How could we have got it so wrong? The pollsters and the politicians, the analysts, theorists and columnists - especially this one

COMMENT: Every reader and viewer saw headlines like 'mathematical impossibility' that Trump could win enough electoral votes.

COMMENT: US elections are out of control. They're too flashy, expensive and long.

We wrote off Trump's supporters as racist, white men, but they're not.

COMMENT: One of the great joys of politics is being accountable to, well, everyone.

COMMENT: The amazing thing about democracy, when you stop to think about, is that it makes the right decision far more often than not.

NZ First leader Winston Peters was too busy trying to coat-tail on Trump's success to congratulate Trump when Parliament addressed the President-elect's ascendancy.

COMMENT: Irrespective of the platitudes given on the morning after Trump, there will be no healing, no bridge across the divide.

COMMENT: A century ago it was predicted that a moron would one day live in the White House. That prediction has now come true.

Although no leading politician is likely to claim that "election is rigged", there are numerous problems with democracy and elections that need debating.

Labour MP David Shearer says Government's decision not to meet pro-democracy advocates from Hong Kong following pressure from China is "a bad look".

President Barack Obama lashed out at Donald Trump's increasing claims that the presidential election is rigged, saying it undermines the US's democracy.

COMMENT: Blaming Clinton for her husband's conduct is an example of just how little respect her rival has for women.

Go ahead and sue: New York Times responds to Trump threats over "inappropriate touching" reports from women.

Whanganui has topped the poll in terms of voter involvement in this year's local body elections but at least one observer says councils

COMMENT: Two-thirds of eligible voters chose not to vote in the local government elections. Should we be unimpressed?

Top Republican all but concedes Hillary Clinton will win the presidential campaign.

COMMENT: Almost every country has a written constitution, whereas New Zealand has only 'scraps of legislation' uncodified and largely unintelligible.

COMMENT: Journalist Erin Cunningham writes that a boom shook her building near Taksim Square during the attempted coup.

More than 30 people attended two candidate workshops in the Ruapehu area recently for those interested in standing in the local body

COMMENT: There has been some debate among New Zealand political commentators about whether a candidate like Donald Trump could emerge in New Zealand, writes Stephen Mills.

COMMENT: The purpose of democracy is not to win the propaganda battle but to elect a government that is accountable to the whole community - not just a few with money to spend, writes Bryan Gould.

COMMENT: Young people represent NZ's future so more should have a say in choosing who runs it.

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders is preparing for a protracted battle with Hillary Clinton.

Our society is certainly not perfect, but the freedoms we enjoy have been hard fought for, writes Peter Lyons. We often fail to appreciate this rich history that we have been very fortunate to inherit.

People responsible for responding to OIA requests will need to take more care in identifying the documents that have been requested and considering their content, writes Nick Russell.

If governments want to play by secret squirrel rules they can hardly accuse those who raise alarms based on best available information of scaremongering, writes Jane Kelsey.

It is frustrating that serious human rights abuses in Indonesian-controlled West Papua continue to fly below the radar, Maire Leadbeater.

Let's do away with the technology and at least experiment with a return to a more traditional form of voting in local elections - a ballot box, writes Dr Andy Asquith.

New Zealand has such a rich history of extraordinary and ground breaking women in sport, politics, academia and the arts, writes Cathy Casey. How should we celebrate their achievements?