South Korea set to break early voting record as presidential election looms
South Korea is set to break a record in early voting as more than 12 million voters cast their ballot in advance of the country’s upcoming presidential election.
The figure for early voting – as of midday on Friday – represents more than a quarter of South Korea’s 44.3 million eligible voters, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
Early voting started on Thursday and will end on Friday, in advance of the official vote on Tuesday that will see South Koreans choose who will replace impeached President Yoon Sook-yeol.
Yoon set off a political storm in South Korea in December when he briefly imposed martial law before the controversial move was overturned by the National Assembly.
The ex-president claimed his decision to declare martial law and order the detention of opposition politicians was due to the government’s infiltration by antistate and North Korean forces.
Yoon was impeached the same month but was not removed from office until April when South Korea’s constitutional court signed off on the impeachment vote.
The last poll before the election placed the Democratic Party’s Lee Jae-myung as the frontrunner with 42.9 percent support, followed by Kim Moon-soo from Yoon’s conservative People Power Party with 36.8 percent, according to Yonhap.
The candidates were trailed in a distant third place by the conservative New Reform Party candidate Lee Jun-seok, who held just 10.3 percent of support.
Voting turnout has been highest in regions of South Korea affiliated with the Democratic Party, while turnout has been lowest in conservative strongholds like Gyeongsang Province, according to David Lee, a Seoul-based journalist.
“The morale at the Democratic Camp is much more energetic, especially after the historic impeachment trial,” he told Al Jazeera. “PPP supporters, on the other hand, are navigating murkier waters.”
The vote is expected to bring an end to months of political turmoil in South Korea, where a polarised public has mobilised both for and against the impeached Yoon.
Fraud conspiracy theories have also swept the election period, Lee said, linked in part to provisions for early voting.
South Korean police reported an uptick in vandalism of campaign materials and said this week they had apprehended at least 690 people over related incidents, according to Yonhap.
Frontrunner Lee told the media he has been wearing a bulletproof vest and installed bulletproof glass at campaign rallies following threats on his life.
Police also said this week they had counted 11 cases of social media posts threatening Lee, and one threatening to kill the New Reform Party’s candidate.
Source: Apps Support
High stakes as Poland heads to round two of presidential election
Warsaw, Poland – The streets of Warsaw were awash with red-and-white flags last Sunday as two presidential hopefuls and their supporters marched through the capital for one last time before Poland takes to polls on Sunday, June 1, in the second round of voting for the country’s next president.
Rafał Trzaskowski from the centre-right Civic Platform of the governing Civic Coalition and Karol Nawrocki, an independent candidate supported by the right-wing Law and Justice (PiS) party, which ran Poland between 2015 and 2023, are the two remaining contenders in the election. In the first round of polls on May 18, Trzaskowski won 31.1 percent of the votes while Nawrocki came second with 29.5 percent.
So far, polling groups say the vote is split fairly evenly between the two for the final round. A poll by IBRiS for Polish news outlet Onet, has found that 47.7 percent of respondents intend to vote for Trzaskowski, with 46 percent indicating they will vote for Nawrocki. The rest are unsure.
One of the two will succeed Andrzej Duda, the outgoing nationalist conservative president who was also backed by PiS and has been blamed for holding up justice reforms by using his veto against the government.
This is a hotly contested race. Trzaskowski and Nawrocki have clashed over the European Union, national security and social values. At the same time, both candidates take a similarly hardline approach to immigration, and have used anti-Ukrainian rhetoric, building on growing resentment among Poles who see themselves as competing for strained social services with 1.55 million Ukrainian migrants and war refugees.
While Trzaskowski has proposed that only working Ukrainians should have access to the country’s child benefit, Nawrocki has gone further, saying he would also be against Ukraine joining NATO or even the EU.
‘Every vote is needed’
Speaking at his “Patriots’ March”, which gathered about 140,000 supporters last weekend, Trzaskowski took aim at his opponent while calling for unity.
“It’s high time for honesty to win. It’s high time for integrity to win. It’s high time for justice to win. It’s high time for truth to win. That’s what these elections are about,” he declared to a cheering crowd.
“Full determination is needed. Every vote is needed. So that the future wins. So that all of Poland wins.”
Trzaskowski has served as Warsaw’s mayor since 2018. His comments about “honesty” are seen as a reference to a recent news story about Nawrocki’s alleged purchase of a flat in Gdansk belonging to an elderly man in exchange for a promise to provide him with care. According to the man’s family, the promise was not fulfilled, and he was placed in a state nursing home.
