Page 9 - Elections

Austrian far-right Freedom Party takes lead in election, shows data

The far-right Freedom Party had a lead over the governing conservatives in Austria's national election on Sunday and was well-placed for its first win in a parliamentary vote, a projection showed. But its chances of governing were unclear. The projection for ORF public television, based on partial counting, put support for the Freedom Party at 29.1% in the parliamentary election and Chancellor Karl Nehammer's Austrian People's Party at 26.3%. The centre-left Social Democrats were in third place with 20.9%. Herbert Kickl, a former interior minister and longtime campaign strategist who has led the Freedom Party since 2021, wants to become Austria's new chancellor on the back of the first far-right national election win in post-World War II Austria. But to become Austria's new leader, he would need a coalition partner to command a majority in the lower house of parliament -- and rivals have said they won't work with Kickl in government. The voter has spoken. Change is wanted in our ..

Not possible to restore Article 370 through Assembly: Ghulam Nabi Azad

Democratic Progressive Azad Party chairman Ghulam Nabi Azad on Sunday said the restoration of Article 370 of the Constitution is not possible through the assembly, asking people not to get misled by false promises of the politicians and vote for development and progress. Addressing a series of election rallies in support of his party's candidates in Jammu on the last day of campaigning, Azad voiced concerns over the promises made by various political parties regarding the return of Article 370 and said these promises are not grounded in reality. We all want the return of Article 370, but we cannot expect anything from the BJP. Even the Congress fails to speak on this crucial issue. It is not possible to restore Article 370 through the assembly, but we can introduce legislation to ensure that no outsider can buy land or secure jobs in our region. This was the essence of Article 370, Azad, a former chief minister, said. The Democratic Progressive Azad Party (DPAP) founder said he do n

Delhi Mayor asks for postponement of standing committee member election

Just an hour ahead of the poll to elect the last vacant standing committee seat, Mayor Shelly Oberoi directed MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar to stall the election on Friday so that it could be held on October 5, as per her earlier instructions. Following disruption over frisking of the councillors on Thursday, the election to the MCD Standing Committee was postponed till October 5 by Mayor Shelly Oberoi. Later Lt Governor VK Saxena, however, overturned the postponement of the elections and directed MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar to hold the election on Friday at 1 pm. In a letter, Oberoi asked the commissioner to ensure due legal compliance in holding the standing committee election on October 5. She also asked him to declare the poll scheduled for Friday to be "illegal and unlawful". Oberoi, in her response to the commissioner, termed the LG's directive unconstitutional. "This order is illegal, unconstitutional as it is a gross violation of the statutory scheme of the DMC Act and

Leadership contest for Japan's next prime minister heads to run-off

The scramble to replace current premier Fumio Kishida was sparked in August when he announced his intention to step down

Delhi MCD Commissioner orders Standing Committee member election today

Earlier, the election for the standing committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) was postponed on Thursday as the house meeting was adjourned

Japan's PM race: Old problems, new faces, and a 30-year debate on surnames

As candidates vie for the role of prime minister, the debate over surnames has become symbolic of Japan's appetite for reform or the desire to cling to the status quo

Singapore to start landmark graft trial of former minister S Iswaran

The case against Iswaran, a former party member, is a test for a party that has long relied on its reputation for clean governance to win all elections since Singapore's independence in 1965

Sri Lanka's leftist President Dissanayake takes office as IMF worries grow

Dissanayake, 55, defeated opposition leader Sajith Premadasa after two rounds of counting in the country's first-ever runoff, sweeping Ranil Wickremesinghe, the previous president out of power

Election Commission failed to perform its duties in Feb 8 elections: Pak SC

Order also expressed 'some doubts about whether the commission has the power to reject the certificate of intra-party elections' which resulted in all kinds of legal and political implications for PTI

J&K startups hope for internet friendly environment post elections

While a Supreme Court ruling in January 2020 curtailed the length of shutdowns, the fallout continues to reverberate through the entrepreneurial landscape

Polling begins in Sri Lanka, island nation to elect next president

Polls opened on Saturday in Sri Lanka's crucial presidential election -- the island nation's first major electoral exercise since its worst economic meltdown in 2022. Some 17 million people are eligible to vote at over 13,400 polling stations. Over 200,000 officials have been deployed to conduct the election which will be guarded by 63,000 police personnel. Voting started at 7 am and will continue till 5 pm. Results are expected by Sunday. Voters will choose among 38 presidential candidates. Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75, is seeking re-election for a five-year term as an Independent candidate, riding on the success of his efforts to pull the country out of the economic crisis, which many experts hailed as one of the quickest recoveries in the world. The three-cornered electoral battle will see Wickremesinghe facing stiff competition from Anura Kumara Dissanayake, 56, of the National People's Power (NPP), and Sajith Premadasa, 57, of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) a

