Full Coverage: Democracy

28.12.2004 In the past several days, a number of citizens have contacted GONG about the fact that they will have to work full hours on Election Day, January 3 (most companies will conduct assets inventory). The citizens fear that their employers won’t have much understanding for their wish to implement their voting rights, i.e. they would not get a proper break during which they could go and cast their ballots in the Presidential Elections.

26.12.2004 In the aftermath of the presidential election due to be held on 2 January, the OSCE Mission to Croatia will submit proposals on electoral reform to the Croatian authorities.

23.12.2004 Mustafa Barghouti est né dans un petit village près de Ramallah, Hamula il y a 50 ans. Médecin et militant des droits humains, il espère recueillir un pourcentage substantiel des votes lors de l’élection présidentielle palestinienne du 9 janvier prochain. Ses appuis se comptent surtout parmi les jeunes et les intellectuels de gauche.

23.12.2004 Ottawa — La ministre de la Coopération internationale, Mme Aileen Carroll, et le ministre des Affaires étrangères, M. Pierre Pettigrew, ont annoncé aujourd'hui que le Canada affectera 20 observateurs à la mission internationale d'observation des élections présidentielles de l'Autorité palestinienne, qui auront lieu le 9 janvier 2005. En outre, l'Agence canadienne de développement international (ACDI) participera à trois projets qui visent à favoriser la tenue d'élections libres, justes et transparentes en Cisjordanie et dans la bande de Gaza.

22.12.2004 Little violence, no reported cheating and a fantastic 83% turnout. Ghana's recent parliamentary election proves that Africa can do democracy just as well if not better than European countries.

22.12.2004 The civic association MOST will present the experiences gathered during the monitoring of the second round of the Presidential Elections in the Ukraine, at a press conference held today, December 22, in Skopje.

22.12.2004 "We support elections as one component of democratization. But not every election is a legitimate instrument of democracy," notes international affairs expert Phyllis Bennis. An election cannot be legitimate when it is conducted under foreign military occupation, administered by a government put in place by those occupiers, and when war is raging throughout the country, she explains.

21.12.2004 The Maoist rebels have said they will disrupt elections in Nepal if the government does not agree to their demands, including abolishing monarchy.

20.12.2004 Flush with cash from high oil prices, Venezuela's president is promoting his anti-globalization, leftist vision across Latin America. But is Chavez's rule growing increasingly autocratic as his country rises to new prominence?

17.12.2004 According to the public opinion survey conducted at the beginning of this month by the Centre for Democracy CEDEM, 41.5 percent of the polled would vote for independece, while 35.2 percent would vote against it.

16.12.2004 A new report confirms many suspicions about voter disenfranchisement in the 2004 elections, and momentum is growing for a Congressional commission to look into voting irregularities. With memories of 2000 still fresh, the lesson of 2004 is that our vote is not secure, says Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., arguing for a Constitutional amendment guaranteeing every American citizen's right to vote.

15.12.2004 The Bush Administration's force-based strategy for containing Islamic radicalism and its tolerance of authoritarian regimes in Southwest and Central Asia has convinced many Muslims across the region that U.S.-style democracy is wrong for their societies. If the White House doesn't change course over the next four years, it can expect little progress towards increasing the security situation and democratic prospects in the region, says Pakistan-based journalist Ahmed Rashid.

15.12.2004 Of the 14,000 prisoners ordered released from Myanmar's jails by the ruling military junta, only 56 are political dissidents, says the main opposition party--the rest are mostly petty criminals. One group estimates that 13,000-14,000 political prisoners remain under detention, including the pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

09.12.2004 MJAFT movement in collaboration with the organisation “Young Intellectuals, Hope” (IRSH) in November the 21st, organised in Shkoder the public debate between the Major and the citizens of Shkodra. In the atmosphere of this activity and in addition to spread out good news from Shkodra, it was organized in the Rozafat Hotel the Fair of the Local Products. This initiative was supported by Soros Foundation and by the offices of OSCE.

09.12.2004 The Freedom of Information Act, which has been approved by the Indian parliament, provides for unprecedented transparency in sections of the government including security agencies.

08.12.2004 "This is America, not Soviet Russia...It is just a matter of time until those who refuse to carry the new licenses will be denied the ability to drive or board an airplane," said U.S. Congressman Ron Paul on Wednesday, lambasting the proposed national identification provision of the intelligence bill being considered by congress.

08.12.2004 According to the Obligatory instructions adopted by the State Election Commission, the right to observe Presidential Elections have party observers, NGO observers and foreign observers. GONG will, as before, educate at least 850 non-partisan observers which will observe Presidential Elections in an impartial manner

08.12.2004 Global isolation has not pushed Myanmar's ruling military junta towards democracy because the pre-industrial society is not dependent on other nations for its survival, says Fazal-ur-Rahman of Islamabad's Institute of Strategic Studies. But engagement has begun to bear fruit, and the country has even presented a seven-stage "Roadmap to Democracy."

07.12.2004 A large coalition of religious, environmental, and civil rights organizations have reprimanded the United States for using terrorism as an excuse to spy on people who are politically active. "We need to honor and uphold our constitution by not eroding the very principles upon which our country was founded," said the director of a national religious group that has supported marginalized and disenfranchised Americans since the days of slavery.

06.12.2004 Electoral abuses in the U.S. encourage anti-democratic forces everywhere and erode the country's ability to lead nations around the world towards greater democracy, says foreign policy analyst Nat Perry, drawing on his experience escorting officials from several of Eastern Europe's burgeoning democracies to observe November's elections in the United States.