Blogging the democratic revolution
The broad picture from many news sources is that Zimbabwe’s voters braved long lines and an unbelievably creative menu of efforts to disenfranchise them – from chicanery to fraud to bribes to murder – and held the line. Returns are showing Mugabe claiming victory, as forecast, and the opposition crying fraud. How they deal with this fraud is the coming question. I have this news roundup organized beginning with a backgrounder or The Stage for action; the the Timeline of events; the Foreign Response; and the observed irregularities: Intimidation, Disenfranchisement and Electoral Fraud. Here is a summary of the news…
I’m going to start this off by putting this article in the reverse way that it was written. International human rights organizations and such other groups as the European Union, which on Wednesday called the election “phony,” say the outcome is unlikely to reflect the will of most Zimbabweans. Mugabe controls every daily newspaper, all broadcasting, thousands of patronage jobs, the electoral commission, the courts that would judge accusations of rigging and the dwindling food reserves for a populace on the brink of starvation. Most international election observers have been kept away. And Mugabe increased the budget of his secret…
Democracy is at work in this country of ours, where scandal has broken out in perhaps one of America’s most important polls. That’s right, American Idol. US television network Fox has been forced to throw out the latest voting results in American Idol after a bungled display of the phone numbers viewers use to choose their favourite contestant. Fox will have to air an extra one-hour episode of Idol, the top-rating show on US television. The recap special of the prime-time talent contest will consist of taped performances from Tuesday’s show, along with some live segments to fill in the…
This from the BBC yesterday, on Russia finally having had enough with OSCE election observation missions. (thanks to Nathan for picking it up) Russia’s Foreign Ministry condemned the protests, blaming "extremists". "Extremist forces must not be allowed to use political instability to create a threat to the democratic foundations of the Kyrgyz statehood," it said in a statement. Russia also rebuked the Organization for Security and Cooperation Äin EuropeÅ (OSCE) for declaring that the elections had fallen short of democratic standards. It urged the body to be "more responsible" in its election monitoring conclusions "to prevent destructive elements from using…
The protests in Kyrgyzstan seem to be having some effect: OSH, Kyrgyzstan – President Askar Akayev ordered the Central Election Commission and Supreme Court on Monday to investigate alleged violations in the recent parliamentary vote that have triggered weeks of nationwide protests led by the opposition, the president’s office said. Akayev ordered the commission and court “to pay particular attention to those districts where election results provoked extreme public reaction … and tell people openly who is right and who is wrong,” Akayev’s office said in a statement. The president’s statement came as more than 17,000 people seized government buildings…
Have you ever wondered how Venezuela ended up with a thug like Hugo Chavez as president? He didn’t blow in out of nowhere – if you watch Venezuela, you might hear scattered reports about how crummy and corrupt the political parties he replaced were, sowing the seed that eventually grew Chavez. Alek Boyd at VCrisis has a chronological rundown about what lowlife they were, and this is important to understanding what the current Venezuelan revolution is struggling against – not just Chavez but everything that preceded him. I love this passage here: Now I won’t deny that I am also…
I bet you’ve all seen that link at the top of the screen! Make sure to click it, and in particular, go directly here for the latest on round 2 of the Kyrgyzstan parliamentary elections at The Argus!
This one almost flew under the radar. NABLUS, WEST BANK — Hamas, the major force behind a four-year suicide bombing campaign, announced yesterday it would run in a coming parliamentary election, a move that could undermine Palestinian efforts to end violence, reform a corrupt government and renew peacemaking. Hamas has emerged as a key player in Palestinian politics. A victory by the militant group in the July 17 parliamentary vote — to be held days before Israel is to begin withdrawing from the Gaza Strip — could be a deciding factor in whether the Israeli pullout leads to peace talks…
Sorry guys, I’m still working on my research paper. In the meantime, check out The Argus for the latest on the protests underway in Kyrgyzstan on the run up to the re-run this Sunday.
Who knew? The exit polls were pretty accurate. The president of ex-Soviet Moldova, a former ally of Moscow now committed to European integration, looked well placed in a parliamentary election on Sunday with an exit poll giving his Communists a healthy lead. But the poll also showed two opposition parties doing well enough to deny the Communists under President Vladimir Voronin the outright majority they currently enjoy. Voronin, who campaigned on forging closer ties with the West, accuses Russia of interference by helping separatists in the Russian-speaking Dnestr region. The Communists’ rivals say they lack democratic credentials and intend to…
So CNN finally writes something about this story. . . OLYMPIA, Washington (AP) — Republicans dissatisfied with the balloting that installed Democrat Gov. Christine Gregoire alleged Tuesday that 1,108 felons voted illegally in the 2004 election. Dino Rossi, the failed GOP candidate, is challenging Gregoire’s election in court on the grounds that illegal votes and election workers’ errors irrevocably tainted the results. He is pushing for a new election. Gregoire won the election by just 129 votes, after a hand recount of 2.9 million ballots. Rossi had won the first two counts. Democrats say Gregoire is the legitimate governor, and…
Alek also has fished up some laws Venezuela’s El Supremo seems to have broken in his toilet-mouthed TV chat about distinguished US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Read the whole thing here.
I’ve only posted twice today; for good reason. My sleep is completely lacking. I’m going to get to bed early tonight, and I have some essays to write. Consider this a half-night off. In the meantime, anyone who is visiting the site currently, please let me know in the comments section of this post any particular issue you would like me to write about.