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Elections
Polls opened in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan on Sunday in a snap parliamentary election amid the arrests of opposition figures and the closure of independent media outlets. It is expected to cement the grip of President Sadyr Zhaparov, who has sought to suppress dissent in what was once Central Asia's most democratic country. The vote is being held a year earlier than scheduled, a move that officials have justified by arguing that the parliamentary elections would otherwise fall too close to the 2027 presidential elections. There have also been sweeping changes to Kyrgyzstan's electoral system, with 30 constituencies electing three lawmakers each. According to the Central Election Commission, 467 candidates are vying for the 90 seats in Kyrgyzstan's one-chamber parliament, the Jogorku Kenesh. There's also a gender quota system that requires at least one female lawmaker from each district. Analysts say candidates loyal to Zhaparov are likely to succeed thanks to the rapi
The stage is set for MCD bypolls in 12 wards on Sunday, which will be a litmus test for the voters' mood in the national capital after the massive success of the BJP in the assembly elections earlier this year. The voting will begin from 7.30 am on November 30 at 580 booths across 143 polling locations. It will conclude at 5.30 pm, the Delhi State Election Commission said in a statement. A total of 2,320 polling body personnel, along with the deployment of 2,265 personnel, 580 Home Guards, and 13 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces, will facilitate the electoral exercise. Fifty-one candidates, including 26 women, are in the fray for the polls. The BJP has fielded the highest number of women candidates (8), followed by AAP (6) and Congress (5). The election is being closely observed as AAP and the BJP will take on each other again after the assembly polls held in February. The saffron party won 48 out of the 70 constituencies and returned to power in Delhi after 27 years, .
The non-disclosure of conviction in a nomination form will lead to the disqualification of an elected candidate, the Supreme Court has said. A bench of Justices P S Narasimha and A S Chandurkar passed the order on an appeal filed by a former councillor, Poonam, who was unseated from the post as she did not disclose her conviction in a case in the nomination form for the election. Poonam was unseated from the municipal councillor's post in Nagar Parishad, Bhikangaon, Madhya Pradesh. She was convicted in a cheque bounce case and sentenced to imprisonment for one year with a direction to pay compensation. Rejecting the petitioner's plea to save her from disqualification, the bench said, "Once it is found that there has been non-disclosure of a previous conviction by a candidate, it creates an impediment in the free exercise of electoral right by a voter." "A voter is thus deprived of making an informed and advised choice. It would be a case of suppression/non-disclosure by such a ...
The Supreme Court on Monday refused to entertain a plea seeking an SIT probe headed by a former judge to inquire into allegations of electoral roll manipulation in Bengaluru Central and other constituencies. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi asked the petitioner to pursue his plea with the Election Commission of India. The bench ordered, "We have heard the petitioner's counsel and we are not inclined to entertain the petition, which is purportedly filed in public interest. The petitioner may pursue his plea before the ECI, if so advised." Counsel for the petitioner, Rohit Pandey, who is a practising advocate, said that they have already filed the representation with the poll panel but it has not been accepted. The petitioner sought some time limit to be fixed for the poll panel to decide the plea, which the bench refused. The plea refers to a press conference held by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in which he made explosive claims of a "huge criminal fraud" in polls
The Telangana High Court has affirmed that the 50 per cent reservation ceiling set by the Supreme Court applies to local body polls, and any quota increase for OBCs should be within the framework of the "triple test". The Supreme Court's triple test is a framework for providing reservations for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in local body elections, requiring states to form a commission to collect data, specify the reservation proportion based on the commission's findings, and ensure the total reservation for SCs, STs, and OBCs does not exceed 50 per cent of the total seats. A detailed order copy was uploaded on the Telangana High Court website on Friday night. While issuing an interim stay against a Government Order providing 42 per cent BC reservation in local body polls on October 8, the High Court said the State Election Commission would notify the proportionate seats as open category seats and proceed with the elections. "We are, therefore, of the prima facie view that the ...
Claiming that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) "purified" Bihar's voters' list after 22 years, CEC Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday said many new initiatives were being undertaken for the upcoming assembly elections in the state, and these would be replicated across the country in due course. Addressing a press conference in Patna before winding up his tour of the state, Kumar said these initiatives include a new SOP (standard operating procedure) to ensure that EPIC cards are delivered to voters within 15 days of registration and a mobile deposit facility at polling booths. He said the elections to the 243-member assembly will be completed before the expiry of its term on November 22. "We have an ERO (Electoral Registration Officer) in each of the 243 constituencies. They were assisted by 90,207 BLOs in completing the SIR exercise, which has purified the voters' list after 22 years," he said. The last time an intensive revision of electoral rolls had taken place in the state was in ...
Outgoing Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba 's ruling party opened official campaigning Monday to find his replacement who can restore political stability and voter support for the beleaguered Liberal Democrats. Five candidates are vying for the Liberal Democratic Party's top job ahead of a highly unpredictable vote in early October. The race has a slogan: Change, LDP. The winner must act quickly to address rising prices if the party is to have any chance of winning back support following devastating losses to both the LDP and its junior partner Komeito in the past year that deprived their coalition of a majority in either house of parliament. Its new leader is still likely to be prime minister because the LDP remains the No. 1 party, while opposition groups are too splintered to form a coalition. Whoever becomes the LDP leader must also gain cooperation from main opposition parties or risk facing constant no-confidence motions and a cycle of short-lived leadership. Vote for L
The Election Commission has asked its state election officers to be ready for the SIR by September 30, in an indication that the poll authority could launch the voter list cleanup exercise as early as October-November. According to officials, at a conference of state chief electoral officers (CEOs) here earlier this month, the EC top brass asked them to be ready for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) rollout in the next 10 to 15 days. But for the sake of greater clarity, the deadline of September 30 was set. The CEOs have been told to keep voter lists of their states, published after the last SIR, ready. Several state CEOs have already put up the voter lists published after their last SIR on their websites. The website of the Delhi CEO has the voter list from 2008, when the last intensive revision took place in the national capital. In Uttarakhand, the last SIR took place in 2006 and the electoral roll from that year is now on the state CEO's website. The last SIR in states wil