Page 464 - Politics
Austria tabloid offers trip to 'Ibiza-gate' villa after scandal
An Austrian tabloid is offering a lottery to win a trip to the luxury villa where a hidden camera caught a far-right leader in a sting that forced the collapse of the government. The video, filmed on the Spanish holiday island of Ibiza in 2017, led to Heinz-Christian Strache's resignation as vice-chancellor on Saturday and a call for new elections after what has been dubbed the "Ibiza-gate" scandal. In the video published by German media, Strache appeared to offer public contracts during an alcohol-fuelled evening with a woman posing as a relative of a Russian oligarch in return for election campaign help. "We bring you to Ibiza! Two people fly for two nights to Ibiza, precisely to the villa where Strache was filmed secretly," read the announcement on oe24, the Internet portal of tabloid Oesterreich. Those who want to participate can submit their details online and will be informed by telephone if they have won, the announcement said. The trip starts next Tuesday. Oesterreich and Oe24
Opposition's demands regarding EVM-VVPAT tally rejected by EC
The Election Commission on Wednesday rejected the demand of opposition parties which sought tallying of VVPAT slips for an entire assembly segment if even one of the five samples does not match with votes polled in EVMs.The current provisions say five randomly-selected EVMs will be verified in each assembly segment with the VVPAT slipsThe decision comes a day after leaders of 22 opposition parties, led by TDP chief and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, met EC officials and alleged discrepancies in EVM machines. They also demanded that the EVM-VVPAT tally should be done at the beginning of the process of counting.The delegation also included the leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who handed over a memorandum to the Commission enlisting their demands."If any discrepancy is found in the tally, then VVPAT for the whole assembly segment should be counted. We do not know what is the problem of the Election ...
Stage set for counting of votes tomorrow
All is set for counting of votes in 542 Lok Sabha constituencies on Thursday as opposition parties mounted vigil around the counting centres across India where the electronic voting machines (EVMs) are being kept in strong rooms.Most exit polls have predicted a comfortable majority for the BJP-led NDA whose campaign was spearheaded by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The opposition, however, has rejected the exit polls, calling them wrong and erroneous.The counting exercise will begin at 8 am, capping a two-month long election process which witnessed high-octane campaigning and charges of tampering EVMs and violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC). Trends are expected to be available shortly thereafter.Counting of votes will also take place for four state Assemblies -- Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, which went to polls along with the general elections.Twenty-two opposition parties had on Tuesday knocked the Election Commission's doors to press their demand for
Counting of votes in 36 centres;Stakes high for TDP,YSRC in AP
In a few hours from now, the verdict of the people will be out on whether they voted for a change or status quo in Andhra Pradesh, even as stakes are high for the two main contenders--the ruling TDP and YSRC. The general mood of the voters apart, most pre-poll surveys and exit polls have given a thumping victory for the opposition YSR Congress (YSRC) but ruling Telugu Desam president and Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu is betting "1000 per cent" on his partys victory. "Exit polls have proved to be incorrect and far from ground reality in many instances. While undoubtedly TDP govt will be formed in AP, we are confident that non-BJP parties will form a non-BJP govt at the center (sic)," Naidu said recently. Counting of votes for the 25 Lok Sabha seats and 175 Assembly segments will be held at 36 different centres across the State amid tight security on Thursday, according to officials. This was the first general election in the state after the bifurcation of Andhra ...
All arrangements in place for counting of votes at 90 centres in Haryana
Two Union ministers and a former chief minister are among the 223 Lok Sabha poll candidates in Haryana whose fate would be known on Thursday when counting of votes gets underway at 90 centres spread over 30 locations in the state. Polling in the 10 parliamentary constituencies in Haryana was held in the sixth phase on May 12 in which over 70 per cent of the 1.80 crore people cast their votes. Haryana's Joint Chief Electoral Officer, Inder Jeet Wednesday said, "All arrangements, including those pertaining to security, have been put in place. The process of counting of votes will begin at 8 am on May 23." Additional Director General of Police (law and order) Navdeep Singh Virk said a three-layered security cover has been put in place at the counting centres. Security has been tightened at strong rooms housing the EVMs to ensure peaceful counting of votes, he said. With the voter-verifiable paper audit trail (VVPATs) to be counted in five polling booths picked at random from each of the .
