The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters without Borders (RSF) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) at a joint press conference in Brussels on Tuesday called on the European Union not to allow the challenges of the refugee crisis to deter it from confronting Turkey about its poor press freedom record.
BEIRUT // For more than 18 months, political gridlock and ceaseless bickering has left Lebanon without a president.
In a country where politicians cannot come to an agreement on the most basic things, such as how to get rid of the rubbish that has piled up in the capital’s streets for months, choosing a president from the small pool of Christian former warlords, military officers, businessmen and feudal leaders who are eligible for the post and command political clout is a tall order.
The signing of the UN-brokered Libya Dialogue agreement known as the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) will take place in the Moroccan resort of Skhirat tomorrow rather than today, Wednesday, as planned, Moroccan officials have confirmed.
The delay is said to be caused by the logistical problems of getting as many key players as possible from Libya to Skhirat in time.
RIYADH: The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has declared the third municipal elections free and fair but said there were problems that hampered voters and candidates, including some breaking campaigning rules.
JEDDAH — A number of Saudi women candidates for the municipal elections who failed to make it this time did not regret the experience of running for the elections and said they would again run for the next elections four years from now.
They said the experience was fruitful regardless of success or failure.
“My candidacy was a dream come true. I was not disheartened by my failure,” said Miaad Sami Shaqra, a candidate who failed to win.
KABUL (Pajhwok): Meshrano Jirga or upper house of parliament members on Tuesday once again asked the government to announce dates for holding long-delayed parliamentary and district council elections and issue electronic ID cards.
Under the Constitution, the elections to Wolesi Jirga or lower house of parliament were due on June 22 last year.
Senator Farhad Sakhi said the leaders of the unity government should fix dates for the Wolesi Jirga and district council elections to end people’s concerns.
The president of the parliament and his opposite number in the Libya Dawn’s GNC have called for the postponement of the signature of the deal that is supposed to usher in the Government of National Accord.
The plea was made at a joint conference in Malta between House of Representatives’ president Ageela Saleh Gwaider and the president of Libya Dawn’s GNC, Nuri Abu Sahmain.
SHARJAH // Registration has been extended for people wanting to vote in the Sharjah Consultative Council elections
The higher committee of the SCC has extended registration to December 19, from December 17, following requests from citizens.
Fourteen registration centres — six in Sharjah City and one each at Al Dhaid, Khorfakkan, Kalba, Dibba, Hamriya, Maliha, Madam and Al Batayeh- are open for Emiratis from 8am to 6pm.
RIYADH: There has been praise from citizens, civil society, and several countries around the globe for the Kingdom hosting elections that allowed women to participate for the first time as voters and candidates.
The elections saw voters elect 20 women to municipal councils alongside 2,086 men. Four women were elected in Riyadh, making it the city with the highest number of women representatives.
They are Alia bint Makiman bin Ghabn Al-Furaiji, Huda bint Abdulrahman bin Ali Al-Jeraisi and Jawahar bint Othman bin Nasser Al-Saleh.
BAHA/NAJRAN: A number of districts and provinces failed to elect women for municipal council seats in Saturday's elections despite the fact that the number of female voters in all electoral centers in Baha reached 946 voters.
The lack of election of women to municipal councils in the area has sparked questions and concerns, especially in light of the enthusiasm of female voters and keenness of officials to ensure female participation in the region.
RIYADH: A low women’s turnout was registered in the electoral process in the Al-Khaleej neighborhood in the third electoral district with the exception of Al-Rawdah Center, which was characterized by medium to low turnout of female voters under the age of 20.
Middle-aged and older female voters turned out in greater numbers to vote in the municipal elections. These categories of women voters were much noticed going to cast their ballots for the 67 male and female contenders.
RAWALPINDI: Though all the 46 union councils (UCs) in the city have special seats reserved for non-Muslims, almost 75 per cent of them would not have any representation from minority communities.
The reason: only 12 UCs meet the criterion for a minority representative in the local government.
Under the Local Government Act 2013, there would be a reserved seat for non-Muslims in each of the union councils having at least 50 non-Muslim votes.
The Sharjah Advisory Council elections highlights the maturity of the parliamentary experience, and marks a new step in the efforts to strengthen political participation and empower citizens, a UAE minister has said.
Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said the political empowerment programme, launched by the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in 2005, represents a distinguished approach in political development and enhancing the political awareness of the citizens.
RIYADH: The municipal election results sprung a surprise on Sunday with 19 women, out of a total of 2,106 candidates, emerging victorious and defying the general expectations of people across the Kingdom that fewer of them would win.
Iran has begun looking for a potential successor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, a top Iranian official said Sunday.
In comments translated by Reuters, former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani told the country’s ILNA news agency that the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for electing the Islamic republic’s supreme leader, “will act when a new leader needs to be appointed. They are preparing for that now and are examining the options.”
SHARJAH // Emiratis are answering the call to duty and registering in large numbers for the Sharjah Consultative Council elections.
The deadline for registration is Thursday and Mansoor bin Nassar, head of the higher elections committee, encouraged Emiratis to become involved after a disappointing number visited registration centres last week.
“This is the first local elections to happen in the country and we urge citizens to register for voting and candidacy,” Mr bin Nassar said.
US Secretary of State John Kery has said that the planned Government of National Accord (GNA) to be led by Faiez Serraj will be able to be based in Tripoli and that those who for “their own selfish purposes” want to wreck the UN-brokered Libya Political Agreement (LPA) will have to be held accountable
The GNC Dialogue Team members who put their names to the UNSMIL Tunis deal on Friday were today disowned by a leader of the rump of the old parliament.
First deputy president Awad Abdul Saddeq said today that they had been acting without authorisation from Tripoli and had therefore simply been signing for themselves.
