#sham election

[blueiskewl]

2024 Russia Presidential Election

An elderly Russian voter being 'encouraged' to vote for Vladimir Putin.

This sums up Russian democracy perfectly.

#2024 Russia Presidential Election #vladimir putin #putin #election #sham election #fake #phony #dictator #dictatorship #the great dictator #trump #russian agression #russian terrorism #russian war on ukraine #sad

[odinsblog]

RUSSIA’S SHAM ELECTIONS, where people are “helped” by armed soldiers who check to ensure they vote correctly—or else.

Does this look like they are helping to conduct a fair, peaceful and democratic election process? Or does it look like repressed voters under duress, who are being forced to vote for Putin under threat of armed Russian soldiers? (source) (source) (source)

#politics #ukraine #russia #sham elections #russian invasion of ukraine #russian fascism ☭ #russia is a terrorist state #vladimir putin is a war criminal #authoritarianism #authoritarian dictatorships #russian colonialism #donetsk #sievierodonetsk #russian election 2024 #russian imperialism #settler colonialism #settler violence #russian elections #russian sham elections

[brbgensokyo]

i thnk if you're running for political office, you should be subjected to the same battery of invasive questions as disabled people face when asking for enough money to not die

#i dont want to call it a sham election bc theres more blatent and fucked examples happening right now #but i think its crazy that there was no info for my local candidates online that wasnt locked behind a paywall

[reasoningdaily]

#Haiti #sham elections #hillary clinton #neocolonialism

[tomorrowusa]

The truth is plain for America to see. Republicans don't REALLY care about the border. They would actually prefer to have 50,000 migrants show up every day to help stoke culture wars.

The Democrats' lead negotiator on a $118 billion bipartisan national security bill says GOP efforts to tank the bill are not based on its merits, but an effort to support former President Donald Trump's reelection bid. "Right now most Republicans are prepared to listen to Donald Trump, who says he wants chaos to continue at the border because that will help him politically," Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Morning Edition's Michel Martin. At least two dozen GOP senators are casting doubt on the chances of the $118 billion bill, which would result in the most significant change to U.S. immigration law in some four decades.

Republicans don't bargain in good faith. They waste your time for months and then do an abrupt U-turn when ordered to by their Lord and Savior Donald Trump.

"We did exactly what Republicans told us to do," Murphy said. "We got a bipartisan border reform bill, a historic one. And now those same Republicans are saying that they are going to oppose the bill that they asked for because Donald Trump wants chaos at the border."

^^^ emphasis added

Instead of going ahead with border fixes, House Republicans tried to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. With the House GOP in shambles all through the 118th Congress, things went about as you'd expect.

House GOP Suffers Spectacular Double Fail on Mayorkas, Israel Package

Republicans are unfit to govern. They kowtow to Trump who needs chaos at the border to keep voters from being reminded of his Nazi rantings, numerous legal problems, and reputation as an adjudicated sex offender.

The MAGA Republican version of immigration reform involves putting up incredibly low-grade barriers that fall apart when it rains or gets windy. These pictures of Trump's "wall" were taken during his term.

The Trump wall was what Russians would call a показуха which could be translated as window dressing or possibly staged event. Though the barrier equivalent of a Potemkin village also would be an appropriate description for this failed project.

#chris murphy #immigration reform #national security #republicans #donald trump #gop concern about the border is a sham #republican chaos at the border #trump's failed border wall #alejandro mayorkas #house gop failure to impeach mayorkas #us house of representatives #house republicans #“maga mike” johnson #republicans are unfit to govern #election 2024 #vote blue no matter who

[xtruss]

“Pakistan’s Corrupt to their Cores Army Generals, Politicians, Election Commission and Judges” Can Keep Imran Khan Out of Power, but It Can’t Keep His Popularity Down

— By Charlie Campbell | January 17, 2024 | Time Magazine

Supporters of PTI, the Most Popular Political Party of Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, rally against the national election commission’s decision to ban the party’s cricket bat symbol, in Karachi on Jan. 14, 2024. Fareed Khan—AP

It’s not been a great couple of years for Pakistan’s Imran Khan. Since his ouster as Prime Minister in an April 2022 no-confidence vote, the cricketer-turned-politician has been shot, hit with over 180 charges ranging from rioting to terrorism, and jailed in a fetid nine-by-11-foot cell following an Aug. 5 corruption conviction for allegedly selling state gifts. As Pakistan approaches fresh elections on Feb. 8, the 71-year-old’s chances of a comeback appear gossamer thin, despite retaining broad public support.