This is how vote counting process is undertaken
Amid allegations that the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) used in the elections were being changed ahead of counting of votes on Thursday, PRS Legislative Research, an independent research institute, on Wednesday explained how the counting process takes place.
EC's VVPAT decision goes against SC order: Yechury
CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Wednesday said the Election Commission's rejection of the Opposition demand to first count the VVPAT slips went against the "spirit" of a Supreme Court order on the devices. Yechury's reaction comes after the commission is learnt to have stuck to its plan to count the voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) slips in the end and not in the beginning as demanded by the Opposition. "This goes against the spirit of the Supreme Court Order on VVPATs delivered before polling began," Yechury tweeted. "If the process has been so long drawn for the sake of integrity of the electoral process, why is (the) EC not adhering to the basic principle of testing the sample first?" the Left leader asked. The Opposition had approached the EC on Tuesday and demanded that the five random VVPATs should be counted first so that if there is a problem or a mismatch, all such slips can be counted before it is too late. "Integrity of EVMs by matching with sample ...
Western nations urge swift Sudan accord to install civil rule
The United States, Britain and Norway called for a swift agreement between Sudanese protesters and generals on installing civilian rule, saying it would be harder for them to work with any other new authority. Talks between protest leaders and army generals who seized power after ousting longtime leader Omar al-Bashir last month have stopped since late Monday following disagreement about who should lead a new ruling body -- a civilian or a soldier. The Western troika, which has previously been involved in mediation in Sudanese conflicts, said the country "urgently needs an agreement" to end the period of uncertainty, according to a joint statement released late Tuesday. "Any outcome that does not result in the formation of a government that is civilian-led, placing primary authority for governing with civilians, will not respond to the clearly expressed will of the Sudanese people for a transition to civilian rule," it said. "This will complicate international engagement, and make it .
Disservice to officers to say EVMs in their custody get hacked: IPS officer D Roopa
Amid ongoing allegations about tampering of electronic voting machines (EVMs) by several Opposition parties, senior IPS officer D Roopa on Wednesday said that it's a "disservice" to officers to say that EVMs in their custody were hacked."Hacking EVMs is impossible. All IAS officers and state administrative services officers across the country know that EVMs can't be hacked. During polls, they work as Returning Officers, Assistant ROs. Will all of them jeopardise their jobs by allowing hacking? Can all be bought over," Roopa tweeted."We are forgetting the fact that elections are conducted by bureaucratic machinery. It is a disservice to officers to say EVMs in their custody get hacked. Timeframe -- prior, during, after polls till results, EVMs remain in officers' custody. Can all officers all over the country get compromised," she added.Her comments over the issue of EVM hacking comes a day after leaders of 22 major opposition parties on Tuesday met the Election Commission (EC) and ...
Trump taps former US ambassador to run Air Force
US President Donald Trump has nominated Barbara Barrett, a former US Ambassador to Finland and one-time Republican candidate for Arizona Governor, to serve as the next secretary of the Air Force.
Swaraj meets Chinese counterpart, discusses issues of bilateral interest
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj Wednesday met her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi on the sidelines of a multilateral meeting here and discussed issues of bilateral interest, including the implementation of understanding reached during last year's Wuhan Summit. Swaraj arrived here on Tuesday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council (SCO) of Foreign Ministers here in the Kyrgyz capital. "Continuing the momentum of high-level exchanges. EAM @SushmaSwaraj met Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi on the sidelines of #SCO Foreign Minister's Meeting in Bishkek. Discussed issues of bilateral interest, including the implementation of understanding reached during Wuhan Summit," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. The April 27-28 Wuhan summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping was largely credited to have turned around the bilateral relations soured by the 73-day-long Doklam standoff, triggered by Chinese troops ...
