Full Coverage: Democracy

30.04.2008 WASHINGTON, Apr 30 (OneWorld) - The mainstream League of Women Voters lashed out at the U.S. Supreme Court this week, calling its decision on voter identification "a disgraceful decision by a court that has no credibility on election issues."

30.04.2008 Zimbabwean groups have asked the international community not to turn away from their country at this key moment. Human rights advocates in Washington have picked up the mantle, urging their African counterparts to press Robert Mugabe on key issues of democracy and human rights.

28.04.2008 "After eight years of Putin, the country has a rubber-stamp parliament dominated by a single party, whose only stated policy is loyalty to the Kremlin," writes Fred Weir in Moscow.

28.04.2008 Nepal Maoists owe their impressive performance in the recently held elections to the support of the marginalised communities. It is now up to the former rebels to prove themselves and come up to the expectations of these people whose interests have long been ignored in the past.

27.04.2008 An unreported war is being waged by the US to restore power to the privileged classes at the expense of the poor, argues John Pilger.
From New Statesman

27.04.2008 Sejak awal reformasi bergulir, tidak bisa dipungkiri peran aktif masyarakat dalam mendorong program pemberantasan korupsi pada tingkat tertentu realtif besar. Namun, fondasi gerakan sosial antikorupsi pengaruhnya belum cukup kuat untuk memotivasi masyarakat luas, bisnis, dan pemerintah untuk bersama-sama melawan korupsi. Praktik suap masih menjadi kegiatan sehari-hari di birokrasi, pengadilan, dan parlemen.

24.04.2008 Ulkomaailmaan vuotaneiden tietojen mukaan Burmaa johtavalla sotilasjuntalla on valmiina suunnitelma perustuslakia koskevan kansanäänestyksen peukaloimiseksi. 15 vuotta valmisteltu perustuslaki tulee kansalaisten äänestettäväksi 10. toukokuuta.

23.04.2008 BANGKOK, Apr 23 (IPS) - A rising star within the ranks of Burma's military regime is reported to have unveiled a plan to ensure the junta gets its way at the May referendum for a new constitution, according to information revealed to IPS.

22.04.2008 Frail but fierce Irom Sharmila has been on hunger strike for the last eight years demanding a repeal of the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act in Manipur. The Act empowering armed forces to shoot and kill insurgents continues to be grossly misused in the north-eastern Indian state.

17.04.2008 ASUNCION, Apr 17 (IPS) - An indigenous woman has an excellent chance of winning a seat in Congress for the first time in the history of Paraguay, in Sunday's general elections.

17.04.2008 Eurooppaan on perustettu itsenäinen säätiö, jonka tarkoituksena on edistää demokratiaa Euroopan unionin ulkopuolella. Säätiön suojelijan, Tshekin entisen presidentin Václav Havelin mukaan eurooppalaisilla poliittisilla ja kansalaisjärjestötoimijoilla on nyt käytössään kanava, jonka kautta "tukea kansalaisvapauksien ja ihmisoikeuksien kunnioitusta".

16.04.2008 Paraguayn presidentinvaaleissa 20. huhtikuuta on ensi kertaa mukana naisehdokas. Blanca Ovelar edustaa maata 61 vuotta johtanutta oikeistolaista Colorado-puoluetta, mutta saattaa hävitä opposition ehdokkaana olevalle entiselle piispalle.

16.04.2008 Entisten maolaississien valtava menestys Nepalin vaaleissa tuli yllätyksenä lähes kaikille. Ensimmäisten vaalianalyysien mukaan maolaiset saavat kiittää voitostaan nepalilaisten pettymystä perinteisiin puolueisiin.

15.04.2008 That they would be a force to reckon with, nobody denied. But they would do well in the polls has come as a surprise. The results declared so far in Nepal’s Constituent Assembly elections indicate that ensuring a simple majority for the Maoists is now almost a certainty.

15.04.2008 As a first legislative step towards getting rid of the remnants of Emergency, the new Pakistani government has tabled a bill in the national assembly seeking to revoke the draconian gag imposed on the country’s electronic media. A separate bill is also round the corner that will undo the restrictions on print media.

14.04.2008 Eduskunnan Attac-ryhmä perustettiin uudelleen viime viikolla. Ryhmän tavoitteena on edistää oikeudenmukaista globalisaatiota ja rahoitusmarkkinoiden demokraattista valvontaa sekä valmistella teemoihin liittyviä aloitteita, kirjallisia kysymyksiä ja muita valtiopäivätoimia.

11.04.2008 WASHINGTON, Apr 11 (OneWorld) - African development experts here are cautiously optimistic that Zimbabwe's election process, while still disputed, will bring about historic change for the country's 12 million people.

11.04.2008 Even in his criticism of the Chinese authorities in handling the current standoff in Tibet, the Dalai Lama never lost his composure. In a recent interview, the Tibetan spiritual leader has reiterated his stand that he wants a ‘meaningful autonomy’ for the protection and preservation of Tibetan ecology and culture.

10.04.2008 ASUNCION, Apr 10 (IPS) - For the first time in Paraguayan history, a woman is running for president in the elections on Apr. 20, as the candidate of the Colorado Party, which has governed this country continuously for 61 years.

10.04.2008 Rauhaa, tasa-arvoa ja vapautta. Siinä tärkeimmät asiat, joita Nepalin pääkaupungin Katmandun asukkaat haluavat tämänpäiväiseltä perustuslakikokouksen vaalilta.