In response, Nawrocki has said he will donate the flat to charity and pointed out that under Trzaskowski’s mayorship, families had been evicted from state accommodation in Warsaw.
Trzaskowski is viewed as a more liberal candidate than his opponent and has, unlike Nawrocki, supported calls for LGBTQ rights, as well as the liberalisation of the country’s strict abortion law in the past. He has remained largely silent about these issues during the current campaign, however. If elected, he would be more likely to help the governing coalition pass various bills, primarily reforms to the rule of law and the justice system, which have so far been blocked by Duda.
“Rafał Trzaskowski would be a pro-European politician,” said Bartosz Rydlinski, political scientist from Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski University in Warsaw. “Brussels, Paris and Berlin would be the first capitals he would visit. He would try to maintain close relations with the US, but focus on strengthening the European component, both in the European Union and in NATO.”
US endorsement for Nawrocki
Nawrocki’s weekend “March for Poland” through central Warsaw gathered close to 50,000 supporters, and emphasised his nationalist conservative, pro-Catholic and free-market views. He argues that Poland should be prioritising its relationship with the US over the EU.
But his real triumph came this week when he received an official endorsement from Kristi Noem, President Donald Trump’s secretary of homeland security.
Nawrocki laid out his plan for Poland’s future on Tuesday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual event hosted by the American Conservative Union (US) for US conservative activists and officials. The event is usually held in the US, but took place in Hungary in 2022. This year, it was held in the Polish town of Jasionka, southeastern Poland, close to the air and shipment hub which supplies weapons and aid to Ukraine.
“For us, for Poles, relations with the United States are based on a deep foundation of values. These values are freedom, democracy, and sovereignty,” he told the audience, which included US Secretary of Homeland Security Noem, Vice President JD Vance, the billionaire Tesla owner Elon Musk and Steve Bannon, the former White House political strategist in 2017 during Trump’s first term as president.
“My opponent, Rafał Trzaskowski, is playing dishonestly,” said Nawrocki, who claims Trzaskowski would follow EU orders blindly, including on relaxing immigration rules. “Not only does he lie during public debates and get caught in these lies, but he also doesn’t want to say what his real idea for Poland after June 1st, 2025, is. And this idea is obvious. Speed up the migration pact, speed up the climate pact and pursue a policy that is important for Brussels, not for our security.”
The event was a much-needed boost for Nawrocki after a long week of bad news.
First, on May 22, Slawomir Mentzen, the far-right head of free-market party Konfederacja, who came third in the first round of the presidential election, claimed on his YouTube channel interview with Nawrocki that the PiS candidate had taken part in a fight between football hooligans in 2014 – something Nawrocki has never denied.
Then, in a TV debate the following day, he was seen placing a small sachet on his gum, thought to be filled with tobacco, but which prompted speculation that he might have been taking drugs. Nawrocki responded by providing a negative drug test result on Tuesday.
Finally, a news story was published by Onet, citing anonymous sources, claiming that as a young man, Nawrocki had participated in supplying prostitutes to guests of the Grand Hotel in the seaside city of Sopot, where he worked as a security guard in 2007. Nawrocki denied the claims and, in a post on X, stated that he would sue the outlet.
But the negative news does not seem to have affected his support.
“When it comes to the hooligan fight, he was 28 at the time, and I don’t have a problem with that because I think that men should know how to fight. When it comes to other issues – everyone can make a mistake, and it does not have to mean bad intentions,” said Marcin Mamon, a right-wing freelance journalist who claimed the alleged scandals involving Nawrocki have been exaggerated.
“For me, voting for a conservative or right-wing candidate is a declaration of values, such as the Catholic faith. Voting for the other candidate means voting against the Church and for abortion, which I’m totally against.”
Parliamentary deadlock
Having a like-minded president would be crucial for the governing Civic Platform to reverse controversial judicial reforms introduced by the former PiS government, especially regarding the independence of the judiciary.
As a result of the changes, which were deemed to contradict European law, in 2021, the European Union imposed penalties on Poland. While Civic Platform came to power in 2023 with the promise of reversing the controversial laws, it has been unable to do so as President Duda holds a right to veto and would block any attempts at changing the law.
