Elections ArchiveVideo from Al Jazeera English
This video has Kyrgyz people with a variety of opinions on the corrupt government, and Kyrgyz’s hopes for fair upcoming elections.
EL SALVADOR: Former TV reporter and talk show host Mauricio Funes was elected President in one of the most polarized campaigns since the 12 year El Salvador civil war that claimed more than 75,000 lives. Funes, a moderate, was chosen from outside the ranks of the leftist Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front. The party, once rebels during the civil war, is the latest leftist group to rise to power in Lain America.
Funes is stoked, saying:
“This is the happiest night of my life, and I want it to be the night of El Salvador’s greatest hope,” Funes said. “I want to thank all the people who voted for me and chose that path of hope and change.”
Hope and change rhetoric has been popular lately. Around the world people are holding their breath, waiting to see how Obama will react. The US’s history with left leaning Latin American governments is sketchy to say the least, but Funes hopes that Obama will honor the people’s choice.
The previous conservative government did inspire growth, but at a cost. There is still terrible inequity among the people of El Salvador, and tensions linger from the civil war. Funes plans to crack down on big business, which has enjoyed little government regulation for years.
China Post article: Salvadoran ex-rebels win presidency for first time
GUINEA-BISSAU: Raimundo Pereira, former parliament speaker, was sworn in today as the country’s interim president, as dictated by the constitution. He has 60 days to set up new elections.
The army withdrew from the streets today, and many of the businesses reopened. The military spokespeople are continuing to deny a coup and to promote constitutional rule.
The new president has already reached out to Guinea-Bissau’s neighbors to help ensure the elections are fair. The local regional group ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) is expected to help.
GUINEA-BISSAU: President João Bernardo Vieira and Army Chief of Staff Tagme Na Waie were assassinated within hours of each other as part of an ongoing feud among the West African nation’s ruling elite. The military claimed responsibility for the President’s death, saying they acted in response to the President’s involvement in the assassination of General Tagme on Sunday. Tagme was killed when a bomb exploded in Army headquarters.
“President Vieira was killed by the army as he tried to flee his house which was being attacked by a group of soldiers close to the chief of staff Tagme Na Waie early this morning,” Zamora Induta, the military spokesman, said on Monday.
The streets of Bissau, the capitol, are calm now, perhaps unnaturally so. The Army has denied accusations of a military coup, saying “the rivalry is now over.” According to the Constitution, the head of the ruling party will take over as President for three months until special elections can be held. The only problem is that this recent conflict is the culmination of tensions stemming from a contested election held in November.
Guinea-Bissau has a history of instability. This is how allAfrica.com put it:
Last November, elements of the military launched an unsuccessful attack on the president’s residence soon after elections.
The International Crisis Group recently described the country’s institutions as “structurally feeble” and warned that there was a permanent threat of military intervention in politics.
allAfrica.com article: Guinea Bissau: President, Army Chief Assassinated
ASHDAD, ISRAEL: Avigdor Lieberman, candidate for the Israel Beiteinu party, makes one final trip around his stronghold cities today, a last ditch get out the vote effort. Polls are already showing at least a 3% increase in turnout over the last election cycle. There is an air of excitement in the Lieberman camp today. For the first time, Israel Beiteinu is likely to beat Labor in votes and become the third largest party. IB is very right-wing and has a very hard line stance on Hamas, and with a projected 16 seats, they will be able to coalition with Likud, the major right-wing party, and completely avoid a unity government. This doesn’t bode well for a Hamas-Israel ceasefire any time in the near future.
What’s so surprising is how the Israeli people, who used to refer to IB as the fringe of right-wing politics, have embraced the party. Kadima, the moderate current power, was hoping the Gaza War would prove their strength, but the conflict actually drove voters to more hawkish parties.
Article from Jerusalem Post: ‘Lieberman isn’t racist, Hamas is’
Video from Al Jazeera English
I’ll have more on this story as it unfolds. My big fear is that the Gaza conflict empowered the ultra-conservative parties in Israel and if they get enough votes there won’t be a need to form a unity government at all. The irony is that Kadima (the current power) was hoping to use the war to prove they weren’t “soft on terror”. It worked so well that people went over to more hawkish parties that might be willing to do it every time.
JERUSALEM, ISRAEL: In Jerusalem a verbally violent encounter today the Israeli Central Election Committee voted to ban two Arab parties from the upcoming Knesset elections. Those in favor of the ban cited support of terrorism and refusal to recognize Israel as a state. The Arab party leaders responded in kind claiming they had never seen such “racist voting, by such a racist collection of people.
The Arab leaders from the UAL and Balad parties say that they are part of Israel and they recognize its existence, but they will never support Zionism, an ideology which would have them removed from their holy land. The fighting degenerated into mildly humorous, albeit completely inappropriate personal attacks, with one of the ruling party leaders calling the Balad head “unemployed” and a “bum”.
As the tension mounts between Israeli and Palestinian forces in Gaza this conflict is only going to get worse. Most likely the High Court of Justice (great name, huh?) will reverse the ban as it has done with similar ones in the past, but the partisan damage has been done.
Article: Elections C’tee bans UAL, Balad lists
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