#SINGAPORE: Bill Would Reform Presidential Elections

[world politics news]

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is set to introduce two Government Bills tabling legislative amendments to the presidential elections, when Parliament sits for a session on Monday.

A presidential election must be called by Sep 13, with President Halimah Yacob’s six-year term expiring on that day.

It will be open to candidates of all races, as opposed to the reserved election in 2017 where only members of the Malay community were allowed to contest. 

A Presidential Elections (Amendment) Bill debated in Parliament in 2017 introduced changes to how such polls are run, across areas like campaigning and rallies. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#EU: European Parliament Introduces Election Reforms: Younger People Voting, At-Large Seats

[world politics news]

European lawmakers have backed a proposal to reform the way they are elected which they say would allow citizens to have a greater say in how the European Union is run.

The draft legislation plans for European voters to cast two votes, one to elect MEPs in national constituencies and another to elect 28 additional MEPs that would have the whole EU as their constituency.

They also want voters to be able to elect the European Commission president with each political group in the parliament putting forward a candidate during the election. The top job would then be given to the nominee from the group that secured the most seats.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#THAILAND: Parliament Amends Electoral System

[world politics news]

 

Thailand’s parliament has approved a constitutional amendment bill to change the election system which analysts said could favor bigger parties including one backing Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha while proving advantageous to the opposition Pheu Thai Party as well. 

The joint session of the parliament voted for the bill 472 to 33, while 187 lawmakers abstained.

“The constitutional amendment bill which the parliament has passed will change the electoral system from a one-ballot system to a two-ballot system,” said Jurin Laksanawisit, deputy prime minister and leader of the Democrat Party. 

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#HONGKONG: Rules May Be Changed To Keep Pro-Democracy Candidates Out Of HK Legislature

[world politics news]

 

The mainland Chinese Communist Party may radically change the election methods of the Hong Kong Legislative Council in an attempt to bar pro-democracy candidates from entering the legislature, according to lawmaker Cheng Chung-tai, reports the HK Apple Daily newspaper.

Speaking on a RTHK radio talk show, pro-Beijing lawmaker Priscilla Leung said she has yet to hear anything about the speculated changes, but agreed that the changes may help excluding “low quality” people from entering politics, to ensure the implementation of the “one country, two systems” principle.

Since pro-democracy lawmakers have proven they can win at least 117 members in the 1,200-member legislative body, Beijing was rushing to implement the reforms to stop the opposition from using the elections to mobilize, said Cheng, a lawmaker from the Civic Passion Party.

Pro-Beijing officials disqualified nearly all pro-democracy candidates in the last regional elections last year, and this month, more than 60 dissidents have been rounded up by police in Hong Kong in a crackdown on pro-democracy activists.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GEORGIA: Ruling Party, Opposition, Agree On Parliamentary And Electoral Reforms

[world politics news]

The ruling Georgian Dream Party and the united opposition have reached an agreement on holding the upcoming parliamentary elections this October with 120 seats in the legislative body to be distributed via a proportional vote and the remaining 30 via the majoritarian system.

The agreement also foresees a fair composition of election districts, a 1% threshold, and a cap recognising that no single party that wins less than 40% of the votes should be able to get its own majority in the next parliament.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#JAPAN: Referendum Would Consolidate Osaka Wards

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Five years after voters in the city of Osaka narrowly voted down a referendum on consolidating its 24 wards into five with more autonomy and eliminating the municipal assembly and mayor, another referendum is set for later this year.

The merger is the chief political goal of Osaka Ishin no Kai (One Osaka), the local party founded expressly for that purpose.



[FULL STORY [HEREl]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GREECE: Electoral Law Would Award "Bonus Seats" To Parliament

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A proposed law would award "bonus seats"  to the winning party in elections, helping to avoid hung parliaments.

Under fthr bill, the winning party receives 25% of the vote it will get a bonus of 20 seats, and an additional seat for every additional half a percentage point.

If it wins more than 40%  then it will receive a maximum of 50 bonus seats.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#GEORGIA: Legislators Reject Proportional Representation Electoral Reforms

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The Parliament of the Republic of Georgia has rejected the bill on constitutional amendments relating to the electoral system.141 MPs registered for the plenary session. 101 MPs, including opposition lawmakers, supported the bill on the transition to the proportional electoral system. Three MPs voted against the bill, though the required quorum was 113 votes, thus the bill failed in its first reading.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#TURKEY: Erdogan Reacts Coldly To Proposal To Lower Vote Threshold To Elect Presidents

[world politics news]

Turkish Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is reacting coldly to the idea of lowering the percentage of votes required to elect a president from 50% to 40%, saying voters want to see "serious politicians" elected to the office. The next presidential election is in 2023.

The issue was raised by former minister Faruk Çelik who suggested that the presidential elections should allow just 40% of support in the first round to be elected.

In April 2017, the Turkish people voted to switch Turkey from a parliamentary system to an executive presidential system of governance.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#CUBA: Parliament Creates Office Of Prime Minister; Shrinks Itself

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Cuba's parliament has approved a new electoral law which calls for both a president and a prime minister but has no provision for a multiparty system, maintaining the Communist Party as the only permitted political organisation in the country.

