Latest news with #voteRigging
Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Times
This LBJ biography helps explain deep US fear of vote rigging
On long car journeys we've been listening to Robert Caro's monumental four-volume biography of Lyndon Baines Johnson. Some books are better encountered read aloud than on the page, and this is one of them: brilliantly narrated with all the accents and voices, and Caro's often labyrinthine sentence constructions untangled by intelligent voice-modulation. Surely no other figure in modern history has ever been so fairly and comprehensively explained, and no other life more exhaustively chronicled. But one aspect of American politics, described early in the former president's ascent to power, and then later, has both shocked and educated me. Vote-rigging. It was endemic. In 1960, when LBJ ran alongside John F Kennedy for the presidency, votes from LBJ's home state of Texas proved vital, possibly critical, in getting Kennedy over the line. Caro spells out where those votes came from: blatant electoral fraud organised by Texan power-brokers linked to LBJ. Caro neither condones nor suggests that most Americans would condone; but a strong impression arises that these things happen, outrage can subside when the political establishment is disinclined to rake over the coals, and (though a stink was at first kicked up over the presidential fraud) America is capable of finally shrugging. Many years later, when Joe Biden beat Trump, the latter's conviction that he was cheated of victory appeared an obsessive and paranoid fantasy. It was. But now I understand why Americans with long memories might question whether all their elections really are free and fair. Reading about Greece's success in pulling itself out of the deep economic pit created by the country's having lived beyond its means, one cannot but admire its impressive current prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis. Our own descent into the pit is occurring more gently and in an altogether more dignified manner, but it's the same pit. So much so that Greece can already borrow on more favourable terms than the world will accord the UK. We British have been in the habit of importing royalty from Greece. I do wonder whether we might consider importing political leadership too. Way back in the mists of obscure 20th-century parliamentary history, your diarist was on the standing committee examining the bill that privatised Britain's principal airports, formerly state-owned. I argued then for obliging any new private owner to promote free competition, as it struck me that a franchise for a monopoly of retail provision would command an eye-watering price which airport owners should not be allowed to extract. Fast-forward 40 years and my friend Alice is at Stansted on August 8, flying to Spain and wishing to buy €80. 'Landside', she finds only one currency exchange dealer. They explain they charge a commission on the exchange. A determined person, Alice argues. The lady behind the counter takes pity on her and finally agrees to drop the commission. Alice asks for €80. As you will know the pound is worth more than the euro. She is charged £95.29. This is scarcely believable. So much so that I asked Alice to check. She has sent me the receipt. And I cannot but conclude they charged her 95 pounds for 80 euros. I've been checking rates on the high street. I cannot find any dealer who will give a customer back fewer euros than the pounds they hand over the counter. In some cases they will charge little more than £70 for €80. What has gone wrong? Last year The Sun reported that 'travellers could lose … £200 when they take away €1,000 at Stansted airport'. Do we have no regulatory authority able to police this banditry? Not long after the death ten days ago of Dame Stella Rimington, once the head of MI5, a little trill on the pan-pipes alerts me to an incoming WhatsApp. It's from a friend who used to work for a well-known recruitment agency. 'We once hosted her at our agency, my boss interviewing her for a client event. It was a memorable conversation. My boss began: 'We're headhunters, so we need to understand people. Stella, what do you do when you want to understand people better. How do you approach this?' 'I tap them,' replied Rimington.'
Bloomberg
28-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Malaysian Ministers Quit in Blow to Anwar's Government
Malaysia's Economy Minister Rafizi Ramli and Natural Resources and Environmental Sustainability Minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad are leaving the cabinet, days after they were defeated in an internal party election that was marred by allegations of vote-rigging and nepotism. Rafizi and Nik Nazmi on May 23 failed to defend their positions as the deputy president and vice-president of the People's Justice Party, respectively, in its first internal polls since Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim formed the government in November 2022. Rafizi lost to Anwar's daughter, Nurul Izzah Anwar.
Daily Mail
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Major broadcasters accuse Eurovision of vote-rigging after Israel's controversial performance came second
Eurovision has been accused of permitting vote-rigging that almost led to Israel winning this year's dramatic showdown. The national broadcasters for Spain and Belgium have complained to the competition's organisers after Israel came second and won the public vote by a landslide. RTVE, Spain's public broadcaster, and VRT, the Flemish public broadcasting company, are calling for organisers to investigate the televoting system. It comes after support for Yuval Raphael, Israel's contestant, soared and she ended up scoring 357 points. The country was only beaten by Austria's JJ, who received 436 points for his song Wasted Love. The entrants receive points from a professional jury from each country, as well as from a public vote. The maximum amount of points from any country's jury or the public is 12. Belgium and Spain's televoters both awarded Israel 12 points, despite the juries giving the country zero points. Viewers at home can vote up to 20 times for a small cost charged per vote by text or phone call. It followed protests calling for a boycott of the competition as well as an open letter signed by 4,000 musicians, artist and music industry pros from five Nordic countries denouncing the Middle Eastern country's entry. Pictured: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators set alight an Israel and a US flag at the protests in Basel The competition organizer, European Broadcasting Union (EBU), confirmed Spain and Belgium's broadcasters had reached out and insisted it took the complaints 'seriously'. Katia Segers, a Flemish parliamentarian, said: 'A system in which everyone can cast up to 20 votes is a system that encourages manipulation. 'Whether this manipulation occurred in our country and all other participating and non-participating countries must be investigated.' She added: 'The VRT must take the lead in requesting this investigation. And in holding the debate on the televoting system within the EBU, and on Israel's participation.' Martin Green, the director of Eurovision, said: 'It is important to emphasise that the voting operation for the Eurovision Song Contest is the most advanced in the world and each country's result is checked and verified by a huge team of people to exclude any suspicious or irregular voting patterns. 