Category: election
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Venezuelan Elections/FP
I recently did an analysis on the upcoming Venezuelan elections for Foreign Policy. Although some interesting observations on the possible effects of constitutionally mandated voter participation laws failed to make it past the cutting room floor, I suspect it may still be of interest to the readers of this blog.
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What country was this anyway? Suit to disqualify president of Zambia from running
In the constitutional non-sequiter department: Zambia is gearing up for a presidential election, and incumbent Rupiah Banda, seeking a second elected term, has just been hit with a lawsuit seeking to disqualify him from running. The Zambian Constitution, Art. 34, provides for the qualifications for the presidency.
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A One-Two Knockout to Venezuelan Democracy?
The exploits of the Mexican Chavez family are well known to boxing fans. Beginning with Julio Cesar Chavez in the early eighties and moving on to his sons Julio Jr. and Omar in the present day; the family has earned many titles and championships through a combination of vicious one-two punches (wherein a first strike…
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Cote d’Ivoire’s Constitutional Council invalidates election results
Per the wire feed carried by the New York Times, Cote d’Ivoire’s Conseil Constitutionnel has just overturned the election commission’s conclusion that the opposition candidate won the country’s presidential election, and has instead handed victory to the incumbent president Laurent Gbagbo.
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Government Formation and Iraq’s Constitution
If reports of a breakthrough in formation of a new Iraqi government are to believed (a questionable proposition), it is worth noting two ways Iraq’s Constitution has been implicated in the unmitigated disaster that has been the failure to form a government almost seven months after Iraq’s parliamentary elections.
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The Iraq Judiary: A Correction and Apology
I feel compelled to update my March 31 post about the Iraq Federal Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the meaning of “largest Council of Representatives bloc” in Article 76 of the Iraq Constitution. I maligned the Court for ruling that the phrase referred to post-election coalitions (multiple party lists that come together to form a…
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Iraq’s Bush v. Gore?
A Special Iraqi Electoral Court today waded even deeper into political and electoral waters, ordering a partial recount of votes cast in last month’s parliamentary election. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/20/world/middleeast/20iraq.html?hp In so doing the court upset the Independent Higher Electoral Commission’s certification of the results and has played right into the hands of Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, who…
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A Step Backwards for the Iraq Judiciary
The Iraq judiciary has made great strides in its capacity and independence since the fall of the Saddam regime, as demonstrated by brave and politically unpopular decisions made in the name of fair and impartial adjudication. In 2008 the Iraq Supreme Court vacated the Council of Representative’s decision to strip a parliamentarian’s immunity so he…