women candidates

Socialist Michelle Bachelet handily won a first round of Chile's presidential race Sunday, with voters putting her on track to replace the country's conservative leader following a runoff in December.

Bachelet, Chile's first woman president 2006-2010, is now eyeing a non-consecutive second term as leader of the South American nation with the highest per capita income.

Camila Vallejo, who helped spearhead Chile's student uprising in 2011,has been elected to Congress alongside three other former university leaders, underscoring a generational shift in the country's politics.

There’s something I need to get off my chest. It’s been weighing on me, and I want to come clean before the next election cycle: I didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton in the 2008 primary. That fact is only controversial because I’m a women’s advocate by trade, and there are certain feminist circles in which anything less than full-throated Hillary support is tantamount to heresy.

Chile holds a presidential election on Sunday and both frontrunners are women - the socialist Michelle Bachelet and her right-wing rival Evelyn Matthei.

In a region where politics is still very much a man's game, that, in itself, is remarkable enough, but when one considers the relationship between the two women, it becomes more extraordinary still.

Ms Bachelet and Ms Matthei went to the same primary school and played together as kids.

We are so fortunate to have been able to interview Betsy Hodges, who is currently running for Mayor of Minneapolis. She's been the representation for Ward 13 on the Minneapolis City Council for seven years, during which time she has chaired the Intergovernmental Relations Committee and the Ways & Means Committee. The mayoral race is coming to a close (get out and vote November 5th if you live in Minneapolis!), so we're thankful that Ms. Hodges took the time to answer some of our questions about her political career.

Women Affairs Minister Hajiya Zainab Maina has called for the adoption of special measures to entrench affirmative action-certain percentage of women- in both elective and appointive positions at all levels in the 2015 elections.

She made the during her key-note address at a 2-day for female parliamentarians on state legislatures on affir-mative action and the quota implementation guideline.

We invite you to read the full article published October 30, 2013

A young Fijian woman who intends to stand in the Fiji elections says she has received threats, including threats of rape, on social media.

Roshika Deo is standing as an independent candidate in next year's promised elections.

Ms Deo who has been using the internet as a campaigning tool, has told Pacific Beat she's been the subject of vicious personal attacks.

Hillary Clinton's near-tear on the eve of the 2008 New Hampshire primary was a political game-changer.

"I couldn't do it if I didn't just passionately believe it was the right thing to do," Clinton told a local resident. "I have so many opportunities from this country and I just don't want to see us fall backwards as a nation. This is very personal for me."