'An independent compliance monitor reviews both jury and public vote data to ensure we have a valid result.' He added: 'We remain in constant contact with all participating broadcasters of the Eurovision Song Contest and take their concerns seriously.' Israel's participation in Eurovision for a second consecutive year amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza and investigation for war crimes by the International Criminal Court has sparked fury. Ms Raphael, a survivor of Hamas's assault on the Nova music festival on October 7, 2023, was disrupted in her final performance in Basel, Switzerland, by pro-Palestine protesters. The country was only beaten by Austria's JJ (pictured), who received 436 points for his song Wasted Love A crowd 'booed' and 'jeered' as she sang and two audience members had to be stopped as they attempted to storm the stage. It followed protests calling for a boycott of the competition as well as an open letter signed by 4,000 musicians, artist and music industry pros from five Nordic countries denouncing the Middle Eastern country's entry. Those who signed the statement, including some previous Eurovision winners, dubbed Israel's involvement in the competition as a bid to 'whitewash and divert attention' from the Israel's bombardment on Gaza. It argued that Israel 'should not have the opportunity to polish its public image on the Eurovision stage and thus use this to cover up and continue its human rights violations.' During Saturday's grand finale, Spanish broadcaster RTVE was heavily criticized after it took a stand against Israel's inclusion during their country's broadcast. For 16 seconds, viewers saw a black screen with white lettering in Spanish and English that read: 'When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. 'Peace and Justice for Palestine.' EBU's Mr Green added: 'We can confirm that we have been in touch with VRT and RTVE since Saturday's grand final regarding voting in the competition. 'Now the event has concluded, we will have a broad discussion with participating broadcasters, to reflect and obtain feedback on all aspects of this year's event as part of our planning process for the 70th Eurovision Song Contest next year.' A spokesman from VRT said they had 'no indication' the vote count was incorrect, but said: 'The main question is whether the current voting system guarantees a fair reflection of the opinions of viewers and listeners. 'VRT notes that the Eurovision Song Contest, as it is currently organised, has become less and less of a unifying and apolitical event.' The spokesman added: 'VRT calls for full transparency from the EBU about the rules and voting … without a serious answer to our concerns regarding the Eurovision Song Contest, we do question future participation.'
Telegraph
19-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Eurovision ‘rigged' in favour of Israel
Eurovision has been accused of allowing vote-rigging that led to Israel unexpectedly coming second in this year's competition. The national broadcasters for Spain and Belgium have complained to the competition's organisers after Israel won the public vote by a large margin. RTVE, Spain's public broadcaster, and VRT, the Flemish public broadcasting company, are calling for organisers to investigate the televoting system following a surge in support for Yuval Raphael, Israel's contestant who ended up winning 357 points. The country finished in second place after Austria's JJ, who received 436 points for his song Wasted Love. The competition's entrants receive points from a professional jury from each country, as well as from a public vote. The maximum amount of points to receive from any country's jury or the public is 12. Belgium and Spain's televoters both awarded Israel 12 points, despite the juries giving the country zero points. Viewers at home can vote up to 20 times for a small cost charged to each vote by text or phone call. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which runs the competition, confirmed Spain and Belgium's broadcasters had been in touch and insisted they take the complaints 'seriously'. Katia Segers, a Flemish parliamentarian, said: 'A system in which everyone can cast up to 20 votes is a system that encourages manipulation. 'Whether this manipulation occurred in our country and all other participating and non-participating countries must be investigated.' She added: 'The VRT must take the lead in requesting this investigation. And in holding the debate on the televoting system within the EBU, and on Israel's participation.' Martin Green, the director of Eurovision, said: 'It is important to emphasise that the voting operation for the Eurovision Song Contest is the most advanced in the world and each country's result is checked and verified by a huge team of people to exclude any suspicious or irregular voting patterns. 'An independent compliance monitor reviews both jury and public vote data to ensure we have a valid result.' He added: 'We remain in constant contact with all participating broadcasters of the Eurovision Song Contest and take their concerns seriously.' Israel's participation in Eurovision for a second year running amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza and investigation for war crimes by the International Criminal Court has provoked political debate across the continent. Ms Raphael, who is a survivor of Hamas's assault on the Nova music festival on Oct 7, 2023, was disrupted in her final performance in Basel, Switzerland, by pro-Palestine protesters who tried to storm the stage. It followed protests calling for a boycott of the competition as well as an open letter published a week before the contest which featured more than 70 previous Eurovision contestants calling on the organisers to ban Israel and its broadcaster KAN. During Saturday's grand finale, Spanish broadcaster RTVE came under fire after they took a stand against Israel's inclusion during their country's broadcast. For 16 seconds, viewers saw a black screen with white lettering in Spanish and English that read: 'When human rights are at stake, silence is not an option. Peace and Justice for Palestine.' EBU's Mr Green added: 'We can confirm that we have been in touch with VRT and RTVE since Saturday's Grand Final regarding voting in the competition. 'Now the event has concluded we will have a broad discussion with participating broadcasters, to reflect and obtain feedback on all aspects of this year's event as part of our planning process for the 70th Eurovision Song Contest next year.' A spokesman from VRT said they had 'no indication' the vote count was incorrect, but said: 'The main question is whether the current voting system guarantees a fair reflection of the opinions of viewers and listeners. 'VRT notes that the Eurovision Song Contest, as it is currently organised, has become less and less of a unifying and apolitical event.' The spokesman added: 'VRT calls for full transparency from the EBU about the rules and voting … without a serious answer to our concerns regarding the Eurovision Song Contest, we do question future participation.' The Telegraph has contacted RTVE for comment.
