Latest Democracy News

Senegal’s little-known opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye is named the next president

Mar. 25, 2024 20:31 PM EDT

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal’s little-known, 44-year-old opposition leader Bassirou Diomaye Faye was named the country's next president on Monday, less than two weeks after being released from prison to run in the election. While official results of Sunday's vote were not yet...

India’s main opposition party accuses the government of freezing its bank accounts ahead of election

Mar. 21, 2024 06:55 AM EDT

NEW DELHI (AP) — The Congress party, India’s main opposition political group, accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on Thursday of stifling democracy and crippling the party by freezing its bank accounts in a tax dispute ahead of national elections. India has...

As Myanmar's army faces setbacks, it is stepping up attacks on civilians, a UN expert warns

Mar. 20, 2024 12:57 PM EDT

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) — Myanmar's military government is escalating violence against civilians as it faces more setbacks on the battlefield from a range of pro-democracy and ethnic armed groups, a U.N.-backed independent expert on human rights warned Wednesday. Resistance to...

Worried about threats to global democracy? Elect more women in 2024, a senior UN official says

Mar. 20, 2024 12:07 PM EDT

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Voters around the world who worry about growing threats to democratic freedoms should consider electing more women in countries' national elections this year, the United Nations deputy secretary-general said Wednesday. Amina Mohammed also said the increasing...

In Vermont, 'Town Meeting' is democracy embodied. What can the rest of the country learn from it?

Mar. 18, 2024 07:55 AM EDT

ELMORE, Vt. (AP) — Julie wants more donations to the food pantry. Kipp is busy knitting a sweater. Shorty is ready to ask: Why is so much being spent on a truck? The coffee, fresh-baked bread and donuts have been laid out. Eighty-seven voters have squeezed into the Elmore Town Hall. ...

Blinken tells democracy summit that technology must sustain democratic values

Mar. 18, 2024 10:15 AM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken underscored the need to make sure that technologies sustain democratic values, telling a democracy summit on Monday that authoritarian regimes deploy them to undermine democracy and human rights. Blinken spoke at the...

In images: New England's 'Town Meeting' tradition gives people a direct role in local democracy

Mar. 18, 2024 07:36 AM EDT

WHAT: Town Meeting is a New England tradition that dates back more than 250 years. It offers people a chance to get directly involved in local democracy. One day each year, townsfolk gather to hash out local issues, such as whether to buy a new firetruck or donate some money to the local food...

Biden says at DC dinner that of 2 presidential candidates, 1 was mentally unfit. 'The other's me'

Mar. 17, 2024 14:45 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — The big news this week, President Joe Biden said at a weekend Washington roast, was that two candidates had clinched their party's nomination for president. But one was too old, too mentally unfit for the job, he said. “The other's me," Biden quipped. ...

India announces 6-week general elections starting April 19 with Modi's BJP topping surveys

Mar. 16, 2024 07:23 AM EDT

NEW DELHI (AP) — India on Saturday announced its 6-week-long general elections will start on April 19, with most surveys predicting a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party. Voting in the world's largest democracy will stretch...

A new front opens over South Dakota ballot initiatives: withdrawing signatures from petitions

Mar. 15, 2024 18:31 PM EDT

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem has signed a bill to allow signers of ballot initiative petitions to revoke their signatures — a move opponents decry as a jab at direct democracy and a proposed abortion rights initiative, which would enable voters to protect abortion rights in the state...