Yemen: GPC Backs Proposal to Suspend Term Limits
December 30th, 2010 by Evan
Yemen’s ruling party, the General People’s Congress (GPC), announced yesterday that it will seek to eliminate constitutional term limits allowing President Ali Abdullah Saleh to run for a third seven-year term in 2013. The proposal will be brought up for a vote in the GPC-dominated parliament on Saturday and following likely approval will be subject to a national referendum in April. Opposition party members protested the decision, which they said would effectively install Saleh as president for life.
Posted in Elections, Legislation, Yemen | Comment »
Egypt: “Rigging With a Hint of Elections”
December 29th, 2010 by Jason
In a new article at Middle East Report Online, Mona El-Ghobashy details the numerous flaws in Egypt’s recent parliamentary elections saying that they “defied expectations, not because the ruling National Democratic Party again dominates Parliament but because of the lengths to which it proved willing to go to engineer its monopoly.” The elections came at a time of “aggressive economic transformation,” and “intense public anger about corruption scandals involving figures at the peak of the regime,” forcing the regime to rely on its “tool kit of electoral skullduggery.” El-Ghobashy acknowledges that the regime’s desire to “stage manage” the upcoming presidential election was a factor in the heavy handed way in which it went about ensuring overwhelming victory for the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP), but she adds that a desire on the part of the NDP to set up a “legal framework” that prepares “public assets for delivery into private hands,” was also a driving factor.
Posted in Civil Society, Corruption, Egypt, Elections, Freedom, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties | Comment »
Iraq: New Government “Good Basis for Setting Out”
December 28th, 2010 by Jason
In a recent interview with the Council on Foreign Relations, Joost Hiltermann calls the new Iraqi government “a good basis for setting out,” while also expressing concern about the power-sharing agreement. Hiltermann says the newly established National Council for Strategic Policy has yet to be fully defined, and that it remains to be seen whether “Allawi feels that it satisfies his earlier demands for having a real check against Maliki’s power as prime minister.” Hiltermann goes on to address how Iraq’s various factions, including the Kurds and the Sadrists, are affected by the power-sharing deal, and says that the withdrawal of U.S. forces by the end of 2011 is “definitely on track.”
Posted in Elections, Iraq, Kurds, Oil, Political Parties, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »
Egypt: Opposition Fails to Represent Rural, Poor Voters
December 28th, 2010 by Evan
At The Guardian’s Comment is Free, Roberto Roccu describes the failure of Egypt’s established opposition to connect with workers and rural voters. The highly visible campaign led by Mohamed ElBaradei and the active Egyptian blogosphere have given many observers a distorted view of the potential for change in Egypt, according to Roccu. The “institutional opposition” focuses too much on the urban elites and fails to incorporate the “movements arising from the lower social strata,” ultimately limiting its ability to push for reform.
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Political Parties | Comment »
“Party Building in the Middle East”
December 22nd, 2010 by Jason
The National Democratic Institute (NDI) has released a new article titled “Party Building in the Middle East.” Written by Les Campbell, NDI’s senior associate and regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, the article seeks to “enumerate some of the key achievements of democracy assistance in the Arab world over the past decade; describe the strategies democracy assistance practitioners employ in their work; and explain, through four case studies and the voices of recipients, how specific interventions have contributed to the advancement of democracy in the Middle East and north Africa.” The case studies include Yemen, Morocco, the West Bank and Gaza, and Egypt.
Posted in Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Foreign Aid, Morocco, NGOs, Palestine, US foreign policy, Women, Yemen | Comment »
U.S. Urges Egypt to Makes Promised Reforms
December 20th, 2010 by Evan
Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, authored an op-ed in Saturday’s Washington Post urging the Egyptian government to fulfill its commitments to pursue political reform. Citing low turnout and widespread reports of government interference, Posner wrote that while the recent parliamentary elections were not credible in the eyes of most Egyptians, the 2011 presidential elections present another opportunity for Egyptian authorities to enhance citizens’ confidence in government. Posner specifically called for an end to the decades-long state of emergency, the enactment of promised counterterrorism legislation that would help protect the rights of Egyptians, and less restriction on the media and NGOs.
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Diplomacy, Egypt, Elections | Comment »
Egypt: Opposition Woes
December 16th, 2010 by Jason
In a letter written shortly after the parliamentary elections, Issandr El Amrani analyzes how the outcome will effect Egypt’s opposition, saying that the Muslim Brotherhood was “reeling,” the Wafd Party may be preparing to “fold back and regroup, preparing for the post-Hosni moment,” and Taggamu is in the middle of a “leadership crisis.” Opposition groups “have little choice but to retreat and wait out succession, and work on their grassroots.” Amrani argues in the letter that the possibility of an opposition “grand coalition” is unlikely due to a lack of leadership. He does say that members of the opposition that advocated for a boycott were “vindicated” by the results, and that this might increase the influence of Mohamed ElBaradei, especially if ElBaradei “show[s] a greater willingness to lead the opposition.”
Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties | Comment »
IFES Releases First Paper in Series on Electoral Fraud
December 15th, 2010 by Jason
The International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) has released the first (pdf) in a series of three white papers on electoral fraud. From the introduction: “IFES is producing this white paper series to address the rising concern throughout the democracy and governance (D&G) community about the effects of electoral fraud on developing nations. […] Through this paper series, IFES seeks to…provide the D&G community with the necessary tools to combat electoral fraud.” The first paper focuses on “fraud in new democracies, provides a definition for fraud (as opposed to corruption or malpractice), and assesses how international democratic standards intersect with the prevention of electoral fraud.”
Posted in Civil Society, Corruption, Democracy Promotion, Elections, Reform | Comment »
Egypt: Trouble Ahead for NDP
December 14th, 2010 by Jason
Michele Dunne and Amr Hamzawy write in a recent article that the parliamentary elections in Egypt “solved” one problem for the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) by ending the Muslim Brotherhood presence in parliament, but created “a host” of other issues. Dunne and Hamzawy argue that the “three components of legitimacy—voter turnout, a fair electoral process, and balanced representation in the legislative branch combined with its relative autonomy from the executive branch,” have effectively ceased to exist, bringing Egyptian politics to a “new low.” The authors foresee two other problems for the NDP: Legal challenges to the new parliament, which have already begun, and the “political cause for concern” of how the NDP will handle the upcoming presidential race in 2011. “The last thing the NDP wants is real opposition competition for the presidency, but the second-to-last thing it wants is the appearance of no competition at all.”
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Judiciary, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties | Comment »
Egypt: Opposition to Form Shadow Parliament, Former MPs Rally
December 13th, 2010 by Jason
Former members of parliament plan