“Nawrocki’s victory would mean a total war with the government,” said Rydlinski. “He would be a much more conservative president than Andrzej Duda, and he would probably refer many bills to the Constitutional Tribunal, which is still under the control of judges elected by the Law and Justice government.”
According to experts, a victory for Nawrocki would also put Poland on a conflict course with Europe.
“Karol Nawrocki would very strongly opt for bilateral relations between Warsaw and Washington, breaking up the EU’s unity,” Rydlinski said. “He would be a mini-Trump in Central Europe, which would mean a major conflict with Germany, cooling relations with France, and certainly a conflict with Brussels.”
Nawrocki’s conservatism and fascination with Trump have sparked concern among some Polish voters. Those who voted for left-wing or centrist candidates in the first round are likely to unite now, not in their support for Trzaskowski, but against what they see as Nawrocki’s Trump-like vision for Poland.
The left-wing and centrist candidates who lost in the first round have declared their support for Trzaskowski, and their supporters are expected to follow suit.
“Putting a cross next to Trzaskowski will not come easy for me,” said Zofia Szeremet, a 20-year-old student based in Warsaw who voted for the left-wing leader of the Razem party, Adrian Zandberg, in the first round. “But I can’t imagine not voting in such an important election. I don’t agree with Trzaskowski on many issues, but at the end of the day, he is a guarantee for Poland’s pro-European course.
“Nawrocki is anti-EU, anti-Ukrainian, inexperienced and incompetent, and I don’t imagine a president having ties with hooligan movements.”
A close call
Polls are inconclusive when it comes to the election favourite. What the first round of the vote has revealed, however, is that voters are tired of the continuous primacy of the two biggest parties.
“If we add up the results of Nawrocki and Trzaskowski, it is slightly above 60 percent, the worst result since 2005. It is clear that Poles are looking for an alternative, and not only on the right, but also to the left,” said Marcin Palade, political sociologist and expert on electoral geography in Poland. This compares with the nearly 74 percent won by the top two candidates in the 2020 presidential election – Andrzej Duda and Rafal Trzaskowski.
“Rafał Trzaskowski finished the first round [this year] below even what the polls predicted would be the minimum he could win, which is the worst possible scenario,” Palade said. “Nawrocki had the worst result a PiS candidate has had since 2005, below the ratings of the party that has stood behind him.”
Furthermore, there may be more voters in the second round: Voter turnout for the first round was 67.3 percent. Palade added: “The second round will be decided by young people, but also by those who did not vote in the first round. It is an open question whom they will support.”
Source: Agnieszka Pikulicka-Wilczewska
Qatari Women Judges: Effective Role in Achieving Justice
Doha, May 30 (QNA) – Under the guidance of its wise leadership, the State of Qatar pays great attention and care to continuing to enhance the role of Qatari women, empower them, elevate their status, highlight their valuable contributions to society, and support their participation in all aspects of life, which has enabled Qatari women to achieve remarkable and well-known successes locally, regionally, and internationally.
The state”s commitment to empowering women stems from Qatar”s firm belief in the importance of promoting women”s rights and their equal participation with men in the country”s sustainable development efforts, in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.
In this context, the State of Qatar is pursuing and adopting policies and legislation aimed at achieving equal opportunities for women and enabling them to balance work and family responsibilities. This has contributed significantly to empowering Qatari women and enhancing their participation in the national workforce in both the public and private sectors, making Qatari women effective partners in the country”s development process, through their assumption of various important positions in the country in various fields.
The State of Qatar was a pioneer among the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in promoting the role of women in the judiciary. This was the result of extensive efforts to review laws related to women, resulting in the repeal, amendment, and enactment of laws aimed at enhancing the status of women and removing obstacles to their empowerment and advancement.
Qatar is the first country in the GCC to grant women the opportunity to work as judges. Several Qatari female students graduated from the College of Law at Qatar University years ago and have entered this prestigious profession. Other universities in the country, such as Hamad Bin Khalifa University and Lusail University, also have law schools offering various programs and specializations in law.
Senior Judge at the Court of Appeal Dr. Hessa bint Abdullah Al Sulaiti, the dean of judiciary in Qatar, is the first Qatari female judge since 2010. Her experience in this exceptional achievement has marked a milestone in the history of the Qatari judiciary and contributed to strengthening the role of women in the legal and judicial fields, reflecting her leadership and outstanding contributions to women”s representation in the judiciary.