Pakistan’s military kingmakers are using every trick at their disposal to sideline the nation’s most popular politician and his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party. Over recent months, thousands of PTI workers have been arrested, dozens of party leaders resigned following lengthy interrogations, Khan’s name was banned from mainstream media, and constituency boundary lines were redrawn to allegedly benefit his opponents. Khan’s own nomination papers have also been rejected.

“Elections are being held but I’ve got serious doubts whether real democracy or democratic principles are being followed,” says Samina Yasmeen, director of the Centre for Muslim States and Societies at the University of Western Australia.

And now Khan won’t even have his cricket bat.

On Monday, Khan’s PTI party was banned from using its iconic cricket bat logo on ballot papers, significantly hampering its chances amongst an electorate which is up to 40% illiterate. Most crucially, it effectively bans the PTI as a party and means its candidates will likely have to stand as independents, who will reportedly use a range of symbols ranging from a rollercoaster to a goat. “The election symbol is an integral component of fair elections,” Raoof Hasan, PTI’s principal spokesman and a former special assistant to Khan, tells TIME. “It’s rendering the party toothless.”

Pakistani lawmakers are constitutionally obliged to vote along party lines for certain key matters, including the leader of the house and financial legislation. But if PTI-backed candidates are officially independents, they are under no such constraints, making it much easier for the opposition to cobble together a coalition by targeting individuals with inducements. Additionally, PTI will be ineligible to receive its rightful proportion of the 200-odd parliamentary “reserved seats” for women and minorities that are allocated according to a party’s proportion of the overall vote, which would instead be divvied out to the other registered parties.

Imran Khan Waves a Cricket Bat, the Election Symbol of His Pakistan’s Most Popular PTI Party, during a rally in Faisalabad on May 5, 2013. Daniel Berehulak—Getty Images

Then again, even registering as independents has not been easy for the PTI. Each candidate must file their nomination in the constituency where they intend to stand, but PTI’s candidates frequently find their nomination papers snatched from their hands by shadowy security personnel. To avoid this, the PTI has taken to dispatching several candidates with nomination papers in the hope that one might break through the security cordon.

But even if one does manage to submit papers, each candidate requires a proposer and seconder to attend the nomination in person. On many occasions, a PTI candidate has presented his papers only to find either or both has abruptly been “kidnapped,” says Hasan, meaning that an alleged 90% of its candidates’ nomination papers have been rejected. “This is massive pre-poll rigging.”

The hurdles facing Khan and PTI stand in stark contrast to the lot dealt to Nawaz Sharif, three-time former Prime Minister, who was most recently ousted for corruption in 2017 and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. In 2018, Sharif traveled to London on bail for medical treatment but absconded and remained a fugitive in exile. But on Oct. 21, an apparently healthy Sharif returned to Pakistan, where his corruption conviction was swiftly quashed and last week his lifetime ban from politics also overturned. On Monday, Sharif, 74, launched his campaign to return as Prime Minister for a fourth time—much to the chagrin of disenfranchised PTI supporters.

“The temperature is going to rise in the next few weeks when candidates step out to do rallies,” Khan’s sister, Aleema, tells TIME. “There’s going to be anger on the streets.”

It’s no secret that Pakistan’s military kingmakers have thrown their support behind Sharif, which ultimately means he’s a shoo-in to return to power. But Khan’s enduring popularity means more heavy-handed tactics will be required. Despite all PTI’s headwinds, and extremely patchy governance record while in power, a Gallup opinion poll from December shows the imprisoned Khan’s approval ratings stand at 57%, compared to 52% for Sharif. PTI remains confident that they will win if allowed to compete in a fair fight.

“People, especially at the grassroot level, are very pro-Imran Khan,” says Yasmeen. “Even if he tells them to vote for a piece of furniture, it will be elected.”

Corrupt to His Core, Thief, Looter, Traitor, Money Launderer, Morally Bankrupted Boak Bollocks and Pakistan Army’s Production Pakistan's Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif addresses his supporters in Lahore on Oct. 21, 2023. Aamir Qureshi—AFP/Getty Images

A big question is why the international community has been so muted in the face of such brazen irregularities—especially the U.S., which under the Joe Biden administration claims to have made democracy promotion a key foreign policy priority. The stakes are high; nuclear-armed Pakistan is drowning in $140 billion of external debt, while ordinary people are battling with Asia’s highest inflation, with food prices rising 38.5% year-on-year.

The truth is that Khan has few friends in the West after prioritizing relations with Russia and China. “From a Washington perspective, anyone would be better than Khan,” says Michael Kugelman, the director of the South Asia Institute at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.

