Brunei parliament votes for poll

BRUNEI PARLIAMENT VOTES FOR POLLThe new parliament in Brunei has approved a constitutional amendment that will allow the sultanate to hold its first elections in more than 40 years. Under the change, a third of the members of a new parliament will be directly elected. All the others will be chosen by Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. On Saturday, September 25, the Sultan re-opened parliament as part of what he called a cautious programme of reform. Brunei’s last direct elections, in 1962, were won by a party opposed to royal rule. Its demands for a union with Malaysia were rejected, the party disbanded and a subsequent rebellion was crushed by the father of the present Sultan, with the help of British forces. From the news flow at Intercessors Network