Judge Hessa Al Sulaiti”s career represents an inspiring model for future generations of women, proving that Qatari women are capable of excelling in various fields and contributing effectively to building a society based on justice and equality.
In this context, Dr. Hessa Al Sulaiti, told Qatar News Agency (QNA) that her ambition is what drove her to study law and ascend the judiciary. She noted that after the narrative of women as judges was firmly established within her, she sought to overcome obstacles and enter the world of the judiciary in 2010. In this regard, she praised the support she received from her fellow judges and superiors.
She commended the State of Qatar”s initiative, which led international efforts to adopt the UN General Assembly resolution designating March 10 as International Day of Women Judges. This reflects the State of Qatar”s commitment to empowering female judges and providing them with employment opportunities and career advancement in the judiciary on an equal footing with their male counterparts.
Judge Al Sulaiti emphasized that women”s representation in the Qatari judiciary stands at 13 percent, and that, according to plans, it is expected to reach 30 percent by 2030. Women”s representation in the judiciary administration ranks at 46.8 percent, while their representation in leadership positions in the judiciary stands at approximately 51 percent.
She pointed out that she works as a judge in the Court of Appeal and heads a division specializing in civil disputes. She also noted that female judges in Qatari courts work across all judicial specialties without discrimination, which is a testament to the leadership of Qatari women.
In an unprecedented, historic step, First Deputy President of the Court of First Instance Fatima Abdullah Al Mal became the first female criminal judge, marking a new achievement in the journey of empowering Qatari women in the judiciary.
The appointment of Judge Fatima Al Mal to this position reinforces the position of women in leadership positions and underscores the importance of competence and experience in achieving justice, particularly given her proven ability to handle criminal cases with impartiality and rigor, making her a role model in the judiciary.
The appointment of Fatima Al Mal as the first female criminal judge was widely welcomed by legal and human rights circles as a step toward strengthening the role of women in judicial decision-making and achieving the principle of equal opportunity.
Judge Fatima Abdullah Al Mal told QNA that her entry into the judiciary in Qatar was paved, first and foremost, by the country”s permanent constitution, the will of society, and the legitimate and pioneering ambitions of Qatari women.
She addressed her work in the criminal justice system, where she deals with violent practices that sometimes require harsh sentences that restrict people”s lives based on the crimes they have committed, which violate the law and the human right to life and justice.
She added that the wise leadership of Qatar and the leadership of the fair and efficient judiciary in Qatar have honored her with great confidence when they entrusted her with the presidency of one of the major criminal courts and that she overcome all challenges.
Judge Fatima Abdullah Al Mal also addressed the department”s achievements in overcoming challenges and achieving an annual completion rate of 89 percent over the past three years.
Concluding her remarks to QNA, she stressed that Qatari women have proven their worth in various fields of judicial work, and that their presence in the judiciary reflects Qatar”s approach to achieving balance and equality in employment opportunities and empowerment.
Emphasizing the State of Qatar”s ongoing commitment to establishing the principles of justice and transparency within the judicial system, Judge Aisha Hassan Al Emadi, a commercial specialist, was appointed to the Investment and Trade Court.
This step reflects the vital role women play as a key element in supporting the judicial system, protecting rights, and promoting diversity within the judicial structure. It also supports the construction of a more inclusive and efficient judicial system that aligns with society”s aspirations for fairness and the rule of law. It also enhances its role in supporting economic development and raising the level of mechanisms for resolving commercial and investment disputes, which positively impacts investor confidence and supports the creation of a stable and secure economic environment.
With the significant support of the wise leadership, Qatari women have proven their presence, leadership, and ability to shoulder responsibility and fulfill their assigned roles in various positions and positions, including leadership positions they occupy, including the judiciary. This has been achieved after the state provided them with a favorable and stimulating environment to demonstrate their excellence and enable them to contribute effectively to construction and development in various fields.
The United Nations General Assembly, at its 75th session, officially adopted, by consensus, that March 10 of each year be designated as International Day of Women Judges. This initiative was presented by the State of Qatar during the 75th session of the Assembly, marking a new milestone in Qatar”s leadership in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and Qatar National Vision 2030.
The Supreme Judiciary Council regularly celebrates International Day of Women Judges. In this context, it held a celebration, in cooperation with the Permanent Delegation of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Human Rights Council, to mark the 4th anniversary of this day on the sidelines of the 58th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. (QNA)
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