The Laotian Elections Web Archive covers elections for the country of Laos, and currently includes archived websites on the parliamentary and presidential elections of 2011.

Laos has a single-party system dominated by the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party (LPRP), and holds general elections for the National Assembly (Sapha Heng Xat) every five years. National Assembly members are elected by plurality vote, and they in turn elect the President. While the vast majority of National Assembly members are LPRP members, independent candidates may run. However, like all candidates, they need the support of the authorities and are vetted by election committees. Economic development ranks high among campaign issues, and political stability is emphasized. Nonetheless, with growing access to information through the internet, and international broadcasts—particularly from neighboring Thai television stations—political freedom is increasingly on the minds of certain groups of people. Private citizens are informed of changes taking place around the world, and social media has also provided a space to air opinions, and at times dissent.

Items archived include government, news media, and non-profit websites.

Staff from the Library of Congress Jakarta Office and the Asian Division in Washington, D.C. selected the websites and reviewed the archived results.

Collection Period: June 2011 to November 2011.

Frequency of Collection: Sites in the collection were targeted for capture weekly, monthly, or once.

Languages: Collection material in English, Thai, Lao, French, and Hmong/Mong.