· September, 2013

Stories about Governance from September, 2013

Bhutan: Electoral Laws Need To Be Changed

  30 September 2013

Yeshey Dorji welcomes the move of the Bhutanese National Council to initiate a discussion on the electoral corruptions that were reported during the country's last General Elections the possible amendments the electoral laws require.

India: The Prime Minister Nominee & His Criminal Records

  30 September 2013

“Can a person with Criminal Records become the PM of India?” – asks Dr. Abdul Ruff while discussing the nomination of the right wing leader and Gujarat chief-minister Narendra Modi. He is the prime ministerial candidate of the BJP and the National Democratic Alliance for the upcoming 2014 Indian general...

VIDEO: Filmpoem “Prayer of Fear” Stuns Egypt

  30 September 2013

The Egyptian citizen collective Mosireen has been tirelessly documenting the #Jan25 revolution and the events that followed in images and documentaries. One of their very last creations is “Prayer of Fear”, a filmpoem by Mahmoud Ezzat narrated by Mosireen member Salma Said. Between roving and painful memories, the filmpoem stuns...

Praise and Criticism for Uruguay's Proposed Media Law

  27 September 2013

The bill, which has received the praise of several journalism and freedom of expression organizations, is not as controversial as the one recently approved in Ecuador or as contentious as the one currently in the hands of Argentina’s Supreme Court. However, it is not without its critics. While it has been lauded for its intention to set...

Lawyers Seek Ouster of Zambia's Chief Justice

  25 September 2013

Acting Chief Justice Lombe Chibesakunda, Zambia's first female head of the judiciary, was rejected by parliament and therefore should not have the post, the Law Association of Zambia argues.

Brazilian President Calls for Global Respect of Net Neutrality at the UN

  25 September 2013

Net neutrality, privacy and human rights were in focus on Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff's speech (pdf) at the 68th session of the United Nations General Assembly, on September 24, 2013. The leader said that UN needs to establish international protections for Internet users from spying and announced Brazil's intention to prepare a proposal...

Brazilian Police: Censors and Censored

  23 September 2013

In his first article for Global Voices, Danillo Ferreira writes about police oppression of the press in Brazil and the internal institutional oppression of officers freedom of expression.

Council Elections 2013 of The Northern Province of Sri Lanka Updates

  21 September 2013

The Sri Lankan Provincial council elections are being held today (September 21, 2013) to elect 148 members to three of the nine provincial councils in the country. The Northern Province, which was plagued with civil war, is having its first council elections in 25 years. Centre for Monitoring Election Violence...

Iran Releases Political Prisoners

  18 September 2013

Iran releases several political prisoners including Iranian human rights activist, lawyer and Sakharov Prize winner Nasrin Sotoudeh,on Wednesday. Nasrin's husband wrote “Nasrin came,…they told her you are free.”

Iran:Facebook and Twitter Blocked Again

  17 September 2013

Internet users in Iran lost access Tuesday to Facebook and Twitter. Several bloggers and news sites reported Facebook and Twitter became widely accessible to Iranian users on Monday, Sept 16, for the first time since 2009.Iranian officials dismissed the episode as a technical glitch.