Breaking Tweets » Elections

Karzai declared president of Afghanistan

Kari O'Rourke — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 21:56:55 +0000

President Hamid Karzai has been declared president of Afghanistan after election runoff was cancelled by officials, according to the BBC.

Karzai’s only opponent, former Foreign Minister Abdullah Abdullah, dropped out of the race on Sunday out of concerns that the votes would not be fair or free.

The United States and its allies congratulated President Hamid Karzai on winning a second term Monday, Fox News reports.

Many Twitter users were not as quick to dole out their congrats:

chadlavi (Brooklyn, N.Y.) Karzai didn’t win so much as his only opponent dropped out of the race. I could win a presidential election if no one ran against me, too. 02 Nov 2009 from web

MWM4444 (Fla.) Congratulating Karzai on his “win” is like congratulating The Godfather on his humanitarian selflessness. 02 Nov 2009 from web

Annapakshi (London) US says Karzai is a legitimate leader – on what grounds i wonder? except there is little choice! 02 Nov 2009 from web

MEVCo_USA (Jacksonville, Fla.) #Obama’s phone call to Karzai… Hey homey aren’t ya glad I sent you my play book from my 2008 election now… keep the faith my man! 02 Nov 2009 from TweetDeck

LisaMKoolFm (Barrie, Ontario, Canada) Almost a million fraudulant votes for him and Karzai still gets to be president with no new election. Hmmm. 02 Nov 2009 from txt

blkbird77 (Undisclosed) more like drop out of the race or else,Karzai poses a def prob,corrupt Pres= corrupt military,how can we work with this guy 02 Nov 2009 from web

Kahoneez (Undisclosed) Sounds like Same ole U.S. foreign policy OBAMA , Collaborating & paying Drug Lords & propping up puppet Karzai who rigged election . 02 Nov 2009 from web

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Socialist party’s George Papandreou wins Greek election

Fahad Zuberi — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 22:27:45 +0000

George Papandreou of the Socialist PASOK party has won the Greek elections.

Reuters reports that the socialists’ victory in Sunday’s Greek election is good news as the change brings in a strong government, which is needed to get the country out of an economic crisis.

Twitter users in Greece and around Europe are happy to hear about the change.

iamyianna (Athens, Greece) The Greek elections turned out just the way it should be. Congratulations to Papandreou!! Hope u bring some kind of change. GREECE NEEDS IT! 04 Oct 2009 from web

anthonypainter (London, UK) PASOK’s victory becoming v.big- perhaps up to 10%. Change comes to Greece. 2million voted for Papandreou as leader in open primary. 04 Oct 2009 from Echofon

phatmattbaker (Oxford, UK) PASOK victory in Greece. Celebrations outside Papandreou’s home: http://vpbh1.tk 04 Oct 2009 from TwitterBar

Ioanna_1 (Leeds, UK) Seems Greece has a ’socialist’ government! George Papandreou & PASOK appear 2 have scored a victory over Costas Karamanlis & ‘New Democracy’ 04 Oct 2009 from web

greekdude (Athens, Greece) @zuzufalta yes new PM will be PASOK leader George Papandreou http://is.gd/3WSPC 04 Oct 2009 from web in reply to zuzufalta

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Angela Merkel elected as German Chancellor for second term

Lauren McTigue — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 00:47:33 +0000

Angela Merkel was re-elected for another four years as Chancellor of Germany on Sunday.

With this win also came the announcement of forming a new coalition with her own Christian Democratic Party and the Free Democratic Party. She said her former coalition with the Social Democratic Party would not lead her to the goal of repairing Germany’s troubled economy as reported by The Chosun Ilbo.

This center-right coalition has reform as its number one priority as the Free Democratic Party is known for proposing “lower taxes and less regulation.”

The Twitterverse seemed mostly supportive, offering good wishes to Merkel, as well as speculations on the polls and how teaming up with the FDP will affect Germany:

gunnarandren (Stockholm, Sweden) 28 sept. Åter från Berlin. FDP vann valet, 4,8 procent plus. Angela Merkel klarade sig, främst för att SPD var en katastrof. Rättvist! (28 sept. Back from Berlin. FDP won the election, 4.8 percent plus. Angela Merkel made it, mainly because the SPD was a disaster. Fair!) 28 Sep 2009 from web

