Full Coverage: Democracy

30.03.2005 At the risk of his life, Pius Ncube, Archbishop of Zimbabwe's second largest city, is calling on his countrymen to organize a popular non-violent uprising, like Ukraine's "Orange Revolution," to topple President Robert Mugabe. Similar statements from a political leader would certainly result in imprisonment, but Mugabe is hesitant to take on the church, reports veteran Zimbabwe correspondent Trevor Grundy.

30.03.2005 Over the next few days please log onto Kubatana to see photographs of the Zimbabwe General Election 2005 as well as election results and breaking news. Please make sure to check the Elections sector under the Archive for a very comprehensive selection of opinion and articles on the Parliamentary Election.

30.03.2005 About 200 Nepali journalists marched through Kathmandu demanding restoration of press freedom and the release of 13 journalists held after King Gyanendra imposed emergency and suspended civil liberties.

29.03.2005 WASHINGTON, D.C., Mar 29 (OneWorld) - The State Department has hailed U.S. efforts to promote human rights and democracy overseas amid criticism of the Bush administration's track record and claims that U.S. involvement in rights violations in key countries has been deeper than previously thought.

29.03.2005 A ten-day period to update voter rolls began Monday, as elections to replace the country's late president are scheduled for April 24, but only young people between the ages of 18 and 20 are being allowed to register, according to reports. Free and fair elections cannot be arranged in such a short period of time, opposition supporters said at a weekend rally.

29.03.2005 President Robert Mugabe has pulled out all the stops before elections in Zimbabwe Thursday, spending US$100 million of the state's money on Hewlett Packard laptops that he passes out at schools as he campaigns across the country. Meanwhile, many of the schools receiving the high-tech computers have been without textbooks, electricity, furniture or even roofs for many years.

29.03.2005 Nepal police arrested at least 16 people in Kathmandu on Monday as they were protesting against king Gyanendra's seizure of power and called for the restoration of democracy.

29.03.2005 According to MOST, the second round of the 2005 Local Elections, together with the repeat of the first round balloting for several municipalities, proceeded in accordance to the international standards and the Code of Conduct for Fair and Free Elections.

28.03.2005 The instant analysis by many political analysts--as well as the Bush administration--is to classify Kyrgyzstan as part of the global domino effect of democracy, but the lack of control and agreement among those who have taken power is worrisome, says the editor of an online journal specializing in Central Asia, and the country could wander down a dangerous path in coming weeks, even emerging as a new safe haven for international terrorist operations.

28.03.2005 An enthusiastic crowd cheered on Democratic senators earlier this month vowing to fight a Senate plan called the "nuclear option." A core of Republicans would do away with the age-old practice of ensuring a 60-vote "supermajority" is needed to approve key legislative proposals--like lifetime judicial nominations.

25.03.2005 Democratic elections are supposed to be an opportunity for a nation to reflect and choose, but Zimbabwe's votes have been little more than an exercise in muscle flexing by Robert Mugabe's ruling party, says human rights activist Mary Ndlovu, exploring various possible scenarios for next Thursday's crucial poll. Whatever occurs in Zimbabwe in the next few weeks, there is a long road ahead for the building of democracy in Southern Africa, she says.

24.03.2005 Protestors overwhelmed riot police guarding the government compound in Kyrgyzstan's capital, Bishkek, this morning, and freed opposition leader Felix Kulov fom prison. President Akayev's whereabouts were not known, but some reports held that he had fled to Russia and may have resigned.

24.03.2005 Parliament of Kosovo has elected today the Cabinet of Bajram Kosumi, who comes from the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo.

24.03.2005 In principle, the campaign silence period should be in force in Macedonia, concluded the round-table discussion “Campaign Silence – Yes or No?”, held yesterday in Skopje, organized by the NGO InfoCentre and the Media Development Centre. The participants in the discussion disagreed only on the manner of application and the regulation of the Silence.

24.03.2005 A valuable summary of the findings of the recent Madrid conference which examined ideas for fighting terrorism without compromising principles of democracy.

24.03.2005 Despite his ruthless reputation, President Akayev of Kyrgyzstan has settled for low key tactics in dealing with the people's revolution in the southern provinces of the country. What will happen today as protests move to the capital Bishkek?

24.03.2005 In the wake of continued absence of democracy, trade unions met with Nepalese ambassadors in country capitals, demonstrated outside the South Asian country’s diplomatic mission in India and sent protest letters to representatives of the Nepalese authorities across the world to mark the International Day of Action on Nepal.

23.03.2005 A popular uprising stemming from disputes over last week's parliamentary elections in Kyrgyzstan have raised comparisons with recent political transitions in Ukraine and Georgia. The coming days could be decisive; the president has called for an investigation into election irregularities, but it may be too little too late to appease protestors who have already formed a 'People's Power Authority' in the south of the country.

23.03.2005 Missouri farmer Bill Christison spent time in Cuba recently as part of an international delegation including religious leaders, teachers, farmers, businesspeople and other professionals. He found a land with many more freedoms than he expected, but also a people with many unfulfilled desires. On the U.S. blockade: "The question is, 'how do the Cuban people acquire their wants without losing their birthright?,'" he says.

21.03.2005 Amnesty continues its efforts to persuade the international community to respond to the behaviour of King Gyanendra of Nepal. Nearly 2 months has passed since his suspension of the constitution and the subsequent repression of free speech.