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Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar thanked the eligible voters of Bihar on Wednesday for their active participation in the "much-needed" cleaning of the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Kumar's remarks came in the backdrop of the Supreme Court hearing a clutch of pleas questioning the intent behind the SIR ahead of the Assembly polls in the state later this year. Opposition parties have asserted that the ongoing exercise will disfranchise crores of eligible Indian citizens for the want of citizenship documents. "I thank all eligible electors of Bihar for actively participating in the much-needed cleaning of the electoral rolls," the CEC told a group of booth-level officers during a training session here. Separately, the Election Commission said only 6.85 per cent of the 7.9 crore voters are yet to fill the enumeration forms under the SIR. "As on today, 6,99,92,926 of the existing electors have given their enumeration form to be included in
A plea in the Supreme Court has sought Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, particularly before parliamentary, state assembly and local body elections in the country. On Monday, the top court agreed to hear on July 10 a batch of petitions challenging the decision of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to undertake special intensive revision of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi on Tuesday asked the petitioner Ashwini Upadhyay, who sought the matter's urgent listing along with the pending petitions opposing the election commission move, to iron out procedural defects before it could be listed for hearing. Upadhyay sought his plea to be heard on July 10, when the other pleas would be heard. His plea sought a direction to the Election Commission of India to conduct the SIR in order to ensure only Indian citizens decided the polity and policy "not the illegal foreign infiltrators". "Demography of 200 distric
Former chief justices of India, who have conveyed their views to a parliamentary committee on the bill proposing simultaneous polls, have endorsed the constitutionality of the one nation, one election concept but have raised concerns over its various aspects, including the power given to the Election Commission, and offered suggestions. Former CJI D Y Chandrachud, in his opinion submitted to the Joint Committee of Parliament, has dismissed the opposition's criticism that the synchronisation of Lok Sabha and state assembly polls violates the Constitution's basic structure, saying the Constitution never mandated holding national and state elections separately. However, he has joined another ex-CJI Ranjan Gogoi in questioning the sweeping powers granted to the Election Commission in the proposed constitutional amendment law without laying down any guidelines for the exercise of the discretion, according to the opinion submitted to the parliamentary panel. Chandrachud and another former
The next general elections will be the "most credible and peaceful" in Bangladesh's history, Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus' aide has said, asserting that the interim government has taken all necessary measures to ensure free and fair polls. Yunus' Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam made the remarks on Saturday during an interaction with journalists in Khulna city, the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS) news agency reported. General elections in Bangladesh are scheduled for the first half of April next year, the chief adviser announced last month. Asserting that the polls will take place in a festive and peaceful environment, Alam said, "The upcoming national election will be the most credible and peaceful one in the country's history." He said that the primary goal of the mass uprising in July 2024, which ousted the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League regime, was to restore democracy in Bangladesh and added that the interim government has taken all necessary measures to ensure free a
The government plays a central role in the election process, the head of Bangladesh's Election Commission said on Saturday, asserting that holding polls is "not possible" without its support. Chief Election Commissioner AMM Nasir Uddin said that no matter "how independent" the top election body is said to be, "it is not possible to hold an election without the government's support." "We have to conduct the polls with the cooperation of the government," the Dhaka Tribune newspaper quoted him as saying. He added that the commission requires assistance from law enforcement agencies, the administration, and its officials to conduct the election. Nasir Uddin made the remarks after inaugurating a training programme in the capital. In response to a question, he said while there is no constant communication between the election commission and the government, contact is being maintained both "formally and informally". There are various channels of communication, and we are involved in man
People are "disappointed" by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus's announcement to hold elections in April 2026, Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) said on Saturday, asserting that April is not the "right time" to conduct polls. The party reiterated its demand for polls by December this year. "April is not the right time for polls in Bangladesh in any way, BNP Secretary-General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir told journalists. His statement came a day after Yunus, during a televised address to the nation on the eve of the Eid-ul-Adha festival, announced that national elections would be held in the first half of April next year. Yunus' announcement was followed by an urgent virtual meeting of the standing committee of former prime minister Khaleda Zia's BNP, presided over by the party's acting chairman and Zia's son Tarique Rahman from London. In a statement, the BNP said Yunus' address meant an unwarranted delay in arranging the election, adding that it ignored the nation's aspirations, caus
Millions of South Koreans are voting Tuesday for a new president in a snap election triggered by the ouster of Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative who now faces an explosive trial on rebellion charges over his short-lived imposition of martial law in December. Pre-election surveys suggested Yoon's liberal archrival, Lee Jae-myung, appeared headed for an easy win, riding on deep public frustration over the conservatives in the wake of Yoon's martial law debacle. The main conservative candidate, Kim Moon Soo, has struggled to win over moderate, swing voters as his People Power Party remains in a quagmire of internal feuding over how to view Yoon's actions. This election serves as another defining moment in the country's resilient democracy, but observers worry a domestic divide worsened by Yoon is far from over and could pose a big political burden on the new president. The past six months saw large crowds of people rallying in the streets to either denounce or support Yoon, while a ...