MichaelPetillo (Undisclosed) Congrats to Angela Merkel on her victory. Lower taxes and deregulation was the winning platform. 28 Sep 2009 from mobile web

alekseyfy (Undisclosed) Congratulations to Angela Merkel for her victory and soon-to-be new coalition partner. Should make things easier. 28 Sep 2009 from Tweed

ism_averse (London, U.K.) Kudos Angela Merkel. 29 Sep 2009 from web

dailyexception (New York, N.Y.) Now that Angela Merkel has her center-right coalition, I wonder just how pro-business and pro-US she will be. Margaret Thatcher she is not! 29 Sep 2009 from txt

Although there are others whose tweets suggested they were not so thrilled about the Chancellor’s win:

americo1957 (Undisclosed) Angela Merkel vence as eleições na Alemanha e continua como Chanceller. Eu sabia disso. O favoritismo é o mesmo desde a 1ª vez, em 2005. (”Angela Merkel won the elections in Germany and remains as Chancellor. I knew that. Favoritism is the same since the 1st time in 2005″) 28 Sep 2009 from web

poetadauto (Berlin, Germany) Re-eleita Chanceler, Angela Merkel disse que governará para todos os alemaes. E nós imigrantes, ó, cara pálida ????!!!!! (”Re-elected Chancellor Angela Merkel said she will rule for all Germans. And we immigrants, O, pale face ????!!!!!”) 28 Sep 2009 from web

0lenka (Hamburg, Germany) @CurryK Angela Merkel will Medien-Netzthemen…bla bla bla letztes Jahr wollte Sie ja auch SO EINIGES…=( Linken und Grünen vor! (”Angela Merkel wants the media network issues … bla bla bla, you did so well last year, SO SOME …=( Left and the Greens before!”)28 Sep 2009 from Echofon in reply to CurryK

Buddhaworld (Undisclosed) @BobGarrett angela merkel greeted by investors, how could it be otherwise? she gave away the complete financial future of germany to bankers 28 Sep 2009 from Seesmic in reply to BobGarrett

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Terrorism threats force Germany to raise alert level

Craig Kanalley — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 07:04:06 +0000

New threats from terrorist organization al-Qaeda have prompted Germany to raise its terror alert level, just prior to its federal elections on Sept. 27, CNN reports. The group specifically said it will attack if German troops are not withdrawn from Afghanistan and change in power doesn’t occur.

Security will be heightened for Election Day and the following two weeks, which an al-Qaeda video specifically cited as the time frame for a possible attack, adds Spiegel Online.

Many Germans on Twitter are trying to make sense of the news and its implications.

dominik_schwarz (Köln, Germany) Terror in Deutschland*! Wir werden alle sterben! *) exkl. Kiel: http://bit.ly/fiX0l (Terror in Germany *! We will all die! *) Excl Kiel) 18 Sep 2009 from Adium

Compuexe (Weinheim, Germany) Erschreckend, ich will das Gleiche wie Al-Qaida, einen Regierungswechsel. Bin ich jetzt ein Terrorist? (Shockingly, I want the same thing as Al-Qaeda, a change of government. Am I now a terrorist?) 18 Sep 2009 from web

ptrckprdt (Dortmund, Germany) Zu der tollen Terror Botschaft: Ich hoffe nicht, dass diese die Wahl beeinflusst. Sonst hätte Schäuble ja sein Ziel erreicht. VERARSCHE ! (To the great message of terror: I do not hope that it could influence the election. Otherwise Schauble would have achieved his goal. Verarsche!) 18 Sep 2009 from TweetDeck

SensibleAli (Berlin, Germany) RT @fpleitgen New terror threat against Germany ahead of upcoming election. Al Qaeda video posted in German language. 18 Sep 2009 from web

neuernick (Frankfurt am Main, Germany) und das sollen terroristen sein? das ist kein krieg gegen terror sondern gegen säuglinge, da muss man sich schämen (and to be terrorists? this is not a war against terror but against infants, because you have to be ashamed) 18 Sep 2009 from Tweetie

prometoys (Bielefeld, Germany/vacationing in USA) guess I’m lucky I left the country before the ridiculous terror paranoia started… #terrorfearaspoliticalcampagne 18 Sep 2009 from Identica

superpsycho (Sundern, Nordrhein, Germany) Ahh Terror Terror ich hab so ne Angst ahhh #Panikmache (Terror Terror Ahh I’m so scared ahhh ne #scaremongering) 19 Sep 2009 from Twitterrific

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Afghanistan votes despite wave of attacks, 26 deaths on Election Day

Craig Kanalley — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 15:22:32 +0000

Reports are streaming out of Afghanistan today that many voters were not intimidated in the face of constant threats Thursday, casting their ballots in the Afghan Presidential Election.

