Mexican mayor slain ahead of elections

Associated Press, Mexico | Fri, 11/04/2011 10:32 AM

The mayor of La Piedad was handing out campaign fliers outside a fast-food restaurant when a black SUV pulled up, a hand holding a pistol appeared at its window, and he went down with a shot.

Ricardo Guzman, 45, died late Wednesday in an ambulance racing to the hospital, one of more than two dozen Mexican mayors who've been assassinated since 2006, the majority presumed victims of drug violence.

But Guzman's killing raised new questions about organized crime's impact on Mexico's democracy, specifically the Nov. 13 elections in the western state of Michoacan, where Guzman had been handing out campaign material for gubernatorial candidate Luisa Maria Calderon, President Felipe Calderon's sister.

Before Guzman's assassination, polling firm workers were kidnapped in August while trying to conduct surveys on the election, though they were later released unharmed. The three major political parties all say they have local candidates who have received some kind of pressure or threats in the Calderon family home state, where the president launched his drug war five years ago.

Abbas: No elections if Gaza doesn't take part

The Jakarta Post | Thu, 02/17/2011 10:15 PM | World

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said Thursday that elections won't be held by September as planned if the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers won't allow balloting there.

Abbas' West Bank-based government called the long-delayed presidential and parliamentary elections over the weekend, but Hamas has said Gaza would not take part.

"Unless we are capable of holding elections in both the West Bank and Gaza, then we will not hold elections," Abbas told reporters in Ramallah on Thursday.

Abbas governs the West Bank but lost control of Gaza to the Islamic Hamas in a violent 2007 takeover. Several attempts to reconcile the two factions have failed.

Abbas aides said the Palestinian president had not backed down on his commitment to the vote. Senior adviser Yasser Abed Rabbo said that if necessary, the Palestinian Authority would find a "creative" way to circumvent any Hamas opposition so Gazans would be able to take part. Measures being explored include voting by Internet, Palestinian officials have said.

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri disputed Abbas' sincerity in calling for elections.

"This confusion of the Palestinian Authority reflects the internal crisis it is going through and shows their call for elections is not an honest one," he said.

The scheduling of the long-overdue vote was seen as a response to widespread Mideast protests against autocratic regimes that have toppled longtime dictators in Tunisia and Egypt.

The Palestinian Authority has not held elections since 2006, leaving Abbas and members of parliament in office after their elected terms ended.

Abbas' four-year term expired in 2009, though it has been extended indefinitely. The parliament's term expired in 2010, but the legislature remains in office, although its work is hindered by the split between the territories.

S. Tangerang Elections Supervisory Committee to quiz Andre Taulany

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Mon, 01/17/2011 10:03 AM | Jakarta

South Tangerang Elections Supervisory Committee is scheduled to question Andre Taulany, a deputy mayor candidate in the recent South Tangerang election, for holding an illegal campaign on Dec 29, 2010.

“We've received reports on an activity organized by Andre Taulany. We suspect it was an unauthorized campaign and mass mobilization of civil servants,” committee chairman Sahrono Budihardjo said as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

The alleged campaign was reportedly held at Tangerang city hall.

Sahrono said Andre would be asked to clarify the allegations.

A non-governmental organization, represented by Puji Imam Zarkasih, sent video footage and pictures of an Opera Van Java TV program performance in Tangerang. (Andre is one of the stars in the show).

In the videos and pictures, Andre Taulany is seen with Tangerang Regent Ismet Iskandar and other Tangerang leaders, but South Tangerang officials have not been seen on tape.

“We will examine the evidence, to see if any South Tangerang civil servants were involved,” Sartono said.

Andre, partnered up with Arsyid, was on the losing side when they ran in the South Tangerang mayor election last year.

However, in December the Constitutional Court struck down the initial victory of Airin Rachmi Diany and Benyamin Davnie in the city’s first mayoral election, finding that the pair violated the law by mobilizing civil servants during their campaign.

The court ordered South Tangerang to repeat the election in February this year.