China: Web plan dumped by China Electoral Affairs Commission | China Daily

The Electoral Affairs Commission (EAC) has abruptly scrapped its proposal to regulate electioneering activities on websites. The announcement came a month after public consultation began, revealing the guideline was unpopular, unrealistic and hard to execute.

The EAC on Thursday published guidelines on subsector elections of the Election Committee to be held in December and the 2012 Legislative Council (LegCo) geographical constituency elections.

Saint Kitts and Nevis: Elections Supervisor By-passes Electoral Commission Ruling | The St. Kitts-Nevis Observer

Supervisor of Elections Leroy Benjamin Sr. said the Electoral Commission does not have the authority to instruct him in regard to the reinstating of names on the Voters List.

On June 7, Mr. Benjamin responded to the Electoral Commission’s May 26 letter stating that names which Registration Officer Bernadette Lawrence had removed from the Voters List in Nevis were to remain. According to the Supervisor of Elections, the Commission could only supervise his work, not tell him how to carry out his duties.

“I am fully aware that the Commission shall supervise the Supervisor of Elections in the performance of his functions. But the operative word or duty is supervise and not the giving of directions,” Benjamin’s letter said.

United Kingdom: Chair Of Electoral Commission Calls On Government To Consider Central Co-Ordination At Welsh Elections | eGov monitor

Jenny Watson, Chair of the Electoral Commission and Chief Counting Officer at the recent referendums on the Parliamentary Voting System, and the powers of the Welsh Assembly, will today propose that consideration should be given to introducing greater central coordination of elections, learning from the structure that was in place at those referendums.

The administration of the referendum was significantly different than that at elections with the Commission taking on a central oversight role and the Chief Counting Officer able to direct returning officers and monitor their performance ahead of polling day to achieve best practice. In contrast UK parliamentary general elections are administered locally by returning officers, with no national coordination. The Commission’s role is limited to offering guidance.

Dominica: National ID card can double as voter ID says Dominica Prime Minister Skerrit | Caricom News

The Dominica government has reiterated its position that it will not support the use of scarce financial funds to introduce voter identification cards for citizens. But Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit said that his administration is prepared to pay the four million (EC) dollars (US$1.48 million) for the a national identification card which he said could also serve as a voter ID card.
The main opposition United Workers Party (UWP) has been calling on the government to introduce the voter ID card as a means of ensuring free and fair elections in the country, but Skerrit said the issue is still before his Cabinet.

“The Cabinet has been engaging the Electoral Commission through his Excellency the President (N.J. Liverpool) to clarify certain matters with respect to voter identification cards.

Seychelles: Cabinet For The Creation Of An Electoral Commission in The Seychelles | statehouse.gov.sc

The Cabinet of Ministers has resolved to present the amendments to the Constitution and amendments to the Elections Act to the National Assembly in order to create an Electoral Commission. The amendments will be debated in the National Assembly on 28th June.

The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution gives provisions to Article 115 for the creation of an Electoral Commission of three members, of which one is a chairman. The Commission would be appointed in the same manner as the Constitutional Appointments Authority in order to ensure its independence and the fairness in appointment of members.

Burkina Faso: Burkina Faso Government Plans to Dismiss National Electoral Commission | Bloomberg

Burkina Faso’s government will dismiss the country’s electoral commission following the June 8 resignation from the panel by representatives from opposition parties, said Jerome Bougouma, minister of territorial administration and security.

Benewende Stanislas Sanakra, an opposition leader who lost a presidential election to incumbent Blaise Compaore in November, has been calling for the resignation of the commission’s members since that vote, alleging fraud.

The government “could not remain indifferent” to the demands for the panel’s dismissal, Bougouma told reporters in Ouagadougou, the capital, today. The state will introduce a bill at the National Assembly to approve the resignation, he said.

Australia: Pauline Hanson had no choice but to challenge election loss, a judge says | The Australian

Pauline Hanson had no option but to go to court to challenge the outcome of upper house voting in the NSW election after receiving information alleging a fraud had taken place, a judge has said.

In the NSW Supreme Court today, Justice Peter McClellan was deliberating on costs in the failed legal action taken by the former One Nation leader. Ms Hanson could face a huge legal bill if she incurs the costs racked up by the NSW Electoral Commission and two upper house MPs involved in the action.

Justice McClellan expressed the initial view that Ms Hanson had no other option than to present her evidence to the court after receiving an email alleging the fraud.

Australia: Hanson a victim of fraud. Yet NSW Electoral Commission continues to deny access to vote data | Poll Blogger

Pauline Hanson vote challenge has been derailed with evidence lead in court that the allegation of missing votes was fraudulent.  (ABC News).  Mr. Sean Castle, the man behind the fraudulent allegations is likely to face court costs associated with Hanson challenge after he admitted to faking the allegations but will escape public prosecution in return for goving evidence..

“Mr Castle, a father of three, was granted protection from prosecution before being compelled to answer questions relating to the purported Electoral Commission email.

Australia: Three characters in search of a Hanson recount may be one person | The Australian

It’s got all the makings of a great thriller: the politician locked in a desperate legal battle with a mystery builder, a fake journalist and a former history teacher with a hidden agenda.

But for Pauline Hanson, this story is not likely to end as she had hoped. And it seems certain that it will not end well for the man who has allegedly assumed three identities in his bid to prompt a recount of upper house votes from the NSW election.

Yesterday, Ms Hanson’s lawyers and Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham publicly aired their concern that key witness Michael Rattner, supposed journalist Michael Wilson and Hanson supporter Sean Castle — all of whom are central to the former One Nation leader’s push for a recount of votes from the March election — are the same person.

Zimbabwe: Parly’s role in electoral law reform | Newsday

A very positive piece of news in the past few days was that negotiators from the three political formations had generally agreed on an election roadmap, with very few “sticking” points still to be resolved. Parliament has a significant role to play in the process of coming up with a democratic people-driven constitution and amending the…