Voter turnout is expected to be down from the last election, as several polling stations were closed down due to threats and attacks, Bloomberg reports. Afghan officials say that dozens of attacks took place on Election Day and killed 26 people, yet the election was still carried out.

Voice of America correspondent Steven Herman is in Kabul and has provided a series of updates on the latest numbers and information:

W7VOA Pres. Karzai has begun speaking in Kabul — it’s being nationally televised live. #afghanelection 20 Aug 2009 from twhirl

W7VOA Karzai: There were 73 attacks today. #afghanelection 20 Aug 2009 from twhirl

W7VOA Karzai: Afghans “dared rockets, bombs & intimidation” to vote. #afghanelection 20 Aug 2009 from twhirl

W7VOA Afghanistan says election day violence killed 23 people. #afghanelection 20 Aug 2009 from twhirl

W7VOA Afghan gov’t: 26 people were killed today in election-related attacks: 9 civilians, 9 police officers and 8 army soldiers. #afghanelection 20 Aug 2009 from twhirl

W7VOA Afghan Defense Ministry: 135 attacks were carried out against the election. #afghanelection 20 Aug 2009 from twhirl

W7VOA Afghan National Security Director says attack on “major hotel” in Kabull, takeover of ministry buildings by Taliban foiled. #afghanelection 20 Aug 2009 from twhirl

Others in Kabul provided additional context on the election.

jeromestarkey Taliban shadow government alive and well in polling day http://tinyurl.com/lkej54 #afghan09 #afghanelection 20 Aug 2009 from web

kabulistan RT @pajhwok. “No security event has stopped the election process yet” – Zamarai Bashari, spokesman of Interior Ministry #afghan09 20 Aug 2009 from web

borhan Im just back from mosque in outskirts of Kabul, i called on the worshipers ‘who voted’. It appeared that four out of scores voted. #afghan09 20 Aug 2009 from web

tomafg Bloomberg reckon 6,200 out of 7,000 polling stations operated today http://bit.ly/WuTnv #afghan09. Could’ve been worse! 20 Aug 2009 from web

pajhwok Karzai says in press conference that there were 73 attacks in 15 provinces today #afghan09 20 Aug 2009 from TweetDeck

pajhwok Police arrest rocket attacker in Jawzjan #afghan09 http://ow.ly/kIy5 20 Aug 2009 from HootSuite

kabulistan Afghan journalists/colleagues and friends are quite proud of the #Afghanelection, #afghan09. 20 Aug 2009 from web

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Voting begins for #AfghanElection

Craig Kanalley — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:12:30 +0000

People around the world have their eyes set on Afghanistan, as voting has officially begun for the the Afghan Presidential Election this morning. Many are hoping for a peaceful day despite repeated threats from the Taliban to disrupt the process.

The capital city of Kabul has been attacked twice in recent days, with the last attacks taking place on Saturday. Those in Kabul today are particularly vigilant and providing updates via Twitter. A few have said that there was a possible explosion within the last hour (but it has not yet been verified).

ashrafghani (Kabul, Afghanistan) Afghans, let those who resort 2 violence & hatred know that we no longer tolerate war. Go out and vote and take what’s rightfuly yours! 19 Aug 2009 from web

jimmichaels (Kabul, Afghanistan) Lots of sounds of security, as polls are readied for opening. Helicopters flying overhead and police vehicles rushing around streets. 20 Aug 2009 from web

itamena (Kabul, Afghanistan) Just heard a blast…hope ya’ll are safe. ANx 20 Aug 2009 from txt

Orzala (Kabul, Afghanistan) Heard a strong explosion, may be somewhere around Darulaman or west KBL, but no media reporting…hope it is not censured due to govt order! 20 Aug 2009 from web

The relative silence so far has been a good sign, but the day is young. The Pajhwok Afghan News Agency is providing live tweets with updates on the election from across the country.

pajhwok (Afghanistan) Polling stations not open yet in Zaranj, Nimroz because no ballots have been delivered #afghan09 20 Aug 2009 from TweetDeck

pajhwok (Afghanistan) Kandahar streets are empty, little activity #afghan09 20 Aug 2009 from TweetDeck

pajhwok (Afghanistan) Voting is normal in Taliban stronghold of Khost province, good turnout #afghan09 20 Aug 2009 from TweetDeck

pajhwok (Afghanistan) Rocket attacks in Logar province this morning but no casualties, voting is going on normally 20 Aug 2009 from TweetDeck

pajhwok (Afghanistan) More precincts reporting problems with machines used to validate ballots… story in one hour 20 Aug 2009 from TweetDeck

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Ahmadinejad inauguration formally begins his second term

Craig Kanalley — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 05:31:32 +0000

After Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gained an official endorsement from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday, Wednesday’s inauguration ceremony became nothing more than a formality. His second term as president of Iran has officially begun, ending a chaotic period of time since the Iran Election including protests, bloodshed and disputes.

