Displaying items by tag: Election

Former army general Prabowo Subianto, 72, has claimed victory in Indonesia’s presidential election with nearly 60% of the vote, according to unofficial results from state-owned Antara, CNN Indonesia, and Reuters. Prabowo has said, ‘I will nurture, protect and defend all the people of Indonesia, regardless of their background’. He also urged his supporters to remain calm, to prevent a repeat of 2019's deadly riots. Indonesia, home to over 200 million voters, faced logistical challenges due to its vast geography and diverse population. Young voters played a significant role in the election. Prabowo’s military past, linked to alleged human rights violations and ties to Suharto's regime, remains contentious. Despite losses in previous elections, he joined forces with former president Joko Widodo’s son Gibran, a move criticised for potential nepotism. The transformation from military figure to democratic supporter has marked his political career, culminating in this victory and a new chapter in Indonesian politics.

On 31 January Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi were sentenced to 14 years in prison for illegally profiting from state gifts. The court also imposed a fine of approximately £4.2 million on the couple and barred him from holding public office for ten years. On the previous day he and the vice-chairman of PTI, his political party, were given a ten-year sentence for leaking classified state documents. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-68138591 These convictions come just a week before a general election in which he is disqualified from participating. The sentences are expected to run concurrently, but this has not been officially confirmed. Khan's legal team plans to appeal the rulings in the High Court. He has been in jail since August; Bushra Bibi, who had been out on remand, surrendered herself at the jail. The charges revolve around allegations (which they strongly deny) that they sold or kept state gifts received during their time in office including a jewelry set from the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. See also last week’s article.

There are allegations of extensive official censorship on coverage of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) ahead of the country's elections on 8 February. PTI, founded by former prime minister Imran Khan, is considered one of the most popular political parties in Pakistan. However, he has been imprisoned since August 2023, facing corruption and state secrets leakage charges which he claims are politically motivated. Censorship against PTI has increased since Khan lost a confidence vote in April 2022, leading to his resignation. The election commission has rejected nomination papers for Khan and other PTI leaders and stripped the party of its election symbol (a cricket bat), forcing many candidates to run as independents. Several journalists have admitted receiving official instructions not to use party symbols or identify candidates as PTI members. though the government has denied these claims. Media censorship has grown since May 2023, when PTI supporters protested against Khan's arrest. Government officials recently said that unrestricted internet access during elections cannot be guaranteed, citing technical issues.

In New York, Donald Trump's efforts to dismiss the fraud case against him have been met with scepticism from judge Arthur Engoron. Trump is facing allegations of financial fraud related to his business practices. The judge has questioned the credibility of his arguments, particularly his claims that the charges are politically motivated. He also poured scorn on Eli Bartov, an expert witness who ‘doggedly’ defended apparent misstatements in Trump’s financial documents. Bartov had admitted receiving over $875,000 from the defence team, and the judge commented, ‘For a million or so dollars, some experts will say whatever you want them to say’. In a separate development, the Colorado supreme court has voted to bar Trump from the state primary ballot in March 2024, due to his involvement in efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The ruling, which will probably be appealed to the federal supreme court, could have significant implications for the 2024 race.

After nearly two decades, the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Congo (MONUSCO) has signed an agreement to withdraw its 15,000 peacekeepers from the Democratic Republic of Congo. The foreign minister and MONUSCO's head finalised the deal, marking the end of a collaboration that struggled to bring lasting peace to eastern Congo, a region plagued by a long-standing conflict involving numerous armed groups, some backed by neighbouring countries. With upcoming elections in December, the conflict has taken centre stage, prompting the incumbent president Félix Tshisekedi, to call for the UN peacekeepers' accelerated withdrawal; the government has cited ‘unsatisfactory results’ to justify this request. Tensions between the UN mission and the local population have often flared, resulting in deadly protests. The exact timing of the withdrawal has not yet been agreed.

Votes are being counted in the presidential run-off election between incumbent George Weah and ex-vice president Joseph Boakai. The election, held peacefully on 14 November, saw more than 2.4 million voters choosing between Weah, 57, seeking a second term, and Boakai, 78. Weah, formerly a famous footballer (World Player of the Year in 1996), is popular among young people but must defend his record in office, while Boakai is an old hand who has worked in both the public and private sectors. At the time of writing results showed Boakai in the lead with 50.6% of the votes, but the final result is still uncertain. The first-round vote in October was close, with Weah leading Boakai by only 7,126 votes: in 2017 he had defeated him easily. The elections are the first since the UN ended its peacekeeping mission, created after more than 250,000 people died in two civil wars between 1989 and 2003. ECOWAS, which monitored the election, highlighted the peaceful conduct but expressed concerns about premature victory claims and potential post-election violence.

Opinion polls are showing an increasingly tight race between Peronist economy minister Sergio Massa and radical libertarian Javier Milei ahead of a runoff ballot for president on 19 November. The two candidates offer polarised visions for the embattled Latin American country, the region's third largest economy, a major supplier of grains, beef and lithium, but also the largest debtor to the International Monetary Fund (IMF). One recent survey showed Massa ahead with 42.4% of the likely vote against Milei on 39.7%, his lead more than cut in half versus the previous poll in late October. He is still seen as the candidate to beat, but Milei has gained ground, winning the backing of conservative Patricia Bullrich, who finished third in the first-round vote, and her powerful ally, former President Mauricio Macri. Significantly, with some 18% of those polled remaining unsure, the outcome is hard to call.

Left-leaning Luisa González and centrist Daniel Noboa have faced each other in the last debate before the run-off election on 15 October. The debate gave both candidates a platform to address long-simmering issues in the country. The economy remains Ecuador’s Achilles heel: at the end of 2022, debt alone accounted for 57 percent of the GDP. The other major issue facing the candidates is crime. Ecuador, once one of the most peaceful countries in Latin America, is now on track to become the third-most violent country in the region. In August, that violence spilled over with the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in Quito. Since then, candidates have been wearing bullet-proof vests. Noboa is ahead in the polls, but many Ecuadorians have not yet made up their minds about who to vote for.

Giorgia Meloni, the favourite to become Italy’s next prime minister, has a passion for fantasy author Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. She regards the legends of the rings of power as much more than fantasy. They inspire her worldview and politics. When she was elected to cabinet in 2008 she vowed not to be corrupted by the ‘ring of power’. Later she posed for a magazine profile next to a statue of Gandalf, Tolkien’s bearded wizard. The hobbits’ attachment to their pristine Shire has been regarded as a rallying call for nationalism and rejection of modernism by generations of post-fascist youths. Although Meloni resents being linked to Italy's fascist past, her Brothers of Italy party embraces a slogan adopted by the fascists – ‘God, fatherland and family’. See also

President Bolsonaro has delivered fiery speeches to tens of thousands of supporters at rallies ahead of a divisive election on 2 October when opinion polls suggest he will be defeated. Bolsonaro has repeatedly attacked Supreme Court justices, alleging (without any evidence) that Brazil’s electronic voting system is vulnerable to widespread fraud. Legal experts have rejected that allegation, and critics accuse him of sowing doubt ahead of the election to dispute the results, as was done by Donald Trump, whom Bolsonaro has emulated. ‘Bolsonaro, activate the military to depose the Supreme Court,’ said one banner carried by Suely Ferreira who said, ‘Our country is being ruined by the high court’s dictatorship. We love our president. Everyone I know supports him. He will win. There’s no way he could lose.’ The president’s attacks on the voting system have stirred calls for a military coup from some more radical backers, fuelling concerns that the nation could see election-related violence.