Sharif, by contrast, is perceived as business-friendly and pro-America. Following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, Washington’s foreign policy priorities have shifted to China, Ukraine, and now Gaza. Yet the importance of a trusted partner in Islamabad was made plain this week following an Iranian airstrike on alleged Sunni militants in Pakistan territory that killed at least two children and threatens a further escalation of the violence already roiling the Middle East.

American priorities in Pakistan are keeping a lid on terrorism and stabilizing relations with arch-nemesis India—and Sharif has a better record on both. However, these priorities aren’t necessarily shared by Pakistan’s military overlords, who may be backing Sharif today but have engineered his ouster thrice in the past—once via a coup d’état. There remains “a lot of bad blood between Nawaz and the military,” says Kugelman, “even if he were to become the next Prime Minister, civil-military relations could take the same turn for the worse.”

After all, no Pakistan Prime Minister has ever completed a full term—and if Sharif gets back in, few would bet on him becoming the first at the fourth time of asking. It may be part of the reason why Khan has adopted a stoic disposition despite the deprivations of his prison cell. “He is cold in jail but quite happy,” says Aleema Khan. “He’s read so many books, maybe two to three every day, and he’s very content to have this retreat time—spiritually, mentally, and physically, he says he feels better.”

Perhaps content in the knowledge that, while February’s election may be beyond hope, in Pakistan you may be down, but you’re never truly out. And that’s all the more reason to keep fighting. “We shall be in the election,” says Hasan. “We’re not going to back off, we’re not going to walk away, we’re not going to forfeit even a single seat throughout the country.”

#Pakistan 🇵🇰 #Pakistan’s 🇵🇰 Sham Elections #Under the Guns of Corrupt Pakistan’s Army General #Imran Khan | PTI #Without Party’s Synbol Cricket Bat 🏏 #Corrupt Election Commission | Politicians | Judges #Popular Imran Khan & PTI

[adelaidedrubman]

For the record, I voted brother will, not my fault he lost in the end

it’s not your fault. it’s everyone’s fault. we failed him.

#sham election. not the will of the father

[beldaroot]

"i know both presidential candidates support genocide, but we still need to vote-" ENOUGH. y'all always emphasize the right to vote, but your civic duty literally starts and ends with voting. if you say you're going to vote for someone regardless of what they do, even if you oppose a majority of their policies, how effective is your vote? how are you utilizing the power of your vote to pressure change?

i've seen so many posts saying we have to think about lgbtq+ people, women, bipoc, immigrants, and disabled people this election since it's not just the palestinian genocide that's on the ballot and i just wished y'all would just admit that you're racist. that you would just end this facade of caring for palestinians when you actually believe the livelihoods of americans are more important. genocide should be the red line for everyone, it is quite possibly the worst thing that could happen to a group of people, and yet you're finding ways to minimize it bc it could affect an election that is already steeped in fascism.

you say we have to talk to these minority groups to understand the dangers of a trump win, but none of you are talking or listening to palestinians. palestinians who are dying from our tax dollars and bc our president has vetoed a ceasefire three times now, cut unrwa funding, and sends israel weapons every 36 hours. a president who is:

supporting the "toughest" border security bill (bipartisan btw)

calling undocumented immigrants "illegals" at the sotu

saying he'll sign the tiktok ban bill into law (bipartisan again)

hugging and kissing fascists like netanyahu and meloni

saying he doesn't know how classified documents got into his house but can retell the 40 beheaded babies lie twice

not scheduling campaign events in universities to avoid being interrupted by young voters, therefore alienating his base further

saying no jewish person is safe without israel, implying jewish people aren't safe in the country he runs

not willing to expand the supreme court

not forgiving all student loan debt as he promised to do

saying "i've never been supportive of, you know, 'it's my body, i can do what i want with it'" in regards to women's reproductive health

removing telehealth from medicare beneficiaries

limiting covid precautions, allowing almost 1k dying per week since 2024 started

how has this man shown he's capable of stopping this feared project 2025 when he is actively appeasing to the right instead of his own base? when he has done nothing to stop trump from even being on the ballot once again? when he's not addressing the hundreds of thousands who voted uncommitted or the 80% of his base who want a ceasefire? when elected officials are ignoring people will, that is not a democracy.

we're living in a world where journalists of colors are being laid-off in mass in major media companies that only show half the news bc they're owned by billionaires. we're using nitrogen gas as a death penalty and criminalizing bail funds. homelessness is at its highest in a decade. boeing planes are falling apart in the sky and whistleblowers are dying. it's 70 degrees in march.

i'm telling you that voting blue isn't going to cut it. especially when you have democrats like nyc governor hochul sending the national guard to search bags to send a "psychological" message of safety. or like fetterman who are bought by aipac. or when the democratic minneapolis city council voted to increase rideshare drivers' wages, but now lyft/uber are leaving the city bc they don't want to pay their drivers more. it isn't just individuals, it's a whole system that is corrupt. if you want to show that your vote matters, you need to do that actual work to make your voices heard so your representatives are pressured to change course towards popular will. this should not be a cult where you blindly give your vote away to candidates unwilling to change.

