Electoral Affairs

Election Calendar / Ecuador / Palestine / Foreign Interference / COVID Data / Technology / 8 of March / Wuhan — China’s punk capital

Feb 05, 2021

March: Ivory Coast, DRC, Israel, Turkmenistan, Netherlands, Micronesia, Switzerland(r), Curaçao|
April: Nepal, Benin, Chad, Chile, Peru, Haiti, Cape Verde, Albania, Bulgaria, Djibouti, Samoa, Kyrgyzstan|
May: Nepal (2nd), Palestine, Vietnam, Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Somaliland|
June: Ethiopia, Mexico, Mongolia, Iran, Saint Lucia, Kenya(r)

*cool election calendars below after extras ⟱

The Reads

1. Palestine E-?

I know more than a handful of people that would comment on this news:
“I will believe once I see it.”
After 15 years of no-election, this time we may be closer than ever, yet don’t hold your breath: there are key issues still pending, this time of legal nature.
“According to a decree issued by Abbas's office on 15 January, the Palestinian Authority (PA), which has limited self-rule in the occupied West Bank, will hold legislative elections on 22 May, a presidential vote on 31 July, and National Council elections on 31 August” reports Middle East Eye.

2. Ecuador E-2

Ecuadorians will vote this Sunday in Parliamentary and Presidential elections. The country, with a population of 17.3M, has 13M registered voters. 2500 domestic election observers are accredited by the Election Commission. Here are the profiles of the three main candidates for the office of President (from a total of 16).
Ecuador has a “modified” two-round system in the Presidential elections (50%+1 OR 40% with 10% advantage over the runner-up to be elected in the 1st round). The 137 members of the unicameral parliament are elected through a mixed system.

3. Foreign interference into elections: the EU’s far-right ties to China and Russia

It is not the first time that the personal ties between far-right lawmakers in the EU and authoritative regimes come to light. The EPDE’s database on “fake election observers” engaged by the Kremlin and satellites features many right-wing politicians. This time, however, suspicions of ties between the European Parliament’s political caucus of right-wing with China are more serious, especially in the context of the EU-China trade agreement currently under negotiation. The European Parliament established a special committee to investigate the foreign interference in elections across the EU, but, while it makes some progress in the debate, it has rather a think-tank character as opposed to a serious inquiry at this stage

4. The African Union

The International Crisis Group: “In 2021, the African Union will continue working to contain COVID-19 and address its economic impact. Our annual survey identifies eight other situations where the organization’s timely intercession could help resolve, mitigate or ward off conflict.” - The 8 priorities for the AU by ICG.

𝙎𝙐𝙂𝙂𝙀𝙎𝙏 𝘼 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝘿 💡

Tool: COVID-19 and Voter Turnout Data

International IDEA is probably the go-to source when it comes to electoral matters and democracy. Their open library of free publications goes from focused handbooks to very technical briefing papers. Just amazing. As part of their effort in tracking democratic trends, they collected data on how COVID-19 pandemics influenced the voter’s turnout. Astonishing findings.

Technology

Disinformation, misinformation, fake-news are scary realities. While the phenomenon is indeed global and complex, there are basics that any organization should follow. These 6 actionable steps will make your organization more resilient: Defanging Disinformation: 6 Action Steps NGOs Can Take.

Meanwhile, some regimes use the real threat of disinformation to cut down any communication. You don’t need to be a genius to know that:

you can’t actually shut down the internet

and if you do so with the official one, people will go to the dark web, where authorities have even less control (if any). Yet, a number of regimes try to turn off the switch. Recently, the Ugandan elections were undermined by the incumbent-orchestrated internet outage. Something similar happened to Myanmar during this week’s coup while the Rest of World reports on Sudan in a great piece “Anatomy of an internet shutdown”

Seemingly Unrelated Extras: 8 of March rehearsal

The 8th of March is coming, time to get into the mood: Timeline: 20 Years of Women, Peace and Security but also brilliant examples of women empowerment graphics by artists and designers from around the world. From the recent news: Somali Women Demand 30% Parliamentary Representation. And the biggest US museum charity The Smithsonian writes about how women changed their institutions.

Seriously Unrelated But Also Good

How about some music? “Wuhan — China’s punk capital — slowly returns to its indie music scene. Long before Wuhan gained its global reputation as ground zero for the coronavirus, the city was a hotbed of punk and indie rock.”