Upcoming Elections
Bangladesh General – December 30, 2018
On December 30, over 100 million Bangladeshis will elect 299 members of the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament), choosing from 1,848 candidates. The Daily Star, a leading Bangladeshi English-language newspaper, has an interactive site for reading up on candidates and tracking results. Also a roundup of millennial voters’ opinions on the election: “All the interviewees we spoke to reiterated that they were ‘tired of dynastic politics’ and ‘corruption from top to bottom.’ As Azreen reflected, ‘I’d want someone who’d come into politics not because his dad/granddad was doing it, but someone who’s actually willing to change the idea that ‘politics’ is a dirty thing and confront the corruption at every level of society.’”
Bangladeshi election observation group Odikhar released a statement on the pre-election environment detailing widespread violence and harassment, and warning that an unfair election could fuel violent extremism. The opposition has demanded the opposition has demanded that the chief election commissioner, K.M. Nurul Huda, resign because they do not believe that the election will be fair under his direction. Julhas Alam at the Associated Press reports that “At least six people have been killed and more than 1000 have been injured since December 10. Both opposition and ruling party blame each other for attacks, but media reports say most attacks were executed by the ruling party members and often backed by security officials.”
Selima Ahmad, democracy activist and founder of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, tweeted:
Dhaka Tribune publisher K. Anis Ahmed describes the challenges Bangladesh’s entrenched politics present to democracy by effectively giving the voters a choice between heavy-handed secularist incumbents or challengers who stoke religious extremism: “At bottom, this election is a contest between two forms of authoritarianism — only one [religious extremism] is more dangerous than the other.” Indeed, as Andrea Kendall-Taylor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted in 2016: “[Democratic] decline in Bangladesh has led Sheikh Hasina Wazed and her ruling Awami League to seek closer relations with China and Russia, in part to mitigate Western pressure and bolster the regime’s domestic standing.”
Sharmeen S Murshid, head of the human rights NGO Brotee, calls on citizens to monitor the election process and stand up for democracy: “So, this article is an urgent but humble call from a humble citizen to all those who, in power and out, can turn today’s fear into courage, exclusion into inclusion, demonstrating generosity and kindness so that every life is preserved and protected while we move through another election. Bangladesh has journeyed through many upheavals and surmounted each one of these. Fall of authoritarian rule, rise of the caretaker system, its abolition, and the crisis of elections under political governance all point towards one fact: it is a time of deep national reflection, it is time to draw lessons from our wrongs, it is time to change the political narrative, it is a time to turn the page and start anew.”
Thailand Parliamentary – February 24, 2019
Bloomberg on why Thailand’s military junta, which has been promising but postponing elections since it took power in 2014, has now actually announced a date:
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, tweets: “Excellent statement by @Anfrel on importance of international election observation which #Thailand should heed for the upcoming Feb 24 election. What is #Bangkok afraid of, why are they refusing international monitors?”
Maldives Parliamentary – April 9, 2019
Intraparty campaigning and wrangling has already begun ahead of Maldives’ April parliamentary elections. These elections follow a presidential election in which the pro-democracy opposition pulled off a surprise win from the incumbents. After decades of brutal dictatorship, Maldives has had a series of democratic victories and autocratic backslides over the past decade, and these parliamentary elections are an important opportunity for the pro-democracy camp to consolidate and put Maldives back on a path to reform. Former president Mohamed Nasheed, who along with his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) overthrew the dictatorship legally, by the ballot box, in 2008 and was subsequently removed in a coup, imprisoned, exiled, and prevented from running for president this year, is running for parliament. The Indian Ocean archipelago also sits at a geopolitically important point in the path of global shipping and on the front lines of competition between China and the world’s democracies.
The MDP is holding a primary on January 18 with 280 candidates for 87 seats (with nine uncontested and one with no declared MDP candidates, meaning 77 seats will have MDP primaries). Here are some snippets from Twitter to give a flavor of what the robust campaign looks like:
Asia This Week – December 28, 2018
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Last Updated: January 4, 2019 by 21votes
Each day, 21votes gathers election and political news from a different region of the world. We explore Asia and the Pacific on Fridays. Click the map pins.