Months of a political drama in South Korea is drawing to a close, with the country poised to elect a new president this week to succeed Yoon Suk Yeol, a conservative leader who was toppled over his ill-fated imposition of martial law. Surveys show liberal Lee Jae-myung maintaining a solid lead over his main conservative rival, Kim Moon Soo, who wants an upset victory. Whoever wins, the new president will forgo the usual two-month transition and serve one full, five-year term at a time when South Korea faces crucial challenges including a severe left-right political divide, the Trump administration's tariff policy and North Korea's expanding military partnership with Russia. Here is a look at the two main candidates standing for the June 3 election: LEE JAE-MYUNG Lee, 60, the Democratic Party candidate, was the driving force behind an opposition-led campaign to oust Yoon, whose December 3 marital law decree plunged South Korea into turmoil. Lee said he initially thought Yoon's ...
Albania's prime minister on Wednesday thanked hundreds of thousands of voters who supported his Socialist Party in the last parliamentary elections, backing his pledge to take the country into the European Union in five years. Edi Rama, leader of the left-wing Socialist Party, held a celebratory rally in Tirana's main Skanderbeg Square. The event, attended by thousands of supporters waving Albanian and EU flags, took place in front of a big poster prepared for Friday's European Political Community summit, or EPC, a forum that gathers European leaders with the aim of boosting security and prosperity across the continent. With only diaspora ballots remaining to be fully counted, the ruling Socialists achieved a landslide victory, winning 83 seats in the 140-seat Parliament in the May 11 polls, according to the Central Election Commission. With those numbers, the Socialists are likely to govern alone. Rama's Socialist Party says it can deliver EU membership in five years, with ...
Lebanese voted Sunday in the country's first local elections in almost a decade, months after a US-brokered ceasefire ended a war between Israel and Hezbollah. The first round of voting, which is taking place by region, was in the Mount Lebanon districts including Beirut's battered southern suburbs, where Hezbollah headquarters are located and much of their leadership including veteran leader Hassan Nasrallah were killed in Israeli airstrikes during the 14-month war. The polls for mayors and municipal councils, though not as significant as Lebanon's parliamentary election set for 2026, are a barometer of how much the devastating war that left over 4,000 people dead and entire neighbourhoods destroyed has impacted support for politicians and parties, especially in the south where Hezbollah and allies are strong. Hezbollah and fellow Shitte party the Amal Movement are expected to win most votes for municipal councils and mayors in Beirut's southern suburbs. Flags of the parties and .
Australia's re-elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Sunday was greeted by well-wishers at a Sydney cafe and said the country had voted for unity over division. Albanese's center-left Labor Party won an emphatic victory in elections on Saturday. As vote counting continued, the government was on track to win at least 85 seats in the 150-seat House of Representatives, the lower chamber where parties need a majority to form an administration. Labor held 78 seats in the previous Parliament, and gaining seats in a second term is rare in Australian politics. The Australian people voted for unity rather than division, Albanese told reporters in the crowded caf in the inner-suburban Leichhardt where he and his fiancee, Jodie Haydon, gathered with colleagues and supporters for coffee. We'll be a disciplined, orderly government in our second term, just like we have been in our first, he added. He noted that he had frequented the cafe as a child with his late mother, Marryanne Albanese,
Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and his People's Action Party (PAP) has secured two-third seats or the 65 required from 97 contested in the general election held on Saturday to form the next government in Singapore. The opposition Workers' Party has won six seats and is leading in four seats. As results are coming in, the PAP is leading in the rest of the seats. Wong and the PAP had sought a new mandate from the general election in the midst of uncertainties caused by the US trade tariff to global economies. The PAP, Singapore's oldest and largest political party that has ruled the city-state ever since independence, has secured absolute majority to rule the prosperous country for the next five years. About 2.6 million Singaporeans voted on Saturday for 92 contested seats as PAP's Group Representation Constituency for Marine Parade-Braddell Heights had a walkover on nomination day on April 23. This was Wong's first election as prime minister of the global-business focused Singapore
A total of 2,758,846 registered Singaporean voters are heading into polling booths for the 19 General Election 2025 (GE2025) to elect the next government which is set to face strong global headwinds caused by trade tariffs announced by the United States, the biggest trading partner of the Southeast Asian city-state. Voting began at 8 am on Saturday at 1,240 stations set up island-wide, with polling polling booths set to be be closed at 8 pm and results expected late at night. Prime Minister Lawrence Wong, completing nearly a year in office, is seeking a fresh mandate for the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), which has governed the city-state since independence and steered its development into a global financial hub. Singapore is in the cross road between US and China trade war, a diplomatic source said, adding that the trade focused island has strong diplomatic and economic relations with both the giant economies, a fall off from which will affect its future progress. Multination