Bhutan steps towards democracy in first real poll
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DEOTHANG, Bhutan  - Bhutanese began voting on Monday to elect members to a new upper house of parliament for the first time, a step towards democracy after a century of absolute monarchy.
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia began its tentative experiment in democracy yesterday as thousands of men filed into schools, government offices, and streetside tents to cast what for many were the first votes of their lives.
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YANGON, Oct. 20. - A change in Myanmarâs political leadership brought fresh calls today for the military-ruled south-east Asian country to carry on with promises to restore democracy.
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Vote counting began on Sunday after the  people of East Timor voted to choose a parliament that could  help the young, poor nation get back on track after the  euphoria of independence was shaken by communal bloodshed last  year.
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THE results of Sunday&#39;s Legislative Council (Legco) elections show clearly that voters want change, but are less clear about whether they want faster democratisation.
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Taiwan voted on Saturday in legislative elections in which pro-independence President Chen Shui-bian hopes to wrest control of parliament from an opposition that is more conciliatory toward China.
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The secluded Himalayan nation of Bhutan will begin its transformation from an absolute monarchy to a democracy with several leaders fresh out of college at the helm, election officials announced.
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democracy. Critics say it is a travesty of free choice in a country where thousands of dissidents are in jail and human rights abuses are said to.
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The gas-rich nation gets its first multiparty election on Sunday, with a vote that experts say is stacked.
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Abkhazians are taking their democratic rights seriously as they vote to replace the man who led their fight for independence from Georgia.
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Afghanistanâs new cabinet was being sworn in today, a day after Hamid Karzai chose its members in his first major decision since his inauguration this month as the nationâs first democratically elected president.
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The election for president in Afghanistan may have brought us one small step closer to worldwide democracy. At least the people there left no doubt that they wanted to vote.
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The tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan holds its first parliamentary vote after 100 years of absolute monarchy.
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Congolese voted Sunday in their first democratic election in more than four decades, many hoping for an end to years of fighting and corrupt rule that have devastated the mineral-rich nation in the heart of Africa.
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Indonesians cast their ballots Monday in the country's first democratic presidential election in a vote which will cap months of polls and finally consign decades of dictatorship to history.
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Nepal's leading party announced its support Wednesday for declaring the country a republic, moving the government a step closer to abolishing the monarchy that has ruled this Himalayan nation for centuries.
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Montenegro's ruling coalition faces a divided opposition The people of Montenegro are going to the polls on Sunday for the first general election since the independent state was created earlier this year.