Kirsi Chavda

SUN 30.5.2010 17:00-17:20, Amazon Stage, Railway Square, Programme in Finnish and English

A political party that lost the vote in Thailand is now in power, while dictator Hun Sen manipulates the electoral system in Cambodia. Winning votes are bought in the Philippines, and the elite controls democracy in Indonesia. In India, a party led by a single family has been in power for nearly the entire time since the country’s independence. Maoist guerillas, who were at war with the Nepalese government for 10 years, won the election. In Vietnam, China and Burma, people can vote for just one party.

Tove Selin is a writer specialised in the human rights, developmental and environmental issues of East and South-East Asia. Together with a Burmese activist living in Helsinki and a coordinator of the AEPF network, she will talk about how democratic systems built on a European, multi-party model and the general right to vote actually work in Asia.