Democracy News Alliance

India's Cockroach party launches fresh protests over voter roll change

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 15:43:42 GMT

India’s voter rolls are at the centre of a political storm. Opposition activists say removing more than 130 million names risks disenfranchising legitimate voters, while authorities insist they are cleaning up the system. Now the courts—and the streets—are weighing in.

Nationalist parties dominate Bosnian election amid record low turnout

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 12:02:18 GMT

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s election has left its old divisions firmly in place: nationalist parties remain dominant, Milorad Dodik’s influence is growing and turnout has hit a record low. The result offers little sign that the country’s fragile political system is ready to change.

Spain's Sánchez calls snap election amid protests over housing crisis

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 10:57:17 GMT

Spain is heading for a high-stakes election after Pedro Sánchez’s government collapsed over housing measures. With rents soaring, protests growing and polls favouring the right, voters will decide whether the crisis saves Sánchez—or hands power to the opposition.

Latvian ruling party achieves best election win in country's history

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 10:24:22 GMT

Latvia’s centrist prime minister has won a historic parliamentary victory—but record-low turnout and strong gains by populist parties reveal a country far from settled. Andris Kulbergs must now rebuild a governing coalition while navigating security fears and minority discontent.

Bolsonaro and Lula head to a runoff in Brazil's presidential election

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 10:08:47 GMT

Brazil’s presidential race is heading into a runoff that could pull Latin America’s biggest democracy closer to Washington—or toward China. Right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro narrowly leads Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, with his father’s legacy and Brazil’s future on the ballot.

France scrambles to contain school protests after thousands detained

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 13:17:59 GMT

High school students clashed with riot police in cities across France on Friday, as president Emmanuel Macron's government battled to contain increasingly violent protests over classroom conditions and funding.

Algeria adopts law imposing death penalty on forest arsonists

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 09:38:18 GMT

Algeria has enacted the death penalty following a series of forest fires across the country which have claimed the lives of more than 200 people.

Starbucks stores in China's Xinjiang region prompt US criticism

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 07:05:11 GMT

The United States and several other foreign governments have described China’s actions against Moslem Uyghurin Xinjiang as genocide. The opening of Starbucks coffee stores in the area has now outaged human rights activists

Brazil’s Advocate General warns of US meddling ahead of election

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 06:07:41 GMT

A report on US funding for critics of the Brazilian Supreme Court is causing a stir in the run-up to the presidential election. The government’s Attorney General has warned against foreign interference.

Czech government survives no-confidence vote ahead of key election

Fri, 02 Oct 2026 05:54:09 GMT

The coalition government of Czech Republic Prime Minister Andrej Babiš has survived a confidence vote called over issues including the proposed 2027 budget deficit, Babiš’s alleged unresolved conflict of interest and what it describes as government attacks on institutions.

EU adopts new deportation law amid calls for more restrictions

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 15:08:37 GMT

The migration in Ceuta, the Spanish enclave surrounded by Moroccan territory, has prompted a rethink on EU migration policy. EU interior ministers have now given final approval to new, restrictive, legislation.

German Catholic bishops warn against AfD taking role in government

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 14:22:54 GMT

The chairman of the German Bishops' Conference, Heiner Wilmer, says that the anti-immigrant AfD wants "a different Germany." He emphasizes that the Catholic Church will continue to speak out against hatred and incitement.

South African protesters urge illegal migrants to leave

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 12:13:03 GMT

South African protesters are targeting migrants, demanding identification and calling for them to leave. A recent series of murders of women has spurred rising xenophobia in the country, with the Indian Ocean port city of Durban the latest hotspot.

Turkish lawmakers walk out of parliament as arrests continue

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 10:33:49 GMT

Opposition members of the Turkish parliament walked out in protest at President Erdoğan, as a crackdown on mayors of the CHP party continued. Fresh arrests follow the shutting down of news websites and gay clubs earlier in the week.

Nazi-era Marseille raid is crime against humanity, French court rules

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 09:43:04 GMT

It may be 80 years ago and more, but Europe is still grappling with the moral consequences of the devastation left by the Nazis. For many countries that now see themselves as model democracies, uncovering the role of collaborators continues to prove painful.

Italy introduces burqa ban, language quota in schools

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 08:39:52 GMT

Measures put forward to ban the burqa in schools and push pupils to having adequate command of Italian when they start school have come into force after President Mattarella signed the relevant decree. Prime Minister Meloni had announced the measures at the end of last month.

US execution of Tennessee woman fails after botched injections

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 08:21:33 GMT

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has halted executions after Christa Gail Pike, condemned to die for a 1995 murder, survived two lethal injections. The procedure went ahead after court rulings initially halting it and then allowing it. The case has drawn international attention.

Macron wants clarity over Bardella's alleged anti-Semitic comments

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 08:02:33 GMT

Political opponents of France's anti-immigration National Rally are highlighting ostensible antisemitism in Jordan Bardella, the party's likely candidate for prime minister, should Marine Le Pen take the presidency in next year's elections.

Romania in crisis after second attempt to form government fails

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 07:45:13 GMT

Five months after ousting Siegfried Mureșan, a pro-EU prime minister, Romania continues without a government after the second attempt failed. Opposition parties boycotted the vote in parliament. President Nicușor Dan is reluctant to call new elections.

Meloni faces crunch vote as lawmakers debate disputed electoral reform

Wed, 30 Sep 2026 14:35:37 GMT

In Italy, parliament has begun its final deliberations on prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s plans for a new electoral law.