Introducing the 37th edition of The PEP Weekly Digest, where we present to you the most recent updates and news on the global political stage.

Recent and upcoming elections influence the worldwide political landscape in eight nations, slated between January 28, 2024 and March 08, 2024. These elections hold significant importance, as they will determine the direction and governance of each respective country’s future.

One noteworthy event has occurred in Chile, on February 6, 2024, the former president of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, political leader of the country for two periods between 2010 and 2014, and between 2018 and 2022, died in a plane accident. Piñera, who was harshly criticized for ordering the violent repression of student protests in 2019, was traveling in a helicopter that crashed in Lake Ranco in southern Chile, and was found dead by the Chilean Navy. This is an accident confirmed by the Minister of the Interior and Public Security of Chile, Carolina Tohá, who also reported that the businessman will have his own state funeral.

Shifting our focus to Hungary, President Katalin Novak resigned from his position after coming under pressure to pardon a man convicted of helping to cover up sexual abuse in a children’s home. Her resignation came a week after her presidential pardon was first reported by local news site 444.hu. Announcing her resignation on state television, Novak said, “I made a mistake … Today is the last day that I address you as a president. I made a decision to grant a pardon last April believing that the convict did not abuse the vulnerability of children whom he had overseen

In Liberia, new Defense Minister resigned from his post just 10 days after being appointed, following a protest by soldiers’ wives, the presidency said. The resignation marks the first political crisis facing Liberia’s new president Joseph Boakai since his inauguration at the end of January. Boakai “has received and accepted a letter of resignation from the recently confirmed Minister of National Defense Mr. Prince C. Johnson,” the presidency said in a statement. In his resignation letter, Johnson cited “the current political and civil disturbances occasioned by the protest of women believed to be wives of service men.

In the realm of regulatory affairs, New Zealand Department of Internal Affairs has filed charges against SkyCity Entertainment Group, its chief saying it is important criminals don’t launder money in New Zealand. “Casinos can be an attractive way for criminals to launder proceeds of crime,” said Mike Stone, the department’s group director of anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing. “We cannot take the risk that criminals might choose New Zealand casinos as a way of cleaning their dirty money. Casinos must have robust processes in place to protect them from misuse,” he said. The announcement today follows one from SkyCity on Monday when it announced the DIA action. The company said then it was “disappointed” it had not met the standard to which it needed to hold itself. The gaming giant would engage with the department on proposed proceedings, to resolve these matters quickly and efficiently. Given the matter will be before the court, it would be inappropriate for SkyCity to comment further at this stage, SkyCity said on Monday. The move follows a review of SkyCity Management’s compliance with the act.

Shifting our attention to legal advancements, in United States, former Ulster County Finance Commissioner Burton Gulnick Jr. was sentenced to two years behind bars for stealing tens of thousands of dollars from an area not-for-profit and additional money from an election campaign account. Gulnick pleaded guilty in October to two counts of grand larceny, a felony, following a lengthy investigation by the state police and his arrest in June 2023. The charges stem from money he stole from the Hurley Recreational Association, which provides summer activities and programs for children and families.