Bangladesh Parliamentary - December 30, 2018
On December 30, over 100 million Bangladeshis will elect 299 members of the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament), choosing from 1,848 candidates. The Daily Star, a leading Bangladeshi English-language newspaper, has an interactive site for reading up on candidates and tracking results. Also a roundup of millennial voters’ opinions on the election: “All the interviewees we spoke to reiterated that they were ‘tired of dynastic politics’ and ‘corruption from top to bottom.’ As Azreen reflected, ‘I’d want someone who’d come into politics not because his dad/granddad was doing it, but someone who’s actually willing to change the idea that ‘politics’ is a dirty thing and confront the corruption at every level of society.’”
Thailand Parliamentary - February 24, 2019
Bloomberg on why Thailand’s military junta, which has been promising but postponing elections since it took power in 2014, has now actually announced a date:
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, tweets: “Excellent statement by @Anfrel on importance of international election observation which #Thailand should heed for the upcoming Feb 24 election. What is #Bangkok afraid of, why are they refusing international monitors?”
Maldives Parliamentary - April 9, 2019
Intraparty campaigning and wrangling has already begun ahead of Maldives’ April parliamentary elections. These elections follow a presidential election in which the pro-democracy opposition pulled off a surprise win from the incumbents. After decades of brutal dictatorship, Maldives has had a series of democratic victories and autocratic backslides over the past decade, and these parliamentary elections are an important opportunity for the pro-democracy camp to consolidate and put Maldives back on a path to reform. Former president Mohamed Nasheed, who along with his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) overthrew the dictatorship legally, by the ballot box, in 2008 and was subsequently removed in a coup, imprisoned, exiled, and prevented from running for president this year, is running for parliament. The Indian Ocean archipelago also sits at a geopolitically important point in the path of global shipping and on the front lines of competition between China and the world’s democracies.
The MDP is holding a primary on January 18 with 280 candidates for 87 seats (with nine uncontested and one with no declared MDP candidates, meaning 77 seats will have MDP primaries).
Malaysia
Nikkei Asian Review analyzes the challenges the new (and former) Prime Minster Mahathir Mohamed faces in 2019: “Can he win over the dominant ethnic Malays and halt the growth of Islamist forces?” The 93-year-old Mahathir (the world’s oldest head of state) served for over 20 years as an authoritarian prime minister, from 1981-2003, but reinvented himself as a self-proclaimed democrat and led his Pakatan Haratan (Alliance of Hope) party to a surprise victory in parliamentary elections this year.
Philippines
Maria Ressa, journalist, press freedom activist, and Time’s person of the year, tweets: “worst case scenarios are underway and much more needs to be done! What happens when the government uses Facebook as a weapon?” Ressa has been critical of President Rodrigo Duterte’s populist authoritarian rampages.
Upcoming Elections
Bangladesh General – December 30, 2018
On December 30, over 100 million Bangladeshis will elect 299 members of the Jatiya Sangsad (National Parliament), choosing from 1,848 candidates. The Daily Star, a leading Bangladeshi English-language newspaper, has an interactive site for reading up on candidates and tracking results. Also a roundup of millennial voters’ opinions on the election: “All the interviewees we spoke to reiterated that they were ‘tired of dynastic politics’ and ‘corruption from top to bottom.’ As Azreen reflected, ‘I’d want someone who’d come into politics not because his dad/granddad was doing it, but someone who’s actually willing to change the idea that ‘politics’ is a dirty thing and confront the corruption at every level of society.’”