Sri Lankans seek change but stability crucial amid economic uncertainty

Sri Lanka's new leaders must demonstrate they are more responsible than the old guard they revile

BJD cautions against rushing through with simultaneous polls proposal

The Biju Janata Dal on Thursday cautioned against rushing through with the 'one nation, one election' proposal and called for a thorough legislative scrutiny of the measure it had supported initially. BJD MP Sasmit Patra told PTI Videos that several critical issues should be clarified before moving forward with the initiative of holding simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha, legislative assemblies and local bodies. "The party (Biju Janata Dal) initially supported the idea of 'one nation, one election', but what we are worried about are the contours, the ideas, and the fine print," Patra said. His remarks came after the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the proposal for 'one nation, one election' as recommended by the high-level committee headed by former president Ram Nath Kovind. Patra emphasised the need for thorough scrutiny, cautioning against rushing the proposal through without proper consideration. "I hope the Centre does not rush through 'one nation, one election' as they

SC considers hearing pleas against parties promising freebies during polls

Describing the issue of political parties promising freebies during elections as "very important", the Supreme Court on Wednesday said it will not delete from its list of businesses pleas filed against the practice. A bench comprising Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra was told by lawyer and PIL petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay that the pleas were already there in the list of business for the day and they needed to be heard. As the bench was seized of another part-heard matter, it was quite unlikely the PILs on freebies will be taken up during the day for the hearing, he said. The lawyer also urged that the pleas be kept on board so they can be heard at a later date. "This will not be deleted (from the cause list)," the CJI said, adding that the issues raised were "very important". The pleas were last mentioned for urgent hearing on March 20 this year. In his plea, Upadhyay also sought a direction to the Election Commission to invoke its powers to

Sri Lanka's workers live on margins, politicians still want their votes

Whoever Sri Lanka's next president is, Muthuthevarkittan Manohari isn't expecting much to change in her daily struggle to feed the four children and elderly mother with whom she lives in a dilapidated room in a tea plantation. Both leading candidates in Saturday's presidential election are promising to give land to the country's hundreds of thousands of plantation workers, but Manohari says she's heard it all before. Sri Lanka's plantation workers are a long-marginalised group who frequently live in dire poverty, but they can swing elections by voting as a bloc. Mahohari and her family are descended from Indian indentured labourers who were brought in by the British during colonial rule to work on plantations that grew first coffee, and later tea and rubber. Those crops are still Sri Lanka's leading foreign exchange earners. For 200 years, the community has lived on the margins of Sri Lankan society. Soon after the country became independent in 1948, the new government stripped them

Trudeau says there's 'more work to do' after party suffers by-election loss

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday he's focused on the work ahead after the ruling Liberals lost in another by-election, raising more questions about his ability to lead the party into the next federal election. For the second time in recent months the Liberals lost in a former stronghold when the Bloc Quebecois won the vote in the electoral district of LaSalle-Emard-Verdun Monday in Montreal in a tight three-way race with the New Democratic Party. Obviously it would have been nicer to be able to win . . . but there's more work to do, Trudeau said in Ottawa. The big thing is to make sure that Canadians understand the choice they get to make in the next election," Trudeau said. "That's the work we're going to continue to do. Election Canada results show the Bloc candidate Louis-Philippe Sauve finished with 28% of the vote. Liberals' candidate Laura Palestini collected 27.2% and finished just 248 votes behind the winner. The NDP collected 26.1% and was about 600 vote

First Assembly poll in 10 years: Voting in Jammu & Kashmir from today

A total of 49 out of 238 candidates (21%) contesting in Phase II of the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) Assembly elections have declared criminal cases against themselves

J&K polls Phase II: 21% candidates face criminal cases, over 50% crorepatis

A notable 21 per cent of the candidates are facing criminal cases, with 16 per cent involved in serious charges like attempted murder and crimes against women

J-K polls: Election officials head to polling stations in Ramban with EVMs

Twenty-four Assembly constituencies across the UT will go to polls in the first phase, scheduled for September 18

Suspicious packages sent to election officials in at least five US states

Suspicious packages were sent to election officials in at least five states on Monday, but there were no reports that any of the packages contained hazardous material. Powder-containing packages were sent to secretaries of state and state election offices in Iowa, Nebraska, Tennessee, Wyoming and Oklahoma, officials in those states confirmed. The FBI and US Postal Service were investigating. It marked the second time in the past year that suspicious packages were mailed to election officials in multiple state offices. The latest scare comes as early voting has begun in several states less than two months ahead of the high-stakes elections for president, Senate, Congress and key statehouse offices around the nation, causing disruption in what is already a tense voting season. Several of the states reported a white powder substance found in envelopes sent to election officials. In most cases, the material was found to be harmless. Oklahoma officials said the material sent to the ...