#that tweet that's like 'y'all are hypersexual desensitized lazy unbothered uninformed and DEMONIC' is what i think of lots of you most day #again this election is a sham and institutions won't save us but GOD if you're voting - actually make your vote useful #dl

[shirkers2018dirsanditan]

it is literally so sickening the way law enforcement will sit by and allow children to be slaughtered and then use that massacre to pat themselves on the back and ask for more money. it literally makes me fucking sick to my stomach

#such a grotesque and disgusting institution #and all those disgusting texas republicans in that sham of a fucking press conference tailor made for their fucking re-election campaigns….. #absolutely fucking vile fucking disgusting

[blueiskewl]

2024 Russia Presidential Election

A Russian election worker makes sure that the voters don’t accidentally vote for the wrong presidential candidate.

Vladimir Putin 're-elected' for another 6 years in power with 87% of the 'votes'.

#2024 Russia Presidential Election #vladimir putin #putin #election #sham election #fake #phony #dictator #dictatorship #the great dictator #trump #russian agression #russian terrorism #russian war on ukraine #sad

[deborahdeshoftim5779]

"Please stop asking for messages from me or from somebody for Mr Putin. There could be no negotiations and nothing with Mr Putin, because he’s a killer, he’s a gangster."

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, responding on Sunday as she voted for her husband in protest of Russia's latest fraudulent "elections".

#yulia navalnaya #sham elections #putin is a killer #russia without putin #stop russia #stop putin #stop the war #putin is a dictator

[odinsblog]

One of these things is definitely not like the others:

Russia and Belarus are authoritarian states that haven't held fair, free elections in decades.

Vladimir Putin is a dictator who maintains his power through intimidation, political assassinations and sham elections.

And Putin's puppet, Alexander Lukashenko, the President of Belarus, literally described himself as "Europe's last dictator."

And anything bad you can say about Ukraine goes quintuple for Russia and Belarus — except for the fact that the Ukrainian army isn’t bombing & mass murdering innocent civilians, and they haven’t invaded another country; and they aren’t committing mass rapes in the cities of their adversaries; and the Ukrainian army also is not abducting thousands and thousands of Russian children and placing them into filtration camps to “reeducate” them into a foreign culture; and and and

Ukraine was not in NATO nor was it applying for membership when Putin invaded. And God help you if you’re dumb enough to believe Putin invaded because he wanted to “denazify” Ukraine. JFC. Do you believe George Bush invaded Iraq because he wanted to find WMDs and spread democracy too?

If you can just hand wave & excuse away all of those Russian war crimes because “communism” or “NATO expansion” or “America bad,” then maybe you should re-examine your priorities.

#politics #vladimir ​putin #russia #ukraine #tankies #sham elections #vladimir putin go fuck yourself #alexander lukashenko #belarus #authoritarianism #russian elections

[whoevengaf]

Erdogan reelected like what even is the point how do i get my hopes up every time...

#That election in Hungary last year (?) too like GOD!!!!. #sham!s rambles

[alisaint]

I'm never gonna stop voting because I know my vote does matter, but the internet tells me "be angry 24/7" and being angry 24/7 leaves me exhausted and feeling like nothing ever changes so what's the point. / I guess my questionis how do YOU fight the exhaustion when the internet is Like This? (this is not accusatory, I genuinely would love to hear your tips.)

Oh, I'm right there with you! It's why I try not to be as on top of Every Single Current Event In The Entire World as I used to be--I just focus on what affects me in my country, like state news and overreaching federal news such as this Supreme Court ruling.

I don't think that it's healthy to be angry 24/7 as they suggest, but I think it's even worse to let your exhaustion keep you from voting. If you do nothing else, you should ABSOLUTELY vote in your state and federal elections! That's probably the biggest and easiest thing you can possibly do to (try to) avoid getting exhausted in the first place.

