by the common feeling of many Russians that the parliamentary election results are not legitimate. Gregory Asmolov analyzes the role of the Internet in exposure of falsifications and the power change between state and citizens in the new information environment.
Mozambique: Realtime by-elections coverage from three cities
Mozambican newspaper @ Verdade is liveblogging mayoral by-elections on Facebook (public) and live-tweeting events in realtime from 3 cities, promoting the hashtag #EleicoesMoz. Voter Pedro Massinga (@Mozi1976) tweeted photos from the polls. @ Verdade is also receiving citizen reports on the voting via SMS, tweet, BBM, and email to its...
D.R. of Congo: Half-Hearted Democracy Promotion
Ben Brockman discusses half-hearted democracy promotion in the Democratic Republic of Congo: “Would the international community seek a power-sharing agreement like in Kenya in 2007 or Zimbabwe in 2008 to quickly end the crisis in the name of stability?”
Bermuda: Polling Season
Politics.bm reports that the governing party is conducting “a robo-poll…testing whether the Premier should go to the polls right after Christmas” and quips: “A better question would have been which politician will you let kiss your ass under the mistletoe? That would sum up the mood of the country better.”
Jamaica: Election Date Set
The Jamaican Prime Minister has announced the date of the country's next general elections; Girl With a Purpose comments: “Interesting days are ahead!” and encourages her compatriots to vote.
DR of Congo: Congolese Citizens Find a Way to Circumvent SMS Ban during Tense Electoral Count
While observers apprehend the post-electoral period as allegations of fraud surface, Congolese citizens have found a way to circumvent the general ban on SMS [fr] that was imposed by the government after violence flared up [fr] in Kinshasa.
Russia: The Revolt of “Net Hamsters”
The day after the elections, Russians got together to rally against election fraud. Even though the United Russia party, according to preliminary results, is to lose some 77 seats compared to the previous Duma, most of the protesters considered the election to be neither fair, nor free.
Jamaica: Political Futures
Girl With a Purpose makes a few political predictions, here.
Kyrgyzstan: President Inaugurated Amidst Ruling Coalition's Collapse
On December 1, 2011, in a ceremony replete with medieval references, Almasbek Atambayev was sworn in as Kyrgyzstan's fourth president, with cannons sounding a peaceful transition between two heads of state for the first time in over 20 years of independence.
Russia: Election Day DDoS-alypse
The Russian parliamentary election day has come. And with it, DDoS attacks and falsifications. Alexey Sidorenko reports.
China: Monitoring the 2012 Presidential Election
Chinese netizen interest this weekend in the first of three debates leading up to Taiwan's presidential election next month suggests more attention will be paid to this round than was given to the island's 2008 elections, and the focus has also expanded beyond each parties' stance on reunification with China.
Russia: Massive DDoS Attacks Against Independent Websites on the Election Day
An unprecedented wave of DDoS attacks [ru] against independent websites on the election day in Russia: sites affected include thenewtimes.ru, echo.msk.ru, novayagazeta.ru, kommersant.ru, publicpost.ru, slon.ru, Bolshoy Gorod (bg.ru), golos.org, ikso.org, ridus.ru, zaks.ru (Saint Petersburg), pryaniki.org (Tula), crowdsourcing platform “Karta Narusheniy” and the LiveJournal platform. Many media organizations are using Facebook and...
Russia: Last Words Before Pre-Election Silence
Friday, December 2, is the last day when campaigning for the Russian parliamentary elections is legal. Russian bloggers share their views on the upcoming December 4 parliamentary vote - and their voting plans. Alexey Sidorenko reports.
