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Asia elections

Asia elections
The latest news, analysis and videos on the elections in Thailand, Indonesia, India, Philippines, Australia and Japan.
Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto greets flood survivors during his visit to Southeast Aceh on December 1. Photo: Indonesian Presidential Palace/AP
Indonesia

Prabowo’s push to end direct election for Indonesian regional heads stirs debate

The president says the move is to stop wasteful spending and vote buying, but critics warn that it risks a return to Suharto-era politics.

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Bangladesh

Why a leading party in Bangladesh is facing uncertainty as election looms

Bangladesh

Bangladesh mass grave from 2024 uprising exhumed with UN support

Malaysia

Why Anwar faces uphill task to win back voters after Sabah election trouncing

Sabah voters don’t trust Anwar, and this will complicate his plan for the next general election, analysts say.

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Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim speaks at the Asean-New Zealand summit in Kuala Lumpur in October. Photo: Pool via Reuters
Thailand

Thailand’s sidelined reformists battle ‘baan yai’ dynasties to repeat poll win

It could become ‘everybody vs the People’s Party’ as old power networks unite to crush the movement that won the popular vote in 2023.

Malaysia

Sabah polls: blow for Anwar as partner party shines, but key ally is wiped out

Local partner Gagasan Rakyat Sabah secured 29 seats, but the PM’s Democratic Action Party allies lost all eight seats they contested.

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The Philippines

What happens if the Philippine president and vice-president both resign

Allegations of a multibillion-peso scam and misused funds have legal experts dusting off the constitutional rules for a total power vacuum.

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Protesters hold a banner calling for the resignation of Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr and Vice-President Sara Duterte during an anti-corruption rally in Manila on November 21. Photo: EPA
Bangladesh

Bangladesh authorities uncover fugitive ex-PM Hasina’s gold stash

Authorities seized gold worth US$1.3 million from Hasina, who is under investigation for not depositing gifts into the treasury as required.

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Malaysia

In Malaysia’s Sabah state election, it’s Gen Z vs the old guard

More than half of Sabah’s registered voters are under the age of 40 – and they’re done waiting for undelivered promises.

Bangladesh

Can a single vote save Bangladesh from a return to authoritarianism?

Analysts question if the July Charter championed by Muhammad Yunus can overcome Dhaka’s ‘winner-takes-all’ political culture.

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Police use stun grenades to disperse protesters outside the demolished residence of Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Bangladesh’s former leader and father of ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, on Monday. Photo: AP
Malaysia

Malaysia’s poorest state prepares a poll shock for the prime minister

Decades of neglect and withheld resource revenue have left short-changed Sabah seething and primed for a political fight.

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A woman casts her ballot at a polling station during a previous election in Malaysia. Photo: AFP
India

What BJP’s dominance means for India’s democracy and fragmented opposition

The sweeping Bihar election win means Modi’s BJP will face ‘virtually no opposition’ as Congress continues to struggle, analysts warn.

Singapore

Why Singapore’s PAP is taking aim at opposition WP so soon after an election

The PAP’s war of words against the WP is a calculated approach for it to get a head start before the next election, analysts say.

India

Modi’s alliance poised for Bihar poll win, boosting 2029 hopes

Victory in Bihar is crucial, as the the Hindi-speaking state sends a major bloc to India’s parliament.

Bharatiya Janata Party supporters celebrate their party’s lead in the Bihar state election results in New Delhi, India on Friday. Photo: EPA
Bangladesh

‘Judicial mockery’: Bangladesh’s Hasina slams trial as verdict nears

Former PM defends crackdown after protests ‘darkened into mob violence’ and calls trial a political hatchet job driven by her rivals.

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Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina attends a discussion at the Munich Security Conference in 2024. Hasina has taken refuge in India after student-led protests forced her from office in August 2024. Photo: dpa
Malaysia

Malaysia’s Anwar faces a tough fight as bellwether state Sabah closes ranks

A key issue driving Sabahans’ ire is the division of revenue collected from the resource-rich state by the federal government.

Singapore

Singapore PM says election win came after ‘very tough’ constituency battles

Lawrence Wong told a party meeting that the May victory was not a landslide, but the results showed ‘we don’t take chances with our future’.

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India

Road to 2026 runs through Bihar: why Indian state vote matters for Modi’s BJP

A win for JDU, BJP’s main coalition partner, would bolster Modi’s authority and tighten his grip on national politics, analysts say.

A man walks past a banner showing Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (right) and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar (second right) in Patna on Saturday ahead of the state assembly elections. Photo: AFP
India

India begins controversial voter revision in 12 states ahead of elections

Rights groups and opposition parties have filed legal challenges, claiming the exercise was a ‘mere trick to delete the names of genuine voters’.

Bangladesh

Bangladesh political violence kills 281 since Hasina’s fall

A Dhaka-based human rights group said many people had fallen victim to extortion by political parties regardless of their financial or social standing.

Bangladesh

Will death penalty demand for Hasina jeopardise extradition to Bangladesh?

Chief Prosecutor Tajul Islam says Hasina deserves 1,400 death sentences and ‘shows no remorse for the brutality she has committed’.

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Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina addresses the media at a vandalised metro station in Mirpur, after the anti-quota protests in July 2024. Photo: Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Office / AFP
Japan

‘Stealth husband’: Japan PM Takaichi’s spouse shuns the spotlight

Taku Yamamoto revealed his ‘stealth’ role, rekindled marriage, and health struggles, explaining that in Japan, partners must avoid the spotlight.

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Taku Yamamoto, the husband of Japan’s new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and a former member of the LDP, waves from a car during a campaign in Sabae, Fukui Prefecture, earlier this month. Photo: Kyodo/Reuters
Japan

‘Weirdest alliance’: Japan’s new ruling coalition tipped for collapse

The Innovation Party’s backing looks set to make Sanae Takaichi Japan’s first female PM, but analysts don’t expect their alliance to last.

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Japan

Macroscope | Japan’s political turmoil will weigh heavily on its economy, and beyond

More than just who heads the government, the fate of Japan’s leadership race has implications for markets, regional economies and geopolitics.

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Mongolia

Mongolia’s prime minister ousted in ruling party power struggle

His dramatic removal after only four months came amid a national budget crisis, widespread strikes and counteraccusations of corruption.

Mongolian Prime Minister Gombojav Zandanshatar gestures as he attends a vote on his dismissal at the parliament in Ulaanbaatar on Friday. Photo: AFP
Bangladesh

Bangladesh’s ex-PM Sheikh Hasina should be put to death, prosecution demands

Prosecutors allege that the fugitive ex-prime minister is responsible for the deaths of up to 1,400 people in last year’s uprising.

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Bangladesh’s then prime minister Sheikh Hasina pictured in July last year. Photo: Bangladesh Prime Minister’s Office/AFP
Japan

For the first time in years, Japan’s opposition sees a route to power

The Liberal Democratic Party has ruled Japan in unbroken succession since Shinzo Abe’s landslide victory in 2012.

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Malaysia

Cracks show as Malaysian opposition party sacks MP, 4 leaders ahead of polls

Tensions have been rising in Bersatu over its prime ministerial pick for the elections, slated to be held by 2028.

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