OPORA Launches 'GNDEM Talk' - a program on Democracy in the World

OPORA launched a special monthly online show, 'GNDEM Talk', on electoral processes and democracy in the world. Civil Network OPORA and the EPDE are both members of the Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM).

The focus is on electoral conflicts, security, e-voting, effects of the pandemic, disinformation, and modern technologies for public voting, looking at experiences and practices of speakers from different continents who are defending democracy, as well as free and fair elections every day. Global processes, trends, and threats motivate public activists to be better informed and show solidarity with their counterparts, search for solutions together, and exchange best practices.

The first program is about Myanmar that faced a military coup d’état in February, where the military took power and declared the state of emergency for one year. It all developed after elections when the military was not happy with their results.

Human rights watch organizations condemned the military coup in Myanmar and immediately released all the detained politicians, government officials, and activists. "Tatmadaw" (armed forces) must restore the civilian government and demand the consideration of claims related to elections through lawful procedures set in the 2008 Constitution.

As of May 30, the Junta had 840 people killed. Currently, 4,409 are held in detention, including the country's leader and the National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi; 108 persons have been sentenced, and 20 persons were sentenced to capital punishment.

In the program, we shall describe how democratic transformations went in the country after adopting the Constitution and the National League for Democracy coming to power led by Aung San Suu Kyi. We will tell how the change terminated after the Rohingya people's genocide. Representatives of the Asian Network for Free Elections will tell how the parliamentary elections ran in Myanmar and how the situation developed afterward.

Experts:

• Amaёl Vier, election analyst at the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL)
• Tharindu Abeyrathna, program director at the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) (Myanmar)

Program host: Olha Aivazovska, Civil Network OPORA and GNDEM.

Global Network of Domestic Election Monitors (GNDEM) includes 251 members in 89 countries and 9 regional members in Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Caribbean, in the Middle East and North Africa. Member organizations built this global network of non-partisan civic monitoring of elections to ensure a free election process, enhance governments and political parties' accountability, mitigate violence for political reasons, and consolidate citizen rights for participation in government.