Yahoo! Elections - Destination 2012

Analysis: Shrinking deficit reduces pressure for budget deal

Mon, 20 May 2013 01:09:44 -0400

By Jason Lange and David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chances of a deal between Democratic and Republican lawmakers that would overhaul the tax system, trim government spending and reform safety net spending programs appear to be fading. A sudden improvement in the outlook for the government deficit over the next decade has alleviated some of the pressure on lawmakers to act. And a spate of scandals, involving the Internal Revenue Service, security for the U.S. ...

Colombian president hints he will run for re-election in 2014

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:31:12 -0400

By Helen Murphy BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos hinted on Friday that he would seek re-election next year to ensure continuity of his policies - including peace talks with Marxist FARC rebels - though he did not explicitly announce his candidacy. "I want clearly and firmly to see that the government's policies continue after August 7, 2014," Santos said, referring to the date a new administration would take office. "I want the peace policy re-elected, I want the housing policy re-elected, those that have reduced poverty - re-elected," he told reporters in Bogota. ...

Iran MPs urge ban on presidential runs by Rafsanjani, Mashaie

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:22:46 -0400

By Yeganeh Torbati DUBAI (Reuters) - Some 100 legislators are demanding a ban on two top independent candidates including ex-president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani from Iran's June presidential election in what may be a further move to thwart any brewing challenge to the clerical supreme leader. The petition by parliamentarians to Iran's Guardian Council emerged three days after the electoral watchdog said outgoing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may face charges for accompanying former aide Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, the other high-profile independent, to register on Saturday for the vote. ...

Iran's Ahmadinejad may face charges over election appearance with aide

Mon, 13 May 2013 14:31:45 -0400

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may face charges for accompanying an ally to register for the June presidential vote, the electoral watchdog said, in a possible move by rival conservative hardliners keen to pre-empt any challenge to Iran's clerical supreme leader. After mass protests that followed the 2009 election, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have looked to next month's vote to install a loyal conservative president but the surprise candidacies of two major independents could rewrite that script. ...

Analysis: Iran election opens up as surprise candidates enter race

Mon, 13 May 2013 05:30:48 -0400

By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - After the huge protests that followed the 2009 election, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have hoped June polls would quietly install a loyal conservative president, but the surprise candidacies of two major independents may scupper that. Both Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, the nationalist protégé of outspoken President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president and Iran's best known political grandee, are seen as a threat to the leader's authority. ...

Analysis: Iran election race opens up as surprise candidate enter

Sun, 12 May 2013 15:29:00 -0400

By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - After the huge protests that followed the 2009 election, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may have hoped June polls would quietly install a loyal conservative president, but the surprise candidacies of two major independents may scupper that. Both Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, the nationalist protégé of rabble-rousing President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president and Iran's best known political grandee, are seen as a threat to the leader's authority. ...

Egypt court to rule next month on challenge to upper house

Sun, 12 May 2013 12:40:33 -0400

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's highest court will rule next month on the legality of the upper house of parliament, judicial sources said on Sunday, in a case that throws more legal doubt over a political transition repeatedly disrupted by lawsuits. A ruling against the Muslim Brotherhood-led upper house by the Supreme Constitutional Court on June 2 could lead to the dissolution of the chamber and result in legislative power being transferred to President Mohamed Mursi. The case, brought by an independent parliamentary candidate, stems from a similar challenge to the lower house last year. ...

Ahmadinejad protégé poses challenge to Iran's leader

Sat, 11 May 2013 14:06:34 -0400

By Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's nationalist protégé Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie is one of the most divisive men in Iran, and if he is allowed to stand in June's presidential election, it would be a direct challenge to the authority of the supreme leader. Mashaie brought to an end years of speculation on Saturday by registering as a candidate in an election that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hopes will usher in a period of much needed calm and unity. ...

Rafsanjani's last-minute entry transforms Iranian race

Sat, 11 May 2013 11:12:41 -0400

By Yeganeh Torbati and Marcus George DUBAI (Reuters) - Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani threw himself into Iran's election race on Saturday as a flurry of heavyweight candidates rushed to beat the registration deadline in the most unpredictable contest for decades. Iranian media reported that Rafsanjani - a relative moderate - had registered for the June 14 presidential election with just minutes to spare. His candidacy radically alters what was previously seen as a contest between rival conservative groups. ...

Former Iranian president Rafsanjani enters presidency ring again

Sat, 11 May 2013 09:45:07 -0400

DUBAI (Reuters) - Former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani registered for Iran's presidential election minutes before the expiry of the deadline for candidates to declare, Iranian media reported on Saturday. One of the Islamic Republic's best known figures, Rafsanjani has been marginalized since 2009 for his tacit support of reformist candidates who alleged that the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that year was rigged. Iranian television showed Rafsanjani, 78, seated in the crowded presidential registration office, smiling and waving. He earlier served as president from 1989 to 1997. ...