Though Ahmadinejad continues as president, there are still notable rifts within Iranian leadership, reports the New York Times. There were empty seats at the inauguration, and opposition leaders like Mir Hossein Mousavi, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, and Mohammad Khatami were among the absent, according to the Times.

Analysis, local reaction, international reaction, and other thoughts about the event made it into the Twittersphere:

T4Tx Problem 4 Khamenei and Ahmadinejad is that everywhere they look they see enemies, possibly even when they look at each other. #iranelection 05 Aug 2009 from Twubs

eyeranprotestr0 #iranelection #neda CONGRATULATIONS PRESIDENT AHMADINEJAD! You defend Iran and it’s people from criminals like Mousavi. DEATH TO MOUSAVI!!! 05 Aug 2009 from TweetDeck

shadien Robert Gibbs on Wednesday said he had misspoken in calling Ahmadinejad Iran’s elected leader #iranelection #gr88 much ado abt nothing 05 Aug 2009 from web

GreenQuran “France ’s position of Ahmadinejad’s election, in accordance with international law, is to recognize states, not governments.” #iranelection 05 Aug 2009 from web

LeahLibresco Ahmadinejad sworn in today in Iran. This is what a coup looks like. #iranelection #neda 05 Aug 2009 from web

SaloumehZ RT @oxfordgirl Khameini reported to have warned Ahmadinejad to behave himself or he will not remain president #Iranelection 05 Aug 2009 from web

ChickyChickie Ahmadinejad sworn in as enemy of all free democratic Iranians, Democracy will win. #Iranelection 05 Aug 2009 from web

Labourcat Interesting that so many chose to vote with feet and stay away from inauguration of Ahmadinejad -brave and keeps issue in news #iranelection 05 Aug 2009 from web

IranWitness Ahmadinejad “It is not important who voted for whom” Correction IT Is important because Iranian people did not vote for you. #Iranelection 06 Aug 2009 from web

hubbardgenesis To Ahmadinejad: You could demonstrate true leadership by being a leader of, for, and by the Iranian people. #iranelection #neda #freeiran 06 Aug 2009 from web

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Khamenei orders Ahmadinejad to reverse VP choice

Maria Khan — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 23:48:21 +0000

According to Press TV, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution has ordered President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to reverse his VP pick in a letter, “The removal of Rahim-Masha’i from key positions and presidential deputies is the collective decision of the political establishment.”

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has come under major criticism within his own circle of allies after appointing the controversial figure and his son’s father-in-law, Esfandyar Rahim-Masha’i as his vice president, according to Haaretz.

Mashaei has been quoted as saying, “Today, Iran is friends with the American and Israeli people,” by Fars News Agency, according to PrintEnNews. This remark has brought forth a flood of criticism in the country against Mashaei and now President Ahmadinejad.

Twitterers shadowed in green sense a possible rift in the regime:

zorinsmom RT @oxfordgirl Ironic Ahmadinejad in trouble for Vp pick because the guy said that Israeli ppl not Iran’s enemy. #Iranelection #Iran #gr88 21 Jul 2009 from web

Simurgh6 The amount of dissent a gov’t tolerates is a measure of strength, not weakness. Khamenei, your gov’t is weak. #gr88 #neda #iranelection 21 Jul 2009 from web

GreenQuran Very soon Khamenei will appear on TV & say, “sorry I was wrong & I’m going to correct d regime”, but now d movement is irreversible #iran 21 Jul 2009 from web

persianbanoo Today Khamenei ordered Ahmadi’s 1st deputy to resign.Ahmadi officialy responded “NO”. #iranelection http://twubs.com/iranelection 21 Jul 2009 from Twubs

ksquared3 “Rift In The Regime? Showdown between Khamenei and Ahmadi?” http://tinyurl.com/kjggzw Daily Dish 21 Jul 2009 from web

