The Commonwealth while readmitting Pakistan welcomed the country's progress on democratic reform since Musharraf's coup in 1999.
"Musharraf should decide if he wants to be the 'operational' head of the army or the democratic President," McKinnon said a day before the opening of a Commonwealth Finance ministers' meeting in Colombo.
Thirty per cent of candidates contesting Madhya Pradesh assembly election on the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party tickets have criminal cases against them, according to an analysis of candidates' affidavits released by watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms.
Karnataka goes to polls in about a fortnight and the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress is going toe-to-toe to win the elections, results of which will be announced on May 15. Here's a simple guide to all things about the Karnataka polls.
For some of the business majors, the fund outgo for the 2019 elections has risen as much as 15 to 20 times, compared to the amount given to political parties five years ago.
The government said that the massive amount of political donations were earlier made in cash by individuals or corporates using 'illicit means of funding'.
A total of 130 candidates with serious criminal cases against them including related to murder will contest in the first phase of Bihar assembly polls on October 12.
The Association for Democratic Reforms slams the Budget proposals on political funding, says they lack teeth and show the "lack of political will" in proposing real reforms.
Several candidates have a low level of literacy, but know just enough about social media to know it is important to have a presence there.
BJP tops the list with 27 tainted candidates
The Association of Democratic Reforms in its lartest report has noted serious discrepancies between lump sum amount that political parties declared to have given to their candidates for election expenditure, and the actual amount received by the candidates. Vicky Nanjappa reports.
At a time when many Lok Sabha candidates are declaring assets worth crores, 14 candidates in the poll fray in Tamil Nadu, mostly independents, have declared zero assets. They are among 845 candidates of well-established political entities, among whom are 14 contestants with high liabilities of more than Rs five crore, as per an analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms-Tamil Nadu Election Watch.
BJP received chunk of the funds at Rs 437.04 crore, while Congress got Rs 26.65 crore.
India was fooled into believing that Communist China wanted a 'negotiated' settlement with the Tibetans; it was never the case, says Claude Arpi.
The BJP has the maximum number of such politicians.
'ADR's success is its ability to remain non-partisan for a very long period, sheer professionalism and tenacity, and that makes it one of the good things to happen to our democracy.'
Regional political parties received a total of Rs 91.37 crore in donations in 2016-17.
The ten richest among the 199 candidates in fray in the first phase of polling for Jharkhand assembly belong to Palamau division, according to an NGO involved in election watch.
Of the 137 candidates having criminal records, 78 candidates are facing serious cases such as murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and rape.
A day after India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Cabinet of 45 ministers, the analysis has begun. Of the 44 ministers examined, a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms reveals that 13 of Modi's men have criminal charges registered against them.
'By manipulating India's electoral laws, the aim of the Modi government is to weaken democracy to such an extent that it ultimately crumbles.'
There has been a whopping 164 per cent growth in assets of 216 members of Legislative Assembly, who are seeking re-election to the Maharashtra assembly, since the last polls, as per a study conducted by two Non-Governmental Organisations.
Of the 143 candidates contesting in the first phase of Chhattisgarh assembly elections, 15 candidates have criminal cases registered against them.
Thailand's embattled Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra on Monday sought royal approval to dissolve the parliament and call fresh elections in a bid to defuse the country's deepening political crisis, as thousands of anti-government protesters took to the streets of the Thai capital.
83 MLAs from the BJP, 11 from the SP, four from the BSP, one from the Congress and three Independents have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.
How can a chief minister shrug off his responsibility not just for the illegality taking place under his nose but also for the lives that are likely lost? asks Aditi Phadnis.
With just 11.8 per cent, the nation lags behind its neighbours and peers when it comes to women's representation in national legislatures.
The Congress on Wednesday approached the Supreme Court challenging the Delhi high court's verdict holding it along with the Bharatiya Janata Party prima facie guilty of violating the foreign funding law by receiving donations from United Kingdom-based Vedanta Resources' subsidiaries.
As per the report, out of 612 candidates, 168 (27 per cent) are crorepatis.
On the education details of the candidates, the survey said 669 have declared their education qualification to be between 5th pass and 12th pass, while 380 have declared having an educational qualification of graduate or above, 29 have declared themselves to be simple literates and 7 have declared to be illiterate.
The Association of Democratic Reforms, voluntary organisation whose efforts made Central Information Commission bring six national parties under the umbrella of the RTI Act, had shot RTI applications to 45 recognised political parties of which only four have responded so far, a statement from ADR said.
Hoping that the 14th Prime Minister will provide clean and exemplary governance, the National Election Watch and Association for Democratic Reforms wrote to the Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi, requesting him not to induct those who had criminal cases registered against them into Parliament and his Cabinet.
A court in Thailand dismissed Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra from office on Wednesday for abuse of power, plunging the crisis-hit country into a fresh political turmoil.
Madhya Pradesh will see 243 candidates with criminal background in the forthcoming elections. Out of the 1,045 candidates analysed by the Association for Democratic Reforms, 243 or 23 per cent of the candidates have a criminal record.
Madhya Pradesh will see 243 candidates with criminal background in the forthcoming elections. Out of the 1,045 candidates analysed by the Association for Democratic Reforms, 243 or 23 per cent of the candidates have a criminal record.
It is people who should make an informed choice. When parties begin to realise that fielding tainted candidates is affecting their chances, they will change, says Professor Trilochan Sastry. Vicky Nanjappa reports
A public interest litigation has been filed in the Bombay high court stating that IPL matches must be shifted out of Maharashtra owing to the acute shortage of water in the state. Advocate Ankita Verma, Partner, DM Legal Associates, advocates for the petitioners, tells Rediff.com's Syed Firdaus Ashraf how hosting the IPL in Maharashtra is tantamount to wasting huge amounts of water.
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