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NL An exciting contest: presidential elections Romania
On 10 November, Romanians will vote for a new president. The election campaign has begun and the playing field is wide. For the first time, a candidate from the progressive USR is running for the presidency.
Surprising election result heralds sweeping change in Tunisian politics
After the preliminary results of Tunisia's presidential elections started trickling in on 15 September, a shock wave went through the political elite that has ruled the country for the past few years. Two anti-establishment candidates, Kaïs Saïed and Nabil Karoui, received the most votes with 18.4% and 15.58% respectively. As a result, a second round, on 13 October at the latest, is needed to determine a final winner. The result appears to be not just a defeat for the ruling parties, but a rejection of the entire political structure by the disgruntled population, which has been plagued by economic stagnation and corruption.
Commemoration of four disappeared Belarusians
Eindhoven commemorates four disappeared Belarusians for the 12th time
Progressive Women of Eastern Europe want more cooperation
Last weekend, we organised the Progressive Women's Summit of Eastern Europe, together with the UK Labour Party and the Social Democratic Platform in Ukraine. Women from four Eastern European countries - Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia and Georgia - came together in Kyiv, to share experiences and reflect together on possible solutions to the challenges they face.
Trainee Democracy wanted!
The Max van der Stoel Foundation, in cooperation with the European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity, is looking for one intern for the Democracy work in the near future.
Elections in Ukraine: how's it going?
Last Sunday there were parliamentary elections in Ukraine. The results showed an overwhelming success for Servant of the People, the party of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy: for the first time in the history of independent Ukraine, one party managed to get a majority in parliament without the need for a coalition. But then, Zelenskiy is a very popular actor/comedian with sufficient financial resources. How does something like this work with candidates who don't have that? Our partner in Ukraine, the youth movement SD Platform, participated in the elections for the first time this time with one candidate: one of its founders, Bohdan Ferens. Friso Ages travelled to Kyiv to participate in the last days of his campaign and to watch election day. Below is his report.
Extensive African theatre programme at Holland Festival 2019
The Holland Festival is the largest international performing arts festival in the Netherlands, and its 72nd edition will take place in Amsterdam in June. The festival features opera, (music) theatre, dance and more from around the world. This year, for the first time, two associate artists are associated with the festival, William Kentridge from South Africa and Faustin Linyekula from Congo. There will be plenty of work from Africa by the two associate artists and artists who inspire them.
Substantial changes in Romanian political landscape after European Parliament elections
Turnout was high on 26 May, nearly 50 % of Romanians went to vote. The largest coalition partner, PSD, got over 23 % of the vote, about half compared to the previous national parliamentary elections. An alliance of two new pro-Europe and anti-corruption parties came in at nearly 20 %. The liberal party PNL became the largest with nearly 27 %.
Lou looks on at the FMS
Hello all, my name is Lou Boshart and I am in my fifth year of VWO. For the past two weeks, I have been working at the Foundation Max van der Stoel (FMS) as a snuff intern. After my final exams, I plan to study History in Utrecht, with the plan in the distant future to also do a master's degree in International Relations. My uncle, who works at the UN, advised me to do an internship at an NGO given my interest in international politics. This is how I ended up at FMS.
Sudan: protests, a coup d'état and the role of woman
Since December 2018 a rising amount of protests have been taking place in the country of Sudan. This started off as a reaction to the president's decision to raise taxes on food and petrol and a protest against low living standards. This quickly evolved into larger protests against the president and his regime, eventually even resulting in a military coup d'etat last month. Former president Omar al-Bashir was arrested. To this day, protests are still happening and have evolved into a place for the Sudanese people to come together and decide over their own future.
