This week’s election in Russia is expected to cement President Vladimir Putin’s grip on power until at least 2030. Any opposition figures who could have challenged him are either in prison or exiled abroad. Independent media outlets that could show criticism of his policies have been blocked. And the Kremlin maintains rigid control over the political system and electoral process …
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Senegalese leaders propose June elections after court rejects president’s 10 month delay
DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — A group of Senegalese civic and religious leaders proposed holding elections in early June, the first new date offered since the president attempted to push elections back to the end of the year. President Macky Sall who faces term limits at the end of his second terms, said in early February he was postponing an election …
Read More »Belarus’ election reinforces the authoritarian leader’s 30-year rule. Only loyalists could run
TALLINN, Estonia (AP) — Belarusian authorities on Monday announced preliminary results from parliamentary and local elections in which only candidates loyal to the country’s authoritarian leader were allowed to compete and the opposition called for a boycott. The vote further cemented the 30-year rule of President Alexander Lukashenko, who declared his intention to seek another five-year term in a presidential …
Read More »Corruption scandals cast a shadow over Portugal’s early general election and may favor populists
LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The official two-week campaign period before Portugal’s early general election began on Sunday, with the country’s two moderate mainstream parties once again expected to collect the most votes but with the expected rise of a populist party potentially adding momentum to Europe’s drift to the right. The center-left Socialist Party and center-right Social Democratic Party have …
Read More »Why South Africa is facing a turning point in May’s national election and who the major players are
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP) — Polls suggest South Africa will face a historic turning point in a national election in May as the ruling African National Congress could lose its majority for the first time since coming to power in the country’s first all-race vote at the end of apartheid in 1994. The ANC has governed Africa’s most advanced …
Read More »El Salvador’s Bukele wins supermajority in Congress after painstaking vote count
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador (AP) — El Salvador President Nayib Bukele and his New Ideas party have won the supermajority the leader needs in Congress to govern as he pleases, electoral officials announced Monday. The announcement comes after a painstaking vote counting process, which has raised the hackles of electoral watchdogs and the country’s weak opposition, who cite irregularities. Bukele …
Read More »Who is Prabowo Subianto, the former general who’s Indonesia’s next president?
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A wealthy ex-general with ties to both Indonesia’s popular outgoing president and its dictatorial past looks set to be its next leader. He’s promised to continue the outgoing president’s widely popular policies, but his human rights record has activists and some analysts concerned about the future of Indonesia’s democracy. Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto presented himself as …
Read More »Former Indonesian general linked to human rights abuses claims victory in presidential election
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — A former general linked to past human rights abuses claimed victory Wednesday in Indonesia’s presidential election, a result that would raise questions about the commitment to democratic values in the sprawling island nation that is the world’s third-largest democracy. Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, 72, presented himself as an heir to immensely popular sitting President Joko Widodo, …
Read More »Bombings at Pakistani political offices kill at least 30 a day before parliamentary elections
QUETTA, Pakistan (AP) — Bombs ripped through two separate political offices in southwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least 30 people, officials said, a day before the country was set to elect a new parliament. The attacks in Baluchistan province — home to a low-level insurgency and various militant groups — have raised concerns ahead of the balloting in the …
Read More »A timeline of key events leading up to Pakistan’s parliamentary election
ISLAMABAD (AP) — A list of some key events over the last few years leading up to Pakistan’s parliamentary election on Thursday: July 25, 2018 — Pakistanis vote for a new government in an election marred by violence and allegations of fraud. July 26, 2018 — Former cricket star Imran Khan wins the polls but has to seek out allies …
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