| Opinion/Commentary |
And the winner is Khamenei -
Sreeram Sundar Chaulia, Times of India
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, left nothing to chance prior to his country's low-profile presidential election today. A crafty manager of politics and a believer in absolute concentration of authority, he pressed upon his appointed 12-member Guardian Council, which "interprets" the constitution, to allow only his chosen ones to remain in the field as candidates for the presidency. |
NDA fissures: If Nitish walks out, it could place both the alliance and JD(U) on thin ice -
Times of India
Coming in the wake of Narendra Modi's elevation within the BJP, reports of an impending split between the party and the JD(U) have significant political ramifications for Bihar and beyond. Should the spilt be confirmed, it would end an almost two-decade-long alliance that served as a key pillar of the NDA coalition at the Centre. In Bihar, where the BJP and JD(U) are allies in government, chief minister Nitish Kumar has long been threatening to part ways over Modi being projected as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate in 2014. |
Iran election: Our enemies win if turnout is low, Supreme Leader warns Iranians -
Alistair Dawber, Independent
Iranians go to the polls tomorrow to elect a new president knowing that for the first time in eight years the country will be led by someone other than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, a divisive leader who has pushed the country into isolation over its nuclear ambitions and to near economic ruin. Whether Iran’s new leader – voters have the choice between six men – will herald a new era remains unclear. |
Modi and the numbers game -
Hindu
With Narendra Modi taking charge as head of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s election campaign committee, one presumes he will deploy his own team of analysts to study the party’s strengths and weaknesses across different States. If his approach in Gujarat is any guide, Mr. Modi likes to go down to granular details while studying various constituencies in order to deploy resources optimally. It increasingly seems like the BJP will fight the 2014 elections under the de facto — if not de jure — leadership of Mr. Modi. |
Iran's Presidential Election Will Surprise America's So-called Iran 'Experts' -
Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett, HuffingtonPost
This year's Iranian presidential election is likely to produce a strong political figure who will have a significant impact on the Islamic Republic's foreign and domestic policies, helping to ensure Iran's continued internal development and bolstering its regional importance. Yet every four years, a combustible mix of pro-Israel advocates, Iranian expatriates, Western Iran "experts," and their fellow travelers in the media try to use Iranian presidential elections as a frame for persuading Westerners that the Islamic Republic is an illegitimate system so despised by its people as to be at imminent risk of overthrow. |
Iran elections: former presidents endorse moderate Hassan Rouhani -
Saeed Kamali Dehghan, Guardian
Iran's battered reformists have thrown their weight behind Hassan Rouhani, a moderate cleric favouring openness and improved relations with the west, who has emerged as the dark horse candidate in Friday's presidential election. The former presidents Mohammad Khatami, seen as the leader of Iran's reformist movement, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani publicly endorsed Rouhani on Tuesday. |
Iranians go to the polls Friday to pick successor to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad -
Nahlah Ayed, CBC News
The Department of Foreign Affairs is bringing together seasoned election observers, analysts and Farsi speakers to monitor Friday’s elections in Iran — only none of them will come anywhere near the polls ostensibly deciding the country’s next president. Instead, many of them will gather at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs, where an elections monitoring centre will go live starting Friday, the day Iranians go to the polls to replace PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad. |
Gujarat CM’s aide in Lucknow -
Telegraph
Narendra Modi sent his trusted emissary, Amit Shah, to Uttar Pradesh today in the first step he has taken since assuming the reins of the BJP’s campaign for 2014. Shah, out on bail in the Sohrabuddin fake encounter case, reached Lucknow this morning to take charge as the party’s state affairs chief. The former minister of state for home in Gujarat, who plays a key role in Modi’s election campaigns in his home state, is expected to meet nearly 50 senior party leaders in Uttar Pradesh during his two-day visit. |
False affidavit can cost poll win -
Satya Prakash, Hindustan Times
In an important ruling ahead of the next round of assembly and Lok Sabha elections, the Delhi High Court has said a false affidavit by a candidate at the time of filing of nomination papers is a ground for setting aside his/her election. “Filing of a false affidavit is not merely an electoral offence but also a ground for setting aside of the election," justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said while ruling on a petition challenging the election of Congress Member of the Legislative Assembly Jai Kishan from Sultanpur Majra constituency in Delhi in the 2008 assembly elections |
'Walking-Around Money': How Machine Politics Works in America Today -
Jeffrey Smith, Atlantic
Last month, Rep. Michele Bachmann announced her decision not to seek a fifth term amid an array of ethics charges, one of which is an allegation that she secretly paid Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson for his support during her abortive presidential bid. According to NBC, Bachmann's former chief of staff, Andy Parrish, swore in an affidavit to the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee that Bachmann "knew of and approved" a scheme to funnel $7,500 per month to Sorenson through an allied consulting firm in exchange for his backing, despite Iowa Senate ethics rules barring lawmakers from receiving presidential campaign payments. |
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| Election Calendar 2013
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| Assembly Elections |
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Madhya Pradesh |
Before Oct 2013 |
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Chhattisgarh |
Before Oct 2013 |
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Jammu & Kashmir |
Before Oct 2013 |
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Rajasthan |
Before Oct 2013 |
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Delhi |
Before Oct 2013 |
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| International Elections |
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| Maldives |
Presidential |
7th Sept 2013 |
| Germany |
Chancellor |
September 2013 |
| Australia |
Parliamentary |
14th Sep 2013 |
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