The legislation downsized parliament from the present 605 deputies to 474 seats.
[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#CANADA: Ontario New Democrats Pass Resolution To Lower Voting Age To 14

[world politics news]

Delegates and party members of the Ontario New Democratic Party passed a resolution to lower the voting age to 14 at its convention this past weekend.

“Resolution 5-5: Youth Political Engagement” also tackled the engagement of young voters and the need to improve civics education in the province. Currently, Canadian citizens must be 18 years old or older to vote in an election.

National NDP Party Leader Jagmeet Singh was also present at the convention alongside Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, where he unveiled his party’s 2019 election platform.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#IRELAND: Commission Urges Major, Comprehensive Update In "Out-Of-Date" Election Laws

[world politics news]

Current electoral laws are out-of-date, incoherent and have a serious lack of teeth when it comes to enforcement, the State’s ethics and electoral watchdog has said. The Standards in Public Office Commission made a detailed critique of the Electoral Act in a submission to the Government on a proposed electoral commission.

The commission highlighted a large number of what it describes as “gaps and challenges” in the current laws. It argued that if the long-promised electoral commission is to be established, it should first involve a "comprehensive review of the Electoral Acts," and noted that elections had not kept up with technology.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#IRAQ: After Members Stage Mass Absence, Parliament Fails To Extend Its Term; Action On Election Fraud Delayed

[world politics news]

Iraq's parliament failed to meet for its final days this week after a vast majority of deputies stayed away, causing their to be a lack of a quorum. On the agenda was an electoral reform package and the recount of ballots in a disputed election in May, in which up fraud levels were said to be "very high," with election commission board member Riyad al-Badran claiming there were over 800,000 canceled cards in Baghdad representing 8 parliamentary seats. No more than 15 of the 165 deputies appeared for the session. Parliament's Speaker and other influential members were among those absent.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#AUSTRALIA: Oppo. Ldr. Bill Shorten Wants To Lengthen Gov't Term To Four Years

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Australians could be asked to give a Federal government four years in charge of the nation’s finances, with Opposition Leader Bill Shorten saying an end to revolving-door politics would boost confidence across the country. Shorten said he was looking for bipartisan support that both sides of politics would take to the next Federal election, promising a referendum on ditching three-year terms. And there is support within the Government after a prominent backbencher earlier this year introduced a Bill in Parliament to move to four years.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#ITALY: Parliament Begins Debating Electoral Reforms, Including Lessening Small Parties' Influence

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Italy's parliament has begun debating election reforms that could see a new election as early as this Fall and lessen the influence of smaller parties during formation of coalitions. The proposed law would introduce a proportional voting system - the so-called German model - whereby fringe groups that get under 5% of votes would be excluded from parliament, in theory leading to less political fragmentation. Larger, more stable coalitions could lead to greater electoral reforms. The election mandate of the current center-left government runs out in spring 2018.

[FULL STORY HERE]

Pictured: Former Italian PM Matteo Renzi

#IRELAND: Plans To Extend The Vote To Irish Living Abroad Fraught With Challenges

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Politicians and academics alike say that plans to consider extending the vote to those Irish living abroad - perhaps as early as 2025 - carry with them logistical, financial, and ethical challenges. No one really knows how many ex-pats live outside of Ireland, and how much it would cost to create a system to collect ballots from them. And a lack of knowledge of local issues could negate the votes of those living in-country, say experts. Some who carry Irish passports only engage with the country on St Patrick’s Day.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#INDONESIA: Gov't Wants To Keep 3.5% Threshold For Parties Winning Seats In Parliament

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The government has signaled it plans to keep in place a requirement that parties contesting elections for parliament earn 3.5% of the national vote total to win any seats. Some smaller parties had urged elimination of the requirement. Home Affairs Minister Tjahjo Kumolo said it doesn't have the votes to raise the percentage, or it would. Even if smaller parties win more than 3.5% in regional elections, that would not qualify them for seats in the House of Representatives.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#CURACAO: Ruling Party Wants To Modify Party List Voting

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Curaçao's ruling MAN Party wants to amend the nation's elections law so that candidates with more personal votes can take a seat in parliament. Currently, the order of candidates on the party list determines who wins a seat. The proposal comes after a MAN Party candidate, Yaël Plet won a seat in parliament instead of Wimbert Hato, who won more personal votes in the Oct. 2016 election.

[FULL STORY HERE]

#KENYA: Opposition Rails Against New Election Law In Chaotic Special Session

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Security personnel besieged Parliament Monday, blocking all roads to the chambers, disabling internet and telephone communication during a debate on a controversial election reform bill. Opposition members briefly prevented the speaker of the House from entering the chamber, where the special session debated the changes, which the government said would make elections more transparent.

[FULL STORY HERE]

Pictured: MP Millie Odhiambo and other Opposition MPs protest at Parliament Buildings Monday during a Special Sitting of the House.

#JORDAN: Election Reforms Prompt King To Dissolve Parliament Ahead Of Nov. Election

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In accordance with the terms of a passage of a new election law, King Abdullah has dissolved parliament and has appointed a new prime minister, Hani al-Mulqi to oversee elections. Under the new bill, Jordan has done away with single-member districts, with elections now based on a large voting system, in which candidates will run for seats on one, multi-member ticket.