Iran nuclear negotiator Jalili enters presidential contest: IRNA

Sat, 11 May 2013 08:06:57 -0400

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Saeed Jalili, has registered to run for president in the Islamic Republic's June 14 election, the state news agency IRNA said on Saturday. Jalili, a veteran of the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, has since 2007 headed Iran's Supreme National Security Council and is regarded as a hardline conservative close to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Jalili's candidacy must still be approved by the conservative body of clerics and jurists known as the Guardian Council, which is expected to issue a final list of approved candidates in 10 days' time. ...

House passes tactical Republican debt bill

Thu, 09 May 2013 12:24:38 -0400

By Rachelle Younglai WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would require the Obama administration to prioritize government debt payments and retirement benefits if Congress fails to reach a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling. The legislation is not expected to go anywhere in the Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House has said it will veto the bill, but what is essentially a tactical maneuver will allow the Republicans, who control the House, to argue they have done their best to avoid a potential U.S. credit default. ...

Democrat Markey leading Republican Gomez in Massachusetts Senate polls

Thu, 09 May 2013 09:31:55 -0400

By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - Democratic Congressman Ed Markey holds a lead over Republican political newcomer Gabriel Gomez in the Massachusetts U.S. Senate race, though a newly released pair of polls differ on how wide his margin is. A MassInc Polling Group/WBUR poll released on Thursday found that Markey, who has spent more than three decades in the House of Representatives, had the firm support of 41 percent of likely voters, with private equity executive Gabriel Gomez having 35 percent. ...

Argentine congress passes judicial reform bill

Wed, 08 May 2013 21:27:52 -0400

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Argentina's Senate passed a court reform law on Wednesday aimed at "democratizing the judiciary," but critics said the move would leave judges vulnerable to political influence. Under the reform, backed by President Cristina Fernandez and passed by 38 votes to 30, members of the board that chooses federal judges will be elected. The measure had already been approved by the lower house of Congress. The National Chamber of Civil Appeals, the main body of appeals court judges, issued a statement saying the new law "violates the principle of judicial independence. ...

Comeback complete, Republican Sanford could be wild card in Congress

Wed, 08 May 2013 17:19:32 -0400

By John Whitesides WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fresh off a redemptive win in South Carolina's special election, former Governor Mark Sanford's return to Congress will make him a prominent wild card in an already fractious Republican caucus. Sanford, whose political career was short-circuited in 2009 by an extramarital affair that marred his last 18 months as governor, earned a political rebirth along with a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday by defeating Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch. ...

Recriminations over post-vote violence stoke Venezuela tensions

Wed, 08 May 2013 15:31:48 -0400

By Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - Residents of La Limonera neighborhood in Venezuela's capital Caracas are still on edge and in mourning after a wave of post-election violence that killed two people in their community. Neighbors of the low-income settlement say opposition protesters threw Molotov cocktails and fired shots amid nationwide demonstrations after President Nicolas Maduro won a narrow victory against challenger Henrique Capriles. Nine people died around Venezuela, authorities say. ...

South Carolina voters decide fate of disgraced ex-governor

Tue, 07 May 2013 15:44:22 -0400

By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Republican former Governor Mark Sanford, trying to make a political comeback after a sex scandal, was locked in a tight congressional race Tuesday with a newcomer who would be a rare bird in the South Carolina delegation: a woman and a Democrat. A poll released on Sunday showed a close race between the political veteran and the first-time candidate, with Sanford leading 47 percent to 46 percent over Elizabeth Colbert Busch, whose brother is television political satirist Stephen Colbert. ...

Florida restores early voting days, moves back primary

Fri, 03 May 2013 20:26:36 -0400

By Bill Cotterell TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Still smarting from jokes about Florida's inability to run statewide elections, Florida lawmakers approved a package of revisions on Friday to give voters more time and locations to cast their ballots. "We all took a lot of flak for elections last year," said Senator Jack Latvala, a Republican who chairs the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee. "We were the butt of jokes on late night TV. ...

Popularity of Colombia's Santos edges up slightly

Fri, 03 May 2013 14:02:27 -0400

BOGOTA (Reuters) - Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos' popularity recovered 3 percentage points, as people feel more upbeat about the outcome of peace talks with Marxist rebels and applaud a program to give homes to the poor, a leading pollster said on Friday. Santos' popularity had been sliding since his government began negotiating a peace deal in November with the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, in a bid to end a five-decade war that has killed tens of thousands of people. ...

Venezuela opposition challenges Maduro's win in court

Thu, 02 May 2013 20:17:18 -0400

By Brian Ellsworth and Diego Ore CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuelan opposition leader Henrique Capriles challenged President Nicolas Maduro's narrow election victory before the Supreme Court on Thursday, prolonging what appears to be a futile effort to overturn last month's vote. Capriles refused to accept the results of the April 14 vote for a successor to late socialist leader Hugo Chavez, and called on supporters to take the streets. That led to unruly demonstrations in which the government says nine people died. ...

Personality-driven House race plays well for Colbert Busch

Thu, 02 May 2013 14:57:42 -0400

By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - In a House race where personalities have overshadowed politics, Democratic Party newcomer Elizabeth Colbert Busch's message often has been lost in the din. The first-time candidate has tried to present herself as strong on jobs and education while opponents accuse her of cashing in on the celebrity of her well-known brother, TV political satirist Stephen Colbert. ...

