News

President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday issued a decree on elections to prevent any interference in the election process and to ensure the process is held in a safe and transparent environment.

This comes amid growing complaints over government’s “lack of commitment” in terms of holding transparent parliamentary elections in October. 

The accountability court on Friday announced the verdict in the Avenfield properties corruption reference filed by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), handing ousted prime minister Nawaz Sharif 10 years as jail time for owning assets beyond known income and 1 year for not cooperating with NAB. The sentences will run concurrently which means the former prime minister will serve 10 years in jail.

by Umut Uras

Istanbul, Turkey - In the run-up to Turkey's key parliamentary and presidential elections, the Kurdish vote is seen by many as one of the major factors that could determine the outcome.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq’s top court upheld on Thursday a law mandating a nationwide recount of votes in a May parliamentary election but ruled that the cancellation of overseas, displaced, and Peshmerga ballots was unconstitutional.

Almost half of Turkish voters living abroad cast votes in Turkey’s June 24 presidential and parliamentary elections – a higher turnout than in previous polls, the nation's top election official said on Wednesday.

More than 1.48 million Turkish expats went to the polls between June 7 and 19, a turnout of 48.78 percent, Sadi Guven, head of the Supreme Election Council (YSK), told reporters in the capital Ankara, adding that the voting at foreign missions in 60 countries had occurred without incident.

CAIRO – 17 June 2018: The Parliament will review a number of topics following Eid Al-Fitr holiday, with the program of the new Cabinet headed by PM Mostafa Madbouly on top of the list. The program is set to be introduced to the Parliament in the upcoming sessions. 

Eid al-Fitr is an important Islamic feast that follows the holy fasting month of Ramadan. 

Cabinet’s program 

Selahattin Demirtaş, the jailed presidential candidate of the Kurdish issue-focused Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), made his campaign speech on the state broadcaster TRT on June 17 from prison, marking a first in Turkey and the world's political histo

AMMAN — The Jordanian National Commision for Women (JNCW) on Thursday commended the government for the inclusion of women in the new ministerial team headed by Prime Minister-designate Omar Razzaz, pointing out that “the new government has set a new record in the number of female ministers in the history of Jordan".

Razzaz's team, sworn in on Thursday, includes seven women in the 29-strong Cabinet.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said the state of emergency that has been in place since July 2016 will be lifted if he is elected in June 24 elections, but suggested it would be reinstated if the country faces further threats.