At first glance, it hardly looked like a vision of democratic perfection.
Indonesia Elections: A Win For Democracy
Tag Archives: elections
Germany Addresses Online Terrorism Threats Before General Election
With Germany going to the polls in a general election in three months, authorities are on high alert after detecting an increase in online warnings of terrorist attacks targeting the country. The German government held high-level talks with top security and intelligence chiefs in Berlin on Thursday to discuss the growing threat posed by Islamic extremists and to coordinate counterterrorism measures. Intelligence officials are alarmed by the rising number of videos posted online by militant Islamists who say they are specifically targeting Germany.
Iranian clerics dispute election results
Top clerics and seminary students in Iran’s holy city of Qom have come out against the results of the disputed June Iranian presidential election, which was declared a landslide victory for the hard-line incumbent. The Association of Teachers and Researchers of the Qom seminary school issued a statement on Saturday, saying that the election was skewed.
Moussavi said to be planning new party after Iran vote
Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi plans to form a new political party aimed at reining in the power of the Islamic Republic’s leadership, a leading reformist newspaper reported Sunday. Moussavi told supporters the party will be focused on upholding “the remaining principles of the constitution,” according to Etemad-e Melli, a newspaper aligned with fellow opposition candidate Mehdi Karrubi. He is expected to file papers with Iran’s Interior Ministry to establish the party before hard-line incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is sworn in for a new term, the newspaper reported
Report: UK embassy staff in Iran ‘face trial’
A top Iranian cleric said Friday some of the arrested employees from the British Embassy in Tehran would be put on trial, Iranian Students News Agency reported. The employees have been accused of helping to incite some of the post-election protests that sweep through Iran. The British Foreign Office in London reacted strongly to the statement Friday.
Newsweek reporter in Iran reportedly ‘confesses’
A reporter for Newsweek magazine who was arrested in Tehran has confessed to doing the bidding of Western governments, the semi-official Fars News Agency reported Wednesday. Maziar Bahari, 42, made his alleged confession at a news conference Tuesday.
Reformists question legitimacy of Iran’s government
Three leading Iranian reformists who have rejected the results of last month’s election questioned the legitimacy of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government Wednesday. This comes as Ahmadinejad is set to take office at the end of the month. Presidential candidate Mehdi Karrubi wrote a letter in his party’s newspaper, saying he would not recognize the government and vowing to “stand by the people and the revolution, until the end of my life.” His statement prompted Iran’s government to block publication of the newspaper
Ahmadinejad accuses Obama of interfering in election
Iran’s president slammed President Obama on Saturday, saying officials in the Islamic republic are astonished over what they see as his interference in Iran’s disputed elections. “Didn’t he say that he was after change” Ahmadinejad asked Iranian judiciary officials in a speech. “Why did he interfere Why did he utter remarks irrespective of norms and decorum” His remarks are countering Western criticism of the June 12 elections, which the government said Ahmadinejad won in a landslide.
Sunday last day for Iran candidates to file complaints
The body overseeing elections in Iran reminded opposition candidates in the disputed presidential election that they have until Sunday to lodge any more complaints about the vote, state-run media reported. The Guardian Council “has called on all political and religious figures to voice their queries and present any documents on alleged irregularities,” according to comments Saturday from council spokesman Abbasali Kadkhodaie, who was quoted by state-run Press TV
Will Germany’s Army Ever Be Ready for Battle?
On June 15, the German army’s General Wolfgang Schneiderhan found himself in front of an audience of politicians and senior officers defending military policy — on sleeping bags. Many German soldiers “are whingeing to high heaven,” Schneiderhan said at a reception thrown by the parliamentary army ombudsman, complaining about everything from being sent on yet another overseas tour of duty to the “unsuitable” sleeping bags they are given for their deployment in the Congo. Then Schneiderhan did some complaining of his own, noting the tendency for his officers to delegate blame, with no-one taking responsibility for their actions.