Quite a weekend for democracy this was...
To sum up:
European elections: abstention and empowerment of extreme-right wing parties (unfortunately Im part of the statistics, frustrated I couldn't vote).And to dear Danish people: what the hell are you doing?????????????
Ukrainian elections: The "king of chocolate" is elected president (unexpectedly from round 1) with massive popular support while in the East the war continues and violence escalates. (election process was good though).
Malawi elections: a mess, with president Joyce attempting to annul the elections and a recount of votes in many areas (wish I was there, it would have been sooo interesting!)
Egyptian elections: due to low voter turnout, elections are extended for one more day (glad Im not there).
Whats happening in the East aside, elections in the rest of Ukraine have been quite uneventful. It was the smoothest election I've ever observed, but still a great experience thanks to the hospitality and kindness of the people.. Especially women.. So many Polling Station chair-ladies attempted to hug me. It was the sweetest thing! And they all repeated how grateful they were for having us there. It's the time when you are really glad to be an election observer. The downside is we were not offered vodka (not that we could have it anyway, one basic rule: Dont accept hospitality. Which is fair enough, consequences can be bad). But still, would have been nice to be offered. The vodka here is amazing. Im not a big vodka drinker but even I can tell the difference between the vodka I've had before in my life and this ukrainian super vodka.
So election day came and went, counting at the district level came and went, debriefing with LTOs, ditto. Now its only debriefing in Kiev left and then home to my three kittens (the human one and the animal ones).
Looking forward to the next election adventure!
To sum up:
European elections: abstention and empowerment of extreme-right wing parties (unfortunately Im part of the statistics, frustrated I couldn't vote).And to dear Danish people: what the hell are you doing?????????????
Ukrainian elections: The "king of chocolate" is elected president (unexpectedly from round 1) with massive popular support while in the East the war continues and violence escalates. (election process was good though).
Malawi elections: a mess, with president Joyce attempting to annul the elections and a recount of votes in many areas (wish I was there, it would have been sooo interesting!)
Egyptian elections: due to low voter turnout, elections are extended for one more day (glad Im not there).
Whats happening in the East aside, elections in the rest of Ukraine have been quite uneventful. It was the smoothest election I've ever observed, but still a great experience thanks to the hospitality and kindness of the people.. Especially women.. So many Polling Station chair-ladies attempted to hug me. It was the sweetest thing! And they all repeated how grateful they were for having us there. It's the time when you are really glad to be an election observer. The downside is we were not offered vodka (not that we could have it anyway, one basic rule: Dont accept hospitality. Which is fair enough, consequences can be bad). But still, would have been nice to be offered. The vodka here is amazing. Im not a big vodka drinker but even I can tell the difference between the vodka I've had before in my life and this ukrainian super vodka.
So election day came and went, counting at the district level came and went, debriefing with LTOs, ditto. Now its only debriefing in Kiev left and then home to my three kittens (the human one and the animal ones).
Looking forward to the next election adventure!
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