Electoral Affairs
Somalia / Voting Instructions from 1955 / Ecuador / Technology...
The Reads:
Somalia E-?
The International Crisis Group is putting an effort into the Somalia Elections 2020-2021 process. Their set of free analysis now consists of a video recording of a webinar, a briefing paper on preventing electoral violence, which argues that “Somalia’s stakeholders and its international partners should make the indirect election another step toward democratization, even if it does not get all the way to universal suffrage as some had hoped”, and a podcast conversation on the various scenarios the country could be headed towards.
Ecuador E-11
Ecuador will hold its general elections on February 7 to elect the President and the unicameral Parliament of the country. AS/COA has an Explainer: Ecuador’s 2021 Presidential Elections. Previous writing also includes IRI’s What’s at Stake in Ecuador’s 2021 Elections.
Uganda
The unfortunate statistics gathered by IFEX are shocking: Uganda besieged by a lethal combination of tyranny, brutality, restrictive laws, and militarized enforcement.
Kazakhstan
Authorities punish NGOs that called out vote irregularities. The advocacy groups say this pressure shows the authorities are not serious about political reform.
Geeky 📽
How about time travel to… the video explaining voting procedures in the USA in1955. Thank you to the Internet Archive! 💪🏾
Technology
Open Canada writes on communication technology as a double-edged sword. The New York Times asks a valid question: After Barring Trump, Facebook, and Twitter Face Scrutiny About Inaction Abroad.
And what happens after the representatives are elected? This piece shows how parliaments are dealing with remote work: Can Democracy Work Remotely? This astonishing work of the Willson Center answers how direct and indirect sexualized disinformation impacts women in public life.
Do we need public, international standards on the collection, storage, and use of data? And a very good podcast on the Capitol Hill attack, which “demonstrated how online disinformation, amplification, and platform algorithms have real-world impacts”.
Between the Polls
Belarus: recommendations for all stages of the election cycle and concludes that a competitive election could be held in Belarus without changes to existing laws if the government demonstrates the necessary political will to safeguard certain minimal conditions. A paper by the EPDE and the DRI: What are the minimal conditions under which a free and fair presidential election could be conducted in Belarus?
Seemingly Unrelated Extras
This travel website tells the story of “Secrets of White House: History of Constancy and Change”. Interview by the MIT: “How the FBI Destroyed the Careers of 41 Women in TV and Radio at the dawn of the Cold War”
Seriously Unrelated But Also Good
Photography time: 12 Stunning Satellite Images of Earth. On January 3, a group of more than 300 competitors departed from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to begin the 43rd annual Dakar Rally: 21 amazing pics. It gets better: how about collection of political photography?
That’s it. Until the next time.
