Uganda | USA | Kyrgyzstan | Live Election Map | Far-Right Threat | 2021 Foreign Relations | Protest Art | Free Documentaries
18 Jan 2021
Food For Thought
Elections can sometimes get rough, but, given the alternative, they are
ultimately a peace-keeping measure.
This week’s Reads
Uganda E+4
It comes as no surprise that the incumbent President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni won the vote on Thursday. An electoral process with such predictable results raises issues of trust. The whole point of election day is that it can go either way, in particular in the countries that do not conduct pre-election opinion polls on candidates' support. The European Union made its point in a rather straightforward statement by the Union’s Foreign Affairs Minister.
History tells that in countries where the leader is unable to “let go”, his time in office is irrelevant in comparison to what happens after his time in office is concluded: What comes after him? This time can be sooner or later, but if any improvement to the electoral processes and human rights in Uganda is to be made, then the job needs to start immediately.
USA E+76
President:
Last week's electoral violence has shocked the US and pressure on law enforcement agencies to prosecute the insurgents is growing. Meanwhile, media outlets' interest is moving towards the opening balance of Biden’s presidency.
Parliament:
“Civil Rights Groups Warn of a Grim Future for Black Voters Without Court Intervention”: a very good overview of black voters’ suppression in the recent State of Georgia Senate run-offs.
Far-right threats to democracy
COVID-DEM is probably one of the best collections of online resources on democracy seen yet. Taking the form of a weekly newsletter, it gathers writings on one subject. This time the authors decided to look into possible responses to far-right threats to democracy. And rightly so, the timing could not be better.
Kyrgyzstan
Al Jazeera’s profile on the new President of Kyrgyzstan: Sadyr Japarov: “From a prison cell to the presidency. Japarov, often described as a populist, won a landslide with 79 percent of the vote. Months ago, he was languishing in jail.”
Real-time updated Map Of Upcoming Elections in Africa.
Event online: 2021 Predictions In Foreign Policy
January 22 on YouTube
It is still legit to make a year's ahead prediction in January. Here comes the “2021 What's to come - The year ahead in foreign policy” by the European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS). A great line-up of speakers and all broadcast free on YouTube.
Tool: Election Period Security and Safety
DefendDefenders, an East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project developed a toolkit that Human Rights Defenders should use during the election season to enhance their safety and security.
This useful hands-on tool, and easily adaptable in other regions and countries. It includes: best practices for avoiding physical attacks, arrests, detention, office break-ins, and cyberattacks, and provides a full incident report template to help document attacks.
2020 Protest Art
An incredible online exhibition of 2020 Protest Art. The Human Rights Foundation curated a collection of politically engaged protest art from Algeria, Belarus, Bolivia, Egypt, Guinea, Hong Kong, Iran, Iraq, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Russia, Sudan, Thailand, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.
The curators write:
“In any struggle for social or political change, art has been a powerful medium of protest and creative expression to expose the deception and social bankruptcy of tyranny. This selection of protest art, curated by HRF’s Art in Protest program, reminds us of just that.”
The full exhibition is available for free on the HRF website.
Free Documentaries
Do you like documentaries? Well, then you must check out the selection of free documentaries to stream online provided by the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. Amazing collection - from short to long. Enjoy.
That’s it for this week.
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