VVPAT tallying may extend wait to know final winner in Goa
The final verdict on Lok Sabha polls in Goa is expected to come late night on Thursday as manual counting of VVPAT slips from five booths of each Assembly segment has to be taken up to match figures, a senior poll official said Wednesday. Counting of votes for the two Lok Sabha constituencies and four assembly segments would be taken up at two centres in Panaji and Margao. Votes for North Goa district would be counted in Panaji and for South Goa district in Margao. Assembly constituencies of Panaji, Mandrem and Mapusa fall under North Goa district and Shiroda in South Goa district. "Counting process will start at 8 am. It is expected to continue till midnight because along with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the manual counting of VVPATs (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) from five booths of each Assembly constituency would be taken up to match the figures," said District Election Officer R Menaka. Results would start trickling by by afternoon, she said, adding that
SBSP dismisses reports of MLAs switching sides
The Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) dismissed all speculations on Wednesday that its legislators might desert the party after the dismissal of its president, Om Prakash Rajbhar, from the Uttar Pradesh cabinet. "There are reports in the media about our three SBSP MLAs. All the three -- Triveni Ram, Ramanand Baudh and Kailash Nath Sonkar -- are solidly with the SBSP," Rajbhar said. "All have struggled together (for the party) and no amount of effort will help the BJP in succeeding in its designs." SBSP general secretary Arvind Rajbhar pointed out that even though Sonkar was allegedly harassed by state Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Mahendra Nath Pandey during the Rajya Sabha election, the legislator did not support the saffron party and, instead, cross-voted. "Even if the BJP offers allurements and also cabinet berths, our MLAs will not come under pressure," Arvind Rajbhar said. On Monday, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath recommended the sacking of Om Prakash Rajbhar from the
Monitor says no evidence of new Syria chemical attack
A British-based war monitor said Wednesday it had no evidence to suggest the Syrian army had carried out a new chemical attack despite Washington's announcement it had suspicions. "We have no proof at all of the attack," Rami Abdul Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, told AFP. "We have not documented any chemical attack in the mountains of Latakia," he said. The northern mountains are the only part of Latakia province, on Syria's Mediterraean coast, that are no firmly in the han ds of the government. They are a major prize in fighting that has flared up in northwestern Syria in recent weeks between pro-government forces and the jihadists they have been used as a launchpad for rocket and drone attacks on the Hmeimim air base of the government's main ally Russia. The Hayat Tahrir al-Sham alliance led by Syria's former Al-Qaeda affiliate accused government forces on Sunday of launching a chlorine gas attack on its fighters in the north of Latakia province. The Syrian
US warns Syria over suspected use of chemical attacks
The United States on Tuesday warned the Syrian government over carrying out chemical attacks as a counter-offensive, particularly in its northwestern region, the remaining holdout of the Islamic State.In a statement, the US State Department said, "We continue to see signs that the Assad regime may be renewing its use of chemical weapons, including an alleged chlorine attack in northwest Syria on the morning of May 19, 2019.""We are still gathering information on this incident, but we repeat our warning that if the Assad regime uses chemical weapons, the United States and our allies will respond quickly and appropriately," the statement read.Washington continues to investigate the suspected attack in northwest Syria that is believed to be "part of a violent campaign led by President Bashar al-Assad."The State Department alleged that the attack violates a ceasefire in the greater Idlib area that has protected millions of civilians who were already displaced from violence in other parts .