Those "little" elections that people don't ever talk about are so much more important than people realize. Those "little" or "lesser" seats that are up for grabs affect you directly in your state, and some of them even go on to vote for these wider reaching laws & positions that then affect the entire country. By abstaining from voting, or voting only once every four years for the president, you're giving those seats up to literal fascists who won't stop until this country is under Evangelical rule. It doesn't matter if we have a democratic president if we have obstructionists and fascists in every other position of power. The president can only do so much, as per the separation of powers.

To be honest, I get more exhausted interacting with those people who say your vote is meaningless and encourage others to abstain from voting, as if living under fascist rule and watching the rights generations before us died to protect being taken away is somehow Okay, Rational, and Not At All Avoidable. I get more exhausted watching people convince other marginalized that doing nothing is the Right, Pure Leftist thing to do, as if voting for someone who you don't agree with on every single point is somehow worse than not voting at all. I get more exhausted watching people say that voting doesn't matter and the only thing that you can do is donate to charities, as if senators are not voted in by the people, and as if those senators do not then go on to confirm or deny Supreme Court justices, and so on and so forth. Direct action is not just charity work--direct action is participating in your community and making your voice be heard, too. It's not enough to treat the wound after it happens. We have to behave in ways which prevent the wound from ever occurring in the first place.

None of that applies to you, because you do vote, but it's dealing with that apathy and that dangerous, counterintuitive thinking that has plagued the left that makes politics a fucking hellscape for me, personally. You can expect the fascist party to want to decimate all progress that has been made in the last century. You don't expect the party that stands for workers of the world and inherent human worth to tell people to act against themselves and undo that work. It's maddening trying to get people to care. It's not so maddening to just do your part and keep it moving.

So, to be honest... your best bet is just doing what you can do (voting, and then volunteer work or donations to small, effective charities if you can spare the capital or social energy) and minding your own business. You don't have to get invested and pour your heart into every little thing that happens everywhere. Worry most about that which affects you. The world's most influential and successful activists didn't fight for every single cause in the world and neither do you have to. People have to fight their own fights and the earlier you realize that the less stressful this all may be. So.. Start small, do what you can do, and just mind your business. You'll lose your head otherwise stretching yourself in fifty different directions.

#PERSONALLY i avoid the exhaustion because i know that i do my part by voting in every election and trying to get sensible #people in our government. #i did my part and if not enough people did the same and now we have our rights being taken away then that's not on me! i didn't do that! #i voted for hilary! i voted for the dem running for governor! i voted for the dems running for the house! and the senate! etc! #and other important roles such as the one for agriculture here in my state! because she actually cares abt the environment! #so like. i can't get exhausted if i know i did the best that i could. #and didn't just sit back and let it happen. #you can't storm the supreme court building and enact change. but you can try to flip the seats in your state. #i get exhausted trying to get other people to see that they don't live in a sham democracy where apathy is your only option. #these things that cause exhaustion happen because there isn't enough resistance to ward them off. #these are not things that happen TO you. these are things that happen because not enough people DID something. #YES the cards are stacked against us. but that doesn't mean that you stop trying. especially in purple states. like. hello. #there are things you can do that are easier and less stressful than arguing online.

[tomorrowusa]

Trump Republicans would probably love to have Vladimir Putin running elections in the United States.

#donald trump #the big lie #election 2020 #valdimir putin #sham referendums #putatenland #ukraine #invasion of ukraine #kevin siers

[faith-in-democracy]

Vlad the Impotent

In a display of democratic prowess that would surely leave the Founding Fathers speechless, Vladimir Putin has once again "triumphed" in an election that was as competitive as a one-horse race. The sheer unpredictability of the outcome must have kept the Russian populace on the edge of their seats, in a state not unlike the fear experienced by American citizens who confront the rising tides of far-right rhetoric and policy within their own borders.

Let's take a moment to marvel at the robustness of Russian democracy, where the will of the people is so consistently aligned with just one man's vision. Indeed, the harmony between government action and public sentiment is so seamless that one might wonder if there's any need for opposition at all. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, Americans grapple with their own political spectacle, observing the flirtation between mainstream politics and far-right ideologies, a dance that stirs both fear and fascination in the heart of the democratic discourse.

In this grand theatre of the absurd, where autocrats are cloaked in the veneer of electoral legitimacy and democracies flirt dangerously with authoritarian tendencies, one can only stand back and applaud the performance. Bravo, Putin, for another masterful win in the great game of democratic charades, and hats off to America, for providing the perfect backdrop of far-right drama to complement this global narrative of power, fear, and irony.

#Putin #Russia #Repuglicans #America #Elections #Sham #Scam #authoritarianism #politics #violence #hatred #fear