Full Coverage: Democracy

25.02.2005 The MOST Civic Association presented the Code of Conduct in Free and Fair Local Elections, developed by the National Democratic Institute, in cooperation with the political parties in Macedonia. The Code was accepted and signed by 32 presidents of political parties and three independent candidates running in the Local Elections.

25.02.2005 Sujata Koirala, a senior leader of one of Nepal's main political parties, fled the country in disguise after the King seized absolute power earlier this month and began an intense crackdown against political leaders, students, trade unionists, and human rights activists. She sheds light on how the country reached such a crossroads, and what's coming next.

24.02.2005 "Democracy is not a potato that you can plant from one kitchen garden to another" says Russia's foreign minister, angry at European grumbles about President Putin's authoritarian ways. Activists are nevertheless pressing President Bush to raise the matter at today's summit.

23.02.2005 Togo's parliament Monday reversed a hastily made revision of the constitution putting off elections following the death of former president Eyadema, and said a vote would indeed be held within two months. But the former president's son, who was installed at the time, has refused to step down in the interim; opposition parties don't believe he will organize free or fair elections.

23.02.2005 The Election Campaign for the Local Elections 2005, scheduled for March 13, officially started on Monday, February 21. The Campaing will lat for 20 days, and will end on March 11, at midnight, for the one day of campaign silence period. In three weeks time, 1,711,293 registered voters ni Macedonia will elect Mayors and councillors for the City Assemblies of 85 municipalities. The political parties’ headquarters are prepared to present their candidates and platforms to the citizens.

22.02.2005 Although international condemnation of the King Gyanendra's suspension of democracy in Nepal is universal, many people inside the country are conscious that the elected government had many failings. Is it possible that the King will win popular support?

21.02.2005 It's not so simple, but it's clear that much government policy is written these days with corporate interests in mind. Corporates may pay the politicians' bills, but corporate power can be challenged if everyday people engage as citizens, not just as consumers or investors, say analysts Lee Drutman and Charlie Cray.

21.02.2005 Two million ordinary voters who marched against the war in Iraq are angry that MPs who backed Tony Blair have not been made accountable and may be returned to Parliamant to repeat their folly. A new campaign launched today aims to provide election support for MPs who voted against the war.

21.02.2005 A Nepali citizen, who has declined to identify himself, hits out at the royalty in Nepal for setting up the Royal Commission on Corruption Control, which he says will be used to browbeat and threaten critics of the royal coup.

18.02.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb 18 (OneWorld) - Nepal stands on the ''brink of disaster'' following King Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah's Feb. 1 military coup and an ensuing wave of human rights violations under a palace-decreed state of emergency, according to Amnesty International.

18.02.2005 A Supreme Court ruling upholding the controversial election of Zambia's President Levy Mwanawasa has received a mixed response from civil society.

18.02.2005 Demanding free and fair elections in Zimbabwe, the federation of South African trade unionists has threatened to block their country's border with its northern neighbor before next month's poll. Meanwhile, the South African government has sent mixed messages about whether it will push for an observer team to be present during the vote.

17.02.2005 The American civil rights activist and politician, Jesse Jackson, plans to engage in the UK election campaign by encouraging black voters to exploit their electoral power, especially in marginal constituencies.

17.02.2005 As the country prepares for another round of elections--which the international community has already condemned as tainted--even card-carrying party loyalists have given up hope that any of Zimbabwe's politicians will do anything to improve their everyday lives.

16.02.2005 On the eve of President Bush's inauguration, the companies responsible for exit polling data during the 2004 U.S. presidential election released a report detailing why their results predicted a 5 million vote Kerry victory, despite the candidate's 3 million vote defeat. While the company--and the news media--announced that the exit poll data must have been wrong, the report demonstrates that it couldn't have been, write a pair of U.S. professors who teach statistics and research methodology.

16.02.2005 Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of human rights leaders in Nepal, along with hundreds of student activists and members of political parties who have reportedly been arrested since the King seized absolute power on February 1. Pressure from citizens around the world is needed to ensure their safety and the country's return to democracy, the group says.

15.02.2005 An Iranian-backed group appears to have won Iraq's elections, but with only 48% of the vote, they'll need to form a coalition government--either with the autonomy-seeking Kurds in the North or current Prime Minister Allawi's faction. But the Sunnis, who boycotted the election, are working in the background to make sure at all costs that Iraq does not end up with a government supported by Iran, reports Aaron Glantz.

14.02.2005 Weekend protests over the seizure of power by Faure Eyadema--whose father died recently after ruling the country for 38 years--left at least three Togolese dead when military forces fired into the crowd. A delegation of West African leaders has held several negotiating sessions with representatives from the country encouraging respect for the rule of law.

11.02.2005 Nepalese police moved swiftly to smother protests in capital Kathmandu and arrested nearly a dozen people even as it prevented the US ambassador from visiting political leaders under house arrest.

10.02.2005 Leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have expressed concern about the undemocratic transfer of power in Togo.