DavidForbes For those of you still following events in Iran — Khamenei and Ahmadinejad split over VP choice. http://bit.ly/19JJlE Protests continue. 21 Jul 2009 from TweetDeck

AnneDanmark RT @vimal55 …name of the new game: Khamenei aigainst Ahmadinejad….hope both loose and you win a new #iranelection 21 Jul 2009 from web

Dputamadre Khamenei Fires Ahmadinejad’s Deputy; Ahmadinejad Aid Fights Back http://bit.ly/15bicN via @AddToAny #iranelection 21 Jul 2009 from AddToAny

nostosd3 RT @oxfordgirl: RT @libra0071: possible plot by Khamenei & son to assassinate AN & blame Moussavi or SoG http://elections.7rooz.com/ 21 Jul 2009 from web

iranlaya RT @EANewsFeed: #IranElection: Press TV Sides w #Khamenei over #Ahmadinejad in dispute over 1st VP http://bit.ly/1LEXOM #iran #politics 21 Jul 2009 from TweetDeck

— this quote was brought to you by quoteurl

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Report: Mir Hossein Mousavi assassination attempt foiled

Craig Kanalley — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 00:22:47 +0000

An attempt on the life of Mir Hossein Mousavi has been foiled in Iran, according to a report by PRESS TV Sunday night. A terrorist organization that trained in Iraq was supposedly behind the plot and sought to pin the incident on the Iranian government to cause chaos.

Mousavi was the main opposition candidate of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June’s disputed Iranian presidential election. PRESS TV reports that the terrorist group Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization also planned to assassinate another reform candidate, Mehdi Karroubi.

The Twitterverse shared its views on the implications of such an event and voiced skepticism about who was behind the plot.

shelbert2 Any assassination attempt to Mousavi’s life would only galvanize ppl more. Backfire! #iranelection 19 Jul 2009 from web

shirenar khamenei better watch for his own assassination instead of mousavi and karoubi #iranelection 19 Jul 2009 from web

Deuce788 For Real?? ‘Mousavi, Karroubi assassination plots foiled’…
http://bit.ly/3LdkPP 19 Jul 2009 from Twitterfall

SimplyDishing bet they were American, lol. RT @maliheh__: ‘Mousavi, Karroubi assassination plots foiled’ http://tinyurl.com/lc4obh #iran #iranelection 19 Jul 2009 from TweetDeck

LeehamKing false flag attack by regime: ‘Mousavi, Karroubi assassination plots foiled’
http://bit.ly/ih3RD
#iranelection 19 Jul 2009 from web

rcchu RT @shelbert2 Any assassination attempt to Mousavi’s life would only galvanize ppl more. Backfire! #iranelection 19 Jul 2009 from web

rapture24 Pls everyone make it clear we dnt believe outside forces wnt 2 kill Mousavi, if he is hurt ppl will blame GOV.RT RT #iranelection #iran 20 Jul 2009 from web

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Clashes renew in streets of Tehran

Craig Kanalley — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:50:39 +0000

Per The Daily Dish, clashes have renewed in Iran according to a reliable Twitterer. Tweets suggest that there are incidents occurring at numerous locations across Tehran on Thursday, including Vali Asr Square, Vanak Square, Karegar Shomali Street (near Enghlab Square), and Tehran University. There have also clashes reported at Dravzeh Shiraz Square in Isfehan.

Breaking Tweets can confirm that the Twitterer, a journalist, is reliable. It is not clear if he is in Iran or not at the present time; his identity will remain anonymous here as a precaution. Here are some of his tweets:

10sThousands ppl Chanting against Regime at Vanak sq., Vali Asr sq., Ferdosi, Vali Asr Cr, Tehran Uni, Polythecnic Uni…#iranelection

Police Shooting Teargas at Poeple infront of Tehran University.#iranelection

Heavy Clashes near Azadi Sq. at least 3 people get shoted by Sec. forces…#iranelection

Reports: Army Helicopters Shooting at People at Azadi Sq. (not conf)… #iranelection

Just heard one friend Got Shot near Azadi Sq. I am so worry about him,… lost contact with them…#iranelection

Riot Police using Plastic Bullets at Enghelab Sq, Clashes spreading to all streets nearby. #iranelection

Many were demonstrating to mark the 10th anniversary of a violent confrontation between students and security forces. People took to the streets today despite a warning from Tehran Gov. Gen. Morteza Tamaddon, who said any protesters would receive a “crushing” response, per the Chicago Tribune.

This YouTube video is reportedly footage from today in Tehran.

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