Brazil elects Dilma (CNN.com)
In 60 Brazilian cities, voters used their thumbs instead of ballots on a newly launched biometric system, where voters scan their fingers to log in and vote.Brazil and Cote d'Ivoire have very different reasons for their decisions. In Brazil, voting is compulsory, so practically every adult cast a vote. Anything that increases the efficiency of the voting process is likely to pay dividends at such high turnout rates. An earlier post about the Brazilian elections is here.
Ivory Coast election a crucial crossroads (Forbes.com)
Cote d'Ivoire has a very different set of challenges.
"Ivorians want to have peaceful elections. People are tired," said journalist and political analyst Abdoulaye Sangare. But if any party fails to accept the outcome, "there could be violence. And if there is, nobody can say where it might stop."
From Travel.State.gov:
Cote d'Ivoire has been a divided country since a 2002 failed coup attempt evolved into an armed rebellion that split the country in two. Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo and New Forces leader Guillaume Soro signed the Ouagadougou Political Agreement (OPA) in March 2007, and a new government was formed with Soro as Prime Minister (PM). Implementation of the accord, including federal elections, is ongoing, but long-awaited elections have been postponed repeatedly.In such a fragile country, the integrity of the vote is of paramount importance. It's not too much of a stretch to assert that thousands of lives are at stake, depending upon a clean election to maintain peace.
