Full Coverage: Democracy

31.08.2004 Worshipped at the religious plane and exploited at the social, women in India often find themselves silently suffering their fate. There are, however, some who have the courage to fight the system that keeps them in subjugation.

Avdhash Kaushal from Rural Litigation and Entitlement Kendra tells us about two such remarkable women…

30.08.2004 Todor Petrov, the President of the World Macedonian Congress and initiator of the campaign to collect 150,000 signatures necessary to call for a referendum, announced that the campaign has succeeded and that he is prepared to present the 185,000 signatures to the Speaker of the Parliament. At the referendum, the citizens of Macedonia will decide whether they will accept the new Law on Territorial Organization of Macedonia or not. The signatures will be inspected by the regional offices of the Ministry of Justice.

30.08.2004 Tens of thousands of people hit the streets of New York to protest against US President George W. Bush ahead of the Republican Party convention.

27.08.2004 The head of the UN mission to Afghanistan told the Security Council this week that electoral workers and voters need immediate protection to counter a likely increase in violent attacks by the Taliban before and during the October presidential elections. UN electoral workers fear that the threat of violence could keep people away from the polls.

26.08.2004 Following excessive use of force by police against demonstrators from the Awami League protesting against recent bomb attacks on its leadership, Amnesty International calls for government investigation into both incidents.

26.08.2004 Amnesty International warns about the safety of demonstrators protesting against bomb attacks that have already left at least 19 people dead and some 300 wounded.

26.08.2004

Vote for a global view © Oxfam / Oxfam Great Britain

The fixation with swing voters is threatening to turn a electoral race that should be about big ideas and big decisions "into a narrow trench war fought over ridiculous charges," says Arianna Huffington. With candidates going to great lengths to couch their messages in terms that soothe and reassure swing voters, the rest of the electorate is losing interest.

25.08.2004 The government's costly plans for compulsory identity cards are coming under the spotlight, with two anti-ID campaigns being launched in September. Through compulsory identification, the state is set to acquire unprecedented surveillance powers. Five corporations have been identified as behind Labour’s drive towards a surveillance society.

25.08.2004

Fuerza Bolivariana de Trabajadores © Radio Netherlands Wereldomroep

Hugo Chavez’s victory at the recall referendum was a rejection of the Venezuelan opposition’s “do-nothing-but-oppose-Chavez” stance and the Bush administration’s interference in the country’s affairs, says Steve Ellner. With the recall vote over, it is time for all parties to give Chávez a breathing room and test his claim to be the leader who “represents an alternative for Latin America.”

20.08.2004 The recent recall election in Venezuela has given us a disturbing preview of what may be in store for the United States in November: an election result held in doubt by many of the voters that took part in it. By Philip James.

20.08.2004

Delegazione Iraq in Onu dei Popoli

All 81 names on a list of possible candidates for the Iraqi National Assembly were approved without a single vote being cast. Two lists of candidates were presented to the 1,300 delegates at the Baghdad conference convened for the purpose of selecting the 100-member Iraqi National Assembly, the delegates approved one of the lists after the other was withdrawn.

17.08.2004 Ryan Murphy, creator of television’s popular reality TV show Nip/Tuck, has a theory based in Greek tragedy of why viewers tune in to see volunteers request extreme plastic surgery and wind up hideously disfigured. "It's a cautionary fairy tale. It says, 'Be careful what you wish for’,” he told USA Today recently. This fable has relevance for Venezuela’s opposition, and not just because of the country’s historic affinity for plastic surgery and beauty pageants.

16.08.2004 Les électeurs vénézuéliens ont décidé dimanche de maintenir au pouvoir leur président. Le chef de l'Etat l'a emporté avec 58,25 % des voix contre 41,74 % des voix pour l'opposition, qui dénonce des "fraudes électorales". Marqué par une participation massive, le scrutin s'est déroulé dans un calme relatif, malgré le meurtre d'une femme devant un bureau de vote de Caracas. Les prix du pétrole s'effritent après l'annonce de cette victoire.

16.08.2004 Hugo Chávez venceu o referendo na Venezuela e poderá concluir seu mandato até 2007. A opção "não", favorável ao presidente, alcançou 4.991.483 votos(58,25%), enquanto o "sim", que tiraria Chávez do poder, chegou a 3.576.517 (41,74%).

16.08.2004 Venezuela's leftwing president, Hugo Chávez, announces victory in a national referendum on his rule, while his opponents charge him with fraud.

16.08.2004 As Americans prepare for the 2004 elections, a U.S.-based group offers a guide to help you determine each candidate’s stance on global development issues.

13.08.2004

© Radio Netherlands

Hugo Chavez will face a constitutional test on August 15 when Venezuelans vote in a national referendum on whether or not to retain him as president. The referendum is the third challenge to his presidency since Chavez came to power in 1998, he survived a coup attempt and a general strike that almost shut down the economy.

13.08.2004

Vote for me - taking a global view

Tariq Ali, an international expert on U.S. foreign policy believes that, worldwide, there is a lot of anger against the Bush administration because of the Iraq war, so much so that if Americans vote Bush out of office in November, it “would have a tremendous impact on world opinion.”

12.08.2004

US elections © Guardian Unlimited

Testimonies by different citizens at a recent sitting of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights revealed that thousands of eligible voters are still incorrectly purged from voter lists in Florida. The findings presented include the case of more than 2,000 former convicts whose names are still purged off voter lists even though their voting rights have been restored, the case of about 4,000 voters listed as felons with blank conviction dates - - meaning no verification of felony - - and, the case of some voters who are listed as felons convicted in 2007, three years from now.

11.08.2004 To the dismay of opposition groups in Venezuela, and to the surprise of international observers gathering in Caracas, President Hugo Chávez is about to secure a stunning victory on August 15, in a referendum designed to lead to his overthrow.