Word: referendum
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...junta's disregard for its citizens proved itself again on May 10, when the government decided to continue with a constitutional referendum that international observers say is designed to cement its hold on power. Although the sham plebiscite was postponed for two weeks in some of the worst storm-affected areas, other devastated regions were forced to hold the vote. Thousands of soldiers were mobilized to guard polling stations; hundreds of trucks mounted with loudspeakers fanned the nation, urging citizens to vote. Critics wondered how many lives might have been saved if some of those resources had been redeployed instead...
...able to plant the next batch of seedlings because of salt-water inundation. Future shortages could spell dissent: at least five protest movements in Burma's recent history happened in the months when grain prices were at their highest. In a startling indication of dissatisfaction, an official counting referendum votes in Rakhine state told a Rangoon journalist that in 15 townships, the "no" vote ranged from 56% to 98%. (In Burma, it is unlikely that official results will reflect such inconvenient public sentiment...
...downside for both men in the fight. Bush is not just trying to stay relevant by injecting himself into the campaign: he's trying to help John McCain, partly because he wants the Republican to win and partly because the election will be seen in as a referendum on his presidency. But McCain's growing attempts to distance himself from Bush show his campaign may not welcome Bush reminding voters he's still there...
...feeling outside Manta isn't so hospitable. If Ecuadorian voters approve the new constitution in a referendum later this year, as expected, it would ban any future foreign bases. (If the new charter takes effect before the Manta lease is up, say some observers, it could force the FOL's early removal, though few see that as likely.) "It's an issue of dignity and sovereignty," says National Assemblyman Maria Augusta Calle, also a member of Correa's party. "How many foreign bases are there...
...Saturday, I went back to the village of Too Chaung to see whether a referendum was really being held. It was, but when I pulled up at the polling station, a clutch of government officials demanded to know what I was doing there. They ordered me to give my name, nationality and passport number. The information was carefully recorded by six different officials in six different notebooks. Reports will surely be filed, perhaps six separate times. And as the information works its way up the chain of command, the people of the Irrawaddy Delta will still be waiting...