Venezuelans hold rival May Day marches as vote dispute drags on

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:17:12 -0400

By Diego Ore and Girish Gupta CARACAS (Reuters) - Opposition and government supporters flooded Venezuelan streets in rival May Day marches on Wednesday as a continuing dispute over the results of last month's presidential vote kept political tensions high in the OPEC nation. On Tuesday, opposition deputies were beaten in a fracas in Congress resulting from their refusal to recognize the presidency of Nicolas Maduro, who narrowly won the April 14 election triggered by the death of socialist leader Hugo Chavez. ...

Venezuelan lawmakers hurt during punch-up in parliament

Wed, 01 May 2013 03:29:15 -0400

By Mario Naranjo and Eyanir Chinea CARACAS (Reuters) - Fistfights broke out in Venezuela's parliament on Tuesday, injuring a number of legislators during an angry session linked to the South American nation's bitter election dispute. The opposition said seven of its parliamentarians were attacked and hurt when protesting a measure to block them from speaking in the National Assembly over their refusal to recognize President Nicolas Maduro's April 14 vote victory. ...

Veteran Democrat, Republican newcomer win Massachusetts Senate primaries

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 23:44:15 -0400

By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - A Democratic Massachusetts lawmaker who has spent more than three decades in Congress will face off against a Republican who is a political novice and former Navy SEAL in the race to fill the state's open U.S. Senate seat. Primary voters on Tuesday picked Democrat Ed Markey and Republican Gabriel Gomez as their candidates in the June 25 special election, the second such race the state has seen in three years. A Gomez victory could help Republicans move toward their goal of retaking a majority in the Senate, where they currently have 45 seats. ...

Kerry pledges to answer Benghazi questions, laments 'misinformation'

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 14:49:30 -0400

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday pledged full cooperation with lawmakers' queries into last year's assault on the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, while his spokesman dismissed reports that whistleblowers faced retaliation. "We're prepared to work openly and accountably to answer any of those questions," Kerry told reporters. "I'm determined that this will be an accountable and open State Department as it has been in the past and we will continue to provide answers," he said. The assault on the U.S. mission in Benghazi last September 11, in which U.S. ...

Low Massachusetts voter turnout seen for Senate race after bombing

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 09:52:23 -0400

By Scott Malone BOSTON (Reuters) - Voters in Massachusetts on Tuesday go to the polls to pick the Democratic and Republican contenders for the state's open seat in the U.S. Senate, after campaigns that were briefly suspended by the Boston Marathon bombings. All five candidates, two Democrats and three Republicans, took several days off campaigning after the April 15 attacks, which killed three people and injured 264 others, but they roared back into a more spirited debate last week. ...

Sanford deflects talk of affair in South Carolina debate

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 00:21:03 -0400

By Harriet McLeod CHARLESTON, South Carolina (Reuters) - Former Governor Mark Sanford deflected criticism of an extramarital affair leveled in a debate on Monday by his opponent for a South Carolina congressional seat, political newcomer Elizabeth Colbert Busch. Sanford, a Republican, is hoping to revive his political career after he famously disappeared from the state in 2009 while he was governor to visit his mistress in Argentina, telling aides that he was hiking the Appalachian Trail. ...

Venezuela opposition leader charged with spurring violence

Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:17:21 -0400

CARACAS (Reuters) - A Venezuelan court charged retired General Antonio Rivero on Monday with inciting post-election violence in the latest political flash point in the bitterly divided nation. Opposition leaders say Rivero, a member of the Popular Will movement that is a driving force of Venezuela's opposition coalition, became new President Nicolas Maduro's first political prisoner when he was arrested over the weekend. Authorities say he was one of those behind a wave of violence, on the day after Maduro's disputed April 14 election, that represented a coup attempt and killed nine people. ...

Venezuela's Capriles raised false hopes on vote audit: election body

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 00:32:16 -0400

By Daniel Wallis and Enrique Andres Pretel CARACAS (Reuters) - Venezuela's electoral authority said on Saturday the opposition created false hopes about a vote audit being prepared after President Nicolas Maduro's narrow election win, adding that his rival had failed to present compelling proof of foul play. The National Electoral Council had stressed from the start that the "expanded" audit it agreed to after the April 14 vote would not change the results, which made Maduro the successor to the late socialist leader Hugo Chavez. ...

Bush family at odds over possible Jeb Bush presidential run

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 10:49:26 -0400

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Bush family, which has already produced two U.S. presidents, is at odds over whether there should be a third - former Florida Governor Jeb Bush. Former first lady Barbara Bush, says son Jeb is the most qualified Republican to run in 2016 but told NBC's "Today" show, "We've had enough Bushes." Former President George W. Bush takes the other side in the intra-family debate. "He would be a marvelous candidate if he chooses to do so," he told ABC News. "He doesn't need my counsel because he knows what it is, which is: 'run. ...