Kenyan citizens overwhelmingly approved a new constitution in a peaceful and credible referendum last week, according to a preliminary statement released by the Elections Observation Group (ELOG), a coalition of civic and faith-based Kenyan organizations.

After the violence that marred the 2007 elections, the successful August 4 referendum was celebrated as Kenyans ratified a new constitution that provides checks and balances on the president, establishes a bill of rights, transfers some powers from the central government to the regions and addresses land distribution issues.

The number of Lebanese women elected to municipal offices more than doubled this year, increasing from the 201 elected in 2004 to 530 who were successful in this year’s polls. The increase was particularly noteworthy because it came without the help of a quota law, a technique used in a number of countries in the Middle East and elsewhere to ensure a specified number of seats for women.

The process surrounding national elections in Burma, expected later this year, “is clearly designed to guarantee a pre-determined outcome and, therefore, does not meet even the very minimum of international standards,” according to an analysis by NDI that was released Aug. 1.

During 2006 elections in Uganda, international observers and domestic monitors reported significant violations of electoral law and protocol, including disenfranchisement of voters, counting and tallying irregularities, the use of state funds for campaign activities and the incarceration of political opposition leaders. As February 2011 elections approach, efforts are underway to head off potential repetition of these problems and violations.

DEMGroup and Citizens Coalition for Electoral Democracy, domestic election monitoring organizations, are carrying out a comprehensive monitoring strategy that includes a citizen hotline.

Kyrgyzstan's June 27 referendum ratifying a new constitution, despite some problems, reflected the will of Kyrgyzstan's voters, according to the findings of the country's leading domestic election monitoring organization, the Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society.

With the vote, the nation became the first in Central Asia to opt for a system that significantly limits presidential power in relation to parliament. Voters also approved Roza Otunbayeva as interim president for a term through December 2011. They will choose a new parliament in October.