Elaborate arrangements in MP for LS polls counting
Counting of votes for 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh will be held at 292 centres across 51 district headquarters on Thursday and results are expected by late evening, a senior election official said. Around 1,800 CCTV cameras have been installed at the counting centres where internet and wi-fi services will not be available, state Chief Electoral Officer V L Kantha Rao told reporters here on Tuesday. "The counting of votes for the 29 Lok Sabha seats in the state will be held from 8 am on Thursday in 292 halls across 51 district headquarters. Given the number of candidates and counting rounds, the first result may start coming in by 10 pm," he said. After the end of counting, five randomly selected Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) slips from each Assembly segment of that particular Lok Sabha seat would be matched with the electronic voting machines (EVMs), he said. The highest 29 rounds of counting will be held in Indore and the lowest 14 in Katni, he ...
LS polls: Counting of votes at 28 centres in Gujarat
Counting of votes for elections to 26 Lok Sabha constituencies and bypolls in four Assembly seats of Gujarat will be taken up on Thursday at 28 centres across the state, a senior official said. Polling for all the 26 Lok Sabha and four Assembly seats was held in a single phase on April 23, recording a voter turnout of 64.11 per cent, the highest in the state since 1976 when there was around 63.77 voting. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah witnessed 63.66 per cent polling. The BJP at that time won all the 26 seats. "Counting of votes will be held on Thursday at 28 centres. Elaborate security arrangements have been made at all the counting centres," state Chief Electoral Officer S Murali Krishnan said in a release. Chief Minister Vijay Rupani expressed confidence that the BJP will retain all the 26 seats in the state. "There is a Modi 'wave', people of the state are enthusiastic to make Modi the prime ...
Another K'taka Congress MLA strikes discordant note
In another note of dissent from the Karnataka Congress, MLA K Sudhakar questioned on Wednesday why the issue of alleged EVM manipulation was being brought into the discourse about the Lok Sabha exit poll predictions. Sudhakar's stand is contrary to that of the Congress, which has joined other opposition parties in upping the ante on alleged EVM tampering or manipulation ahead of the counting of votes on Thursday. The Congress MLA's remarks came a day after senior party lawmaker Roshan Baig unleashed a scathing attack on its state leadership, calling Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Dinesh Gundu Rao a "flop show" and party general secretary K C Venugopal a "buffoon". Sudhakar, who had often been vocal in airing his grievances against the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in the southern state, tweeted on Tuesday night, saying EVM tampering and exit polls were two different things. The Chikkaballapura MLA tweeted: "Personally I am confused why the issue of EVM manipulation is ...
Tharoor calls BJP a 'sinking ship' as it swings into celebratory mode
Unfazed by exit polls projecting a clear mandate to BJP-led NDA, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday called the saffron party a "sinking ship" and said that he does not take these poll results seriously.Replying to reporters questions here on BJP's preparations anticipating victory in polls, he said, "They can do whatever preparations they like but it is voters who have the last say in democracy. The voters have expressed their wishes which we will know by tomorrow. Rearranging the deckchairs of a sinking ship is not the most productive activity.""I do not take the exit polls seriously. For the last several elections, they have gone wrong. In 2004, exit polls said NDA and Mr Vajpayee will win the election (which did not happen)," the Congress leader said.Asserting that exit polls cannot be trusted, Tharoor said that the BJP will not get the number of seats predicted by TV channels.He said, "I am 100 per cent sure that whatever the results may be, the BJP is not going to score .
Afghanistan, terrorism top Sushma Swaraj's speech at SCO meet
Sushma Swaraj, the Minister of External Affairs, reiterated India's commitment in securing peace and security in war-ravaged Afghanistan as she addressed the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) meeting here on Wednesday."India stands committed to any process, which can help Afghanistan emerge as a united, peaceful, secure, stable, inclusive and economically vibrant nation, with guaranteed gender and human rights. I wish to once again underscore the importance India attaches to SCO Afghanistan Contact Group and welcome an early conclusion of the Draft Roadmap of further actions of the Contact Group," Swaraj said in a statement.The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance created in 2001 in Shanghai, by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined the forum in 2017.The Wednesday's meeting, attended by foreign ministers of the SCO member states, including Pakistan, focused on the effective use of the ..