Bangladeshi election observation group Odikhar released a statement on the pre-election environment detailing widespread violence and harassment, and warning that an unfair election could fuel violent extremism. The opposition has demanded the opposition has demanded that the chief election commissioner, K.M. Nurul Huda, resign because they do not believe that the election will be fair under his direction. Julhas Alam at the Associated Press reports that “At least six people have been killed and more than 1000 have been injured since December 10. Both opposition and ruling party blame each other for attacks, but media reports say most attacks were executed by the ruling party members and often backed by security officials.”
Selima Ahmad, democracy activist and founder of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry, tweeted:
Dhaka Tribune publisher K. Anis Ahmed describes the challenges Bangladesh’s entrenched politics present to democracy by effectively giving the voters a choice between heavy-handed secularist incumbents or challengers who stoke religious extremism: “At bottom, this election is a contest between two forms of authoritarianism — only one [religious extremism] is more dangerous than the other.” Indeed, as Andrea Kendall-Taylor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies noted in 2016: “[Democratic] decline in Bangladesh has led Sheikh Hasina Wazed and her ruling Awami League to seek closer relations with China and Russia, in part to mitigate Western pressure and bolster the regime’s domestic standing.”
Sharmeen S Murshid, head of the human rights NGO Brotee, calls on citizens to monitor the election process and stand up for democracy: “So, this article is an urgent but humble call from a humble citizen to all those who, in power and out, can turn today’s fear into courage, exclusion into inclusion, demonstrating generosity and kindness so that every life is preserved and protected while we move through another election. Bangladesh has journeyed through many upheavals and surmounted each one of these. Fall of authoritarian rule, rise of the caretaker system, its abolition, and the crisis of elections under political governance all point towards one fact: it is a time of deep national reflection, it is time to draw lessons from our wrongs, it is time to change the political narrative, it is a time to turn the page and start anew.”
Thailand Parliamentary – February 24, 2019
Bloomberg on why Thailand’s military junta, which has been promising but postponing elections since it took power in 2014, has now actually announced a date:
Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, tweets: “Excellent statement by @Anfrel on importance of international election observation which #Thailand should heed for the upcoming Feb 24 election. What is #Bangkok afraid of, why are they refusing international monitors?”
Maldives Parliamentary – April 9, 2019
Intraparty campaigning and wrangling has already begun ahead of Maldives’ April parliamentary elections. These elections follow a presidential election in which the pro-democracy opposition pulled off a surprise win from the incumbents. After decades of brutal dictatorship, Maldives has had a series of democratic victories and autocratic backslides over the past decade, and these parliamentary elections are an important opportunity for the pro-democracy camp to consolidate and put Maldives back on a path to reform. Former president Mohamed Nasheed, who along with his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) overthrew the dictatorship legally, by the ballot box, in 2008 and was subsequently removed in a coup, imprisoned, exiled, and prevented from running for president this year, is running for parliament. The Indian Ocean archipelago also sits at a geopolitically important point in the path of global shipping and on the front lines of competition between China and the world’s democracies.
The MDP is holding a primary on January 18 with 280 candidates for 87 seats (with nine uncontested and one with no declared MDP candidates, meaning 77 seats will have MDP primaries). Here are some snippets from Twitter to give a flavor of what the robust campaign looks like:
Recent Elections
Malaysia
Nikkei Asian Review analyzes the challenges the new (and former) Prime Minster Mahathir Mohamed faces in 2019: “Can he win over the dominant ethnic Malays and halt the growth of Islamist forces?” The 93-year-old Mahathir (the world’s oldest head of state) served for over 20 years as an authoritarian prime minister, from 1981-2003, but reinvented himself as a self-proclaimed democrat and led his Pakatan Haratan (Alliance of Hope) party to a surprise victory in parliamentary elections this year.
Other Regional News and Views
Philippines
Maria Ressa, journalist, press freedom activist, and Time’s person of the year, tweets: “worst case scenarios are underway and much more needs to be done! What happens when the government uses Facebook as a weapon?” Ressa has been critical of President Rodrigo Duterte’s populist authoritarian rampages.
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Category: This Week Tags: Bangladesh, Malaysia, Maldives, Philippines, Thailand