Tolga Tanış – WASHINGTON.-
All voters in Turkey need to feel safe enough to go to the ballot boxes, U.S. Ambassador to Ankara John Bass has said amid debates about the ramifications of moving polling stations in some southeastern districts due to recent violence.
Turkey’s Republican People’s Party (CHP) has presented a detailed framework for its program ahead of the Nov. 1 elections, listing concrete and down-to-earth promises it says will solve problems in the divisive issues of democracy and the rule of law, the economy, foreign policy, education, as well as societal peace and the Kurdish issue.
Turkey’s interim government and opposition parties are at odds on the prospect of moving polling stations in the upcoming Nov. 1 snap election, with the main opposition party leader saying such a step would make the results “shady,” raising questions over “the presence of the state” in certain places.
Nuray Babacan - ANKARA.-
Turkey’s parliament will open its putative fall session on Oct. 1, but the end to the summer recess will be overshadowed by snap elections set for Nov. 1, as well as a spiral of violence between the state and outlawed militants.
Lawmakers were elected in June 7 elections, but MPs have so far only sat for 22 hours and 23 minutes since the polls. The Oct. 1 session also marks the last time that legislators will sit this term before the Nov. 1 elections.
Turkish media have reported that a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) official filed a complaint with the Supreme Election Board (YSK) asking it to outlaw the campaign slogan of Şanlıurfa Mayor Ahmet Eşref Fakıbaba ahead of the 2009 local election, claiming that he was abusing religious symbols in the name of politics in billboard advertisements.
The presidential elections were postponed for the 29th time on Wednesday after a lack of quorum at parliament.
Speaker Nabih Berri scheduled the next session for October 21.
Following the meeting, Telecommunications Minister Butros Harb deemed the ongoing postponement of the polls as a “farce”.
He condemned linking the elections to regional developments, saying that the ongoing vacuum is an “insult” to the Lebanese people.
Iftikhar A. Khan.-
The Election Commission of Pakistan which had taken notice of the Rs 341 billion Kissan package announced by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ahead of local government elections reserved on Tuesday its judgment on the issue.
The commission had summoned secretaries of the Ministries of Information and National Food Security to justify the package and its publicity in the print and electronic media.
Amir Wasim.-
A sub-committee of the parliamentary committee on poll reforms on Tuesday suggested that laws should be amended to make violation of the code of conduct by candidates or political parties during the elections as an “offence”.
This was disclosed by chairman of the sub-committee Zahid Hamid while talking to a group of reporters after presiding over a meeting here on Tuesday.
The Erzincan Provincial Gendarmerie Command has asked the provincial electoral board to reduce the number of polling stations and transfer ballot boxes to central locations in the province ahead of the Nov. 1 general election, despite the fact that no violence has occurred in the province recently.
Iftikhar A. Khan.-
To be consistent with evolving laws, and to amend for its mistakes, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) has withdrawn the schedule for local government elections in the federal capital, it announced on August 28.
An ECP official told Dawn that a fresh schedule will be announced around the middle of October but the polling date of November 30 will remain unchanged. He said the ECP was also awaiting the notified rules, under which elections are to be held.
Abid Fazil Abbasi.-
With only three days (Oct 3) left to file nomination papers for local government elections, political parties in Murree stand confused.
Their candidates are not clear whether they should file papers for the old municipal committee or the new municipal corporation.
As many as 21 petitions and appeals have been filed with the delimitation authority against the January 5 decision of the government to convert Murree into a municipal corporation. All were dismissed without a hearing.
Jasmine Al Kuttab.-
Candidates at the FNC polling station at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre urged voters to pick those who have the best interest of families.
Shamma Khamis Al Hameli told Khaleej Times that her focus will be on Emirati families. She believes that a solid family is the core foundation of the future. "Family is most important," she said, adding that, "if the family is strong, the country will be strong."
Afkar Abdullah/Sharjah-.
Voters in Sharjah have called for penalising Federal National Council (FNC) candidates if they fail to fulfil the promises make in their election agendas.
The second day of early voting for the FNC elections witnessed a good turnout from the youth and people with special needs.
An International Crisis Group report on Kyrgyzstan published on September 30, only days ahead of parliamentary elections, paints a grim portrait of the political situation and warns that the entire region could suffer from failure to adopt urgently needed reforms.
ICG identifies persisting ethnic tensions, corruption, unchecked nationalism and the surge of political Islam, fuelled by disaffection at self-interested party clans, as key and pressing problems facing Kyrgyzstan.
The European Union's progress report on Turkey for 2015, the final version of which will be released on Oct. 14, will express deep concern over growing violations of the rule of law and restrictions on press freedom, according to sources who spoke to Today's Zaman in Brussels.
The EU sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the report will include extensive coverage of these violations. The Kurdish question, issues in public administration, and anti-corruption measures will also be included in the report.
Dozens of Emiratis headed to the Dubai World Trade Centre to cast their ballots on the first morning of early voting for Federal National Council Elections 2015. Many of Dubai's 60 candidates were on hand to vote, meet with supporters and inspect the voting booths.
Among the candidates present on Monday was Ismael Albanna Al Bastaki, Director of International Organisation and Bodies at the Dubai Municipality.
In an interview with Khaleej Times, Albanna said he was impressed with how smooth the voting process was in comparison to the last round of FNC elections.
The National Election Committee (NEC) has received complaints from media saying their representatives have been denied access into the polling centres on the first day of early voting on Monday.
The High Elections Committee announced on Tuesday that 2573 independent candidates and four party-based lists will be running for the first stage of the Egyptian parliamentary elections that start on 17 October.
The 2573 candidates will contest 226 seats in the first stage, and the four lists will be competing for over 60 seats bringing the total to 286 seats available during the first phase of the elections.
Officials of the Election Commission of Pakistan will brief a sub-committee of the parliamentary body on poll reforms about arrangements made for a mock exercise for voting by overseas Pakistanis on Tuesday.
According to the agenda of the meeting, the sub-committee headed by former law minister Zahid Hamid will also review the “final draft” of unified election laws.
