Full Coverage: Democracy

30.07.2004

What we think of Russia

Since 1997 when the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives exchanged a series of letters with the chairman of the Russian Duma, the dialogue between American and Russian legislators continues till the present with the creation of a study group – the only official exchange between both legislatures.

29.07.2004 Most parties of the national minorities, but also minor political parties in the political scene of Vojvodina, protested the high election threshold in the proposed new legislation on electoral system in the province. Parties of the minorities are dissatisfied by the fact that the new rules for election of members of parliament of multinational Vojvodina don't provide for a positive discrimination of the minorities.

28.07.2004 After more than 10 years of frozen cooperation, the European Commission wants to re-open consultation with Togo and has agreed a roadmap for the resumption of financial support. The key test is to hold free and fair elections within the next 24 months and European monitors will be working in the country over that period.

28.07.2004 Political talks between the Togolese government and opposition parties officially opened under pressure from the European Union (EU) despite the absence of main opposition parties.

27.07.2004 Threats by radical Islamists, absence of reliable population figures and voters’ ignorance are only some of the factors that are making difficult the process of voter registration for the forthcoming presidential elections in Afghanistan.

27.07.2004 Over 20,000 people gathered in front to the Macedonian Parliament last night (Monday, July 26) to protest the proposed changes in the territorial organization of Macedonia. The protests, which proceeded in spite of the torrential rain that fell last night, were organized by the leading parties of the Macedonian opposition, and featured speakers from all the organizers.

26.07.2004 Skopje – With increased police presence and metal riot barriers cordoning off the streets that run around the Parliament of Macedonia, the capital of Macedonia is awaiting the start of the protest rally, scheduled to start at 20:00 hours in front of the Parliament.

23.07.2004 There is widespread belief in Afghanistan that the elections in October only mean to reinstate the present Afghan president Hamid Karzai.

23.07.2004 In a letter addressed to the United Nations Secretary General this week, 34 U.S. organizations expressed support for the recent request by some members of Congress for UN observers to monitor the November Presidential election. The groups appealed to the UN to give serious consideration to the request because “the executive branch of the U.S. government and national electoral agencies have minimized the seriousness of pervasive problems in the electoral process which resulted in the denial of the right to vote for countless persons” in the 2000 elections.

22.07.2004 Afghanistan is gearing up for its landmark presidential poll on 9 October, but while the United Nations and the electoral management body are likely to be able to deliver a voting process, it remains unclear whether the result will truly reflect the people’s choice.

21.07.2004 A coalition of 40 feminist, human rights, and development groups has launched a campaign to challenge elected officials and political candidates on their positions on a range of international issues of special interest to women and children.

21.07.2004 Five years into the international administration of Kosovo, two violent days in March 2004 have sorely tested the international commitment to a multiethnic Kosovo. Directed against Kosovo's minorities and against the international mission itself, the violence has left many wondering whether UNMIK has the capacity to achieve its objectives in the face of open resistance.

21.07.2004 In its reaction on the unofficial announcements that the Local and the Presidential Elections in Croatia could be held on the same day in December 2004, the GONG association commented that, based on the existing legislation, such a solution is impossible to apply.

21.07.2004 The Foca Committee of the Party for Democratic Action (SDA) sent a request to start an initiative to protect a vital national interests of Bosniaks in Foca. The request was sent to the highest SDA offices at local, cantonal, regional, state and entity levels, as well as to the Office of the High Representative and OSCE.

20.07.2004 After long and tension filled negotiations, last week the parties of the ruling Macedonian coalition, SDSM, DUI and LDP, reached an agreement on the new municipal map of Macedonia.

19.07.2004 A study by the Afghan government and the UN finds that violence by extremists in the south of Afghanistan is hindering popular participation in the electoral process.

19.07.2004 Rik Hine argues that the mainstream media are systematically biased, and that the corporate stranglehold on mainstream media ownership and its dominant role in media policy-making should alarm us all. How can we get the media we want and the democratic politics we deserve? (Campaign for a Charter for the Minority Press.)

16.07.2004 Ahead of the Indian government's proposed move to repeal a draconian anti-terror legislation, a new report says the law is used to settle personal vendettas, frame children, torture prisoners and systematically target the minority Muslim community.

14.07.2004 The Philippine government's decision to withdraw "as soon as possible" from Iraq in response to threats against one of its citizens being held hostage there is the latest sign of cracks in the coalition the United States is trying to hold together.

14.07.2004 Peace in Angola has paved the way for advances in freedom of expression, association and assembly, but in the interior of the country these freedoms continue to be violated, Human Rights Watch says in a report released. On July 2, the president's advisory council recommended holding general elections in 2006, the first since 1992.