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Politics in Bangladesh got a new twist this week following the formation of a new poll time government. The main purpose behind the formation of this government was to ease up the political crisis regarding the nature of government to supervise the general elections.

West Bengal is conducting a massive, potentially historic eight-phase state legislative assembly election between March and April 2021. This paper gives a historical account of the different factors that are influencing the conduct of the elections, including the economic challenges facing the state, unabated political violence, and the plight of religious minorities. It also examines so-called ‘Hindu nationalist’ and ‘Bengali sub-n

Pakistan is today dangling between hope and despair, propelled largely by President Pervez Musharraf's inability, and refusal, to gauge public sentiments for free and fair elections in the coming months. Discontentment, once confined to media and courtrooms, has spilled out into the streets, creating a stifling atmosphere of anxiety and doubt across the country. Political, economic and social differences have sharpened in the past eight years. Re

This special report was written before the 2020 United States presidential elections. Under the incoming Biden administration, the US military withdrawal from Afghanistan is likely to be more gradual and “responsible”, despite the President-elect being in favour of American troops exiting the war-weary country soon. In retrospect, Donald Trump’s insistence on pulling out all US troops from Afghanistan by Christmas 2020 was not misguided, si

Against the backdrop of the Pulwama suicide bombing and the Balakot air-strikes, national security has acquired a political salience that it might not have otherwise. This is reflected in the manifestos of both the main national parties, the BJP and the Congress.

A new leadership has assumed office in Bhutan defying all pre-poll surveys that were predicting an adverse result for the country's opposition party. The People's Democratic Party (PDP), led by Tshering Tobgay won the elections by winning 32 seats out of 47.

As Bhutan prepares for its second general elections this year, the political landscape of the nation has yet to undergo significant change from the first one. While being active, democracy in the Himalayan Kingdom is still State-centric,

U.S. defense cooperation with India is one thing Democratic and Republican administrations agree on.

The NBSA process needs to keep pace with the fists of fury that politicians are unleashing on each other. Particularly so as the level of unsubtantiated allegations is getting worse as we're getting closer to the General Elections 2014.

The accompanying politico-administrative changes apart, Elections-2004 has caused the mid-course review of the economic reforms, seeking to introduce the missing "human face", about which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had begun talking about while in the Opposition.

The final announcement of the results of the US Presidential elections are expected to be announced only after the completion of the counting of the provisional votes in the State of Ohio, which may take some days unless Senator John Kerry decides to concede victory to George Bush without waiting for the completion of the counting.

The essence of any democratic system is the healthy functioning of political parties and consequently free and fair elections. Free and fair elections imply not only a legal institutional framework for the conduct of elections and a transparent electoral process.

The elections in Sweden are maybe a last reminder that the EU needs to renew its foundational narrative.

Arguably the most ambitious health insurance programme in the world today, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) gives India the chance to transform its healthcare infrastructure. Launched in September 2018 and foreshadowing the general elections of 2019, PMJAY is equal-parts political and economic. It aims to address the healthcare needs of India’s poorest 100 million households and has the potential to deliver what its predecessors ove

More than the Pakistani elections of 2018, it is the Indian General Elections 2019 that could see some movement on the Indo-Pak track, if at all.

Under the 2008 Constitution, President Nasheed is to be succeeded by Vice-President Mohammed Waheed Hassan, who would complete the remaining two-and-half years of the presidency, until elections in October 2013.

As part of its political transition from military to "civilian" rule, Myanmar adopted a new constitution through a national referendum in 2008 and conducted its first national elections in two decades in November 2010.

Nepal's Chief Justice Khil Raj Regmi has been appointed the Head of the interim government. His main mandate is to hold elections for the CA. But 22 opposition political parties have begun their protest programmes against the new government, raising doubts whether polls can be held in June this year.

The Gujarat poll date controversy demands urgent reforms to the Model Code of Conduct

Bangladesh’s Indo-Pacific Outlook, released in April 2023, is a projection of its interests in the region, and a testament to its political nonalignment and commitment to economic development. Its focus on upholding the rule of law and maintaining regional stability makes it a conducive partner for neighbouring countries and major powers in the Indo-Pacific. Bangladesh enjoys close ties with China, Japan, and the US, and a special relationship

PM Modi's recent comment on a debate on simultaneous elections to Parliament and state assemblies cannot only be called as a casual off-the cuff comment

Given their own shoddy handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, Trump and the Republicans believe they must demonise China to win the November elections.

With the Delhi Durbar at its weakest in decades and the national parties in a funk, India's ability to deal with externally induced challenges in the run-up to the elections and after is being undermined by an irresponsible domestic discourse.

Campaign trends in Delhi elections indicate that parties are playing around the issues having popular appeal rather than the hard core issues of governance, statehood or even air pollution. In varying degrees, populist ideas such as free houses, free water and free electricity remain the core poll promises for all political parties.

Charismatic, centralised leadership, like Mr Modi's today and Indira Gandhi's earlier, whilst have a huge advantage in national elections, cannot single-handedly carry a local election. Delhi is likely to make this point to leaders yet again.

Can things change even before 2020, if Arvind Kejriwal resigns, admitting he has lost the mandate to rule?

The process of subverting democracy and politicians began at the beginning of Pakistan.

Though foreign policy is going to be an important issue in the US Presidential elections next year, the Democrat candidates for the party's nomination have surprisingly devoted little time to this aspect so far. However, as the campaign progresses and the less serious candidates drop out of the race, the issue is likely to gain greater attention.

The relatively small tactical operation did not meet its military objective but generated spectacular political theatre. The release of the videos in the run up to the elections is further evidence of the true nature of the exercise.

Elections will not be won or lost because of events in Sri Lanka, but Sri Lanka could be lost because of our electoral politics. Our PM's absence in Colombo at this juncture is akin to a public snub to Sri Lanka and the vacuum that we create and show little intention or urgency to fill, can only be filled by one country - China.

The existing NOTA option is just symbolic because even if the majority of voters in a constituency detest the candidates, one of them will still be elected.

Hitting at the neutrality of armed forces will do more damage than good

Some conventional wisdom about how economic outcomes affect politics will be tested on May 23.

The promises made by key parties in the Delhi elections are in conformity with the national trend of offering populist schemes. One thought political parties of this 'enlightened' metropolis, that was turned to an epicentre of the nation-wide anti-corruption stir and gave rise to political newbie AAP, would beat this trend and offer something better.

On the eve of the February 18 elections, no two people in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi were agreed on the certainty of elections taking place. Elections cannot take place, it was argued then, because the establishment will not risk an open-ended process which might produce inconvenient results. In the Pakistani context, the establishment has always meant the Army, the bureaucracy, big landlords and the United States.

Welcome, American liberals. Welcome to the special torment of discovering that you do not know your country.

The President-elect Donald Trump has already confirmed that Lieutenant General Michael Flynn will serve as the next National Security Advisor

The EC is a child of political happenstance and jugaad, not thoughtful institutional strategy.

Recognising the critical nature of the situation in Egypt, and the role that a successful free and fair elections will have as a stabilizing factor in the establishment of a 'new' Egypt, Observer Research Foundation invited Justice Hatem Bagato,

At the heart of the debate on electoral reforms lies the vexed issue of campaign finance reform. There are four fundamental questions that need to be answered to understand this conundrum. A related but standalone issue is that of state funding of elections.

A political neophyte who has never held any elected office before, Emmanuel Macron at 39 years is the youngest President in French history.

While the idea that emotional appeal is central to political persuasion may serve common intuition, the dynamics underscoring how and why this is so, remain underexplored. This primer collates insights from neuroscience and political psychology to show why emotions are essential to vote choice. It explores the effects of emotional appeals on voter perceptions using examples from campaign advertisements in US elections. The analysis finds that pol

All these issues will be in play in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which explains whether this was a preview of the general elections.