News

Egyptian Social Democratic Party to compete for individual seats only

Oct 12 2015
Egypt
Source: 
Ahram Online

The Egyptian Social Democratic Party has announced that it is competing for individual seats only in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

 

In press statements issued Sunday night, the party said that it was not part of any of the electoral lists competing for the party list seats following the withdrawal of the Sahwet Misr (Egypt's Awakening) list from the electoral process. 

Sahwet Misr withdrew from elections after a court ruled that prospective candidates must re-take the costly required medical check-ups even if they had already done the tests in February.

AK Party deputy criticized after message threatening opposition, media

Oct 11 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Todays Zaman

Criticism is mounting against Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy Aydın Ünal over controversial remarks about the deadly bomb attack in Ankara on Saturday that targeted some opposition parties and critical media outlets.

“We are watching the CHP [Republican People's Party] and the HDP [Peoples' Democratic Party] administration, as well as the Doğan/Fethullah media which swarm on the blood spilt in Ankara. You will be drowned in that blood,” tweeted Ünal on Saturday.

Judges violate European Convention on Human Rights in Keneş case

Oct 11 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Todays Zaman

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker and leading human rights defender Mahmut Tanal said the judges who decided to arrest and jail Today's Zaman Editor-in-Chief Bülent Keneş have violated articles of the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

“The judges who decided on the case of Keneş and examined the challenges to his detention cannot overlook the case law of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the convention,” he said.

FNC election winners cleared to take seats

Oct 11 2015
United Arab Emirates
Source: 
The National

Naser Al Remeithi.-

ABU DHABI // The 20 candidates who won election to the Federal National Council have been cleared to take their seats on the new consultative body.

And Yemeni pupils are also winners, after the National Elections Commission decided to donate the many computers, touchscreens, laptops and printers used in the ballot to schools in the country.

The NEC said its appeals committee had found no objections to any of the winners.

Two ministers should be removed for role in Ankara blast, CHP leader tells Davutoğlu

Oct 11 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Hurriyet

Republican People’s Party (CHP) head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said he told Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu that the interior minister and justice minister must either resign or be removed from office due to their role in the Ankara attack, speaking in a press conference in Ankara late on Oct. 11.

If You Elect Them’ campaign launched against NDP, Brotherhood candidates

Oct 11 2015
Egypt
Source: 
Ahram Online

Egypt’s Socialist Popular Alliance Party (SPAP) will launch on Sunday evening a new campaign called “If You Elect Them” to warn voters of the dangers of electing to parliament members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and Hosni Mubarak’s dissolved National Democratic Party (NDP).

Medhat El-Zahed, acting chair member of the SPAP, said in a press conference on Wednesday that the party “is participating to fight against the return of the old faces of Mubarak and political Islam.”

How the editor-in-chief of Today’s Zaman was illegally arrested

Oct 11 2015
Turkey
Source: 
Todays Zaman

With less than a month to go before the early general election, pressure applied by the government on critical media is increasing day by day.

After several television stations offering views critical of the government were dropped by Tivibu and Digitürk, the country's largest satellite TV subscription service, Bülent Keneş, the editor-in-chief of Today's Zaman, was arrested on Friday over tweets in which he allegedly insulted the president. Keneş was taken to the Metris Prison on Saturday after the İstanbul 7th Penal Court of Peace ruled to arrest him pending trial.

Over 27 million registered voters in elections first round: HEC

Oct 10 2015
Egypt
Source: 
Ahram Online

Some 27,402,353 voters are registered to take part in the elections first round due to start 18 October in Egypt, stated the Higher Elections Commitee (HEC) Saturday.

 

The first round will cover 14 governorates that include a total of 103 electoral constituencies.

Egyptians aboard will vote in the first round 17 October.

According to HEC spokesperson Omar Marawan, voters include 13,257,507 women and 14,144,846 men.

The first round will choose 226 MPs of a total of 596. There are 2,573 electoral candidates for the first round.

Knesset to begin with Norwegian bill largely unimplemented

Oct 10 2015
Israel
Source: 
The Jerusalem Post

The Oslo peace process is not the only export from Norway to Israel that is facing tough times ahead of Monday’s return of the Knesset from its extended summer and holiday recess.

So is the so-called Mini-Norwegian Law, which allows ministers and deputy ministers to quit the Knesset and enable the next candidate on their party’s list to enter, but permits the ministers to return to the legislature if they quit the cabinet.

ECP says it has powers to scrutinise funds of political parties

Oct 09 2015
Pakistan
Source: 
Dawn

Iftikhar A. Khan.-

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan said on Thursday that it had the jurisdiction to scrutinise funds received by political parties from abroad and within the country.

A full bench of the commission headed by Chief Election Commissioner retired Justice Sardar Mohammad Raza Khan rejected the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s assertion that it had no authority to hear a case about alleged misuse of funds by the PTI and set Oct 10 as the next date of hearing.

A written order is expected soon.

Parliament watch: Electoral problems persist for want of reforms

Oct 09 2015
Pakistan
Source: 
Dawn

Khawar Ghumma.-

All eyes seem to be set on the fierce battle being fought in Lahore by the ruling PML-N and Imran Khan’s PTI over the NA-122 seat. But even as voters decide the winner on Sunday, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) will be tested to ensure that this time, the exercise is not marred by the same lapses that necessitated the by-election.

Report: Former IDF chief of staff Gantz can run for prime minister

Oct 09 2015
Israel
Source: 
The Jerusalem Post

Former IDF chief of staff Lt.- Gen. Benny Gantz can legally enter politics and challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the premiership, despite a law requiring a three-year cooling-off period for former senior security officials, according to a report Thursday in The Jerusalem Post’s Hebrew sister publication Ma’ariv Sof Hashavua.

The law, which was passed in 2007, has prevented IDF chiefs of staff and other generals from going straight from the army to the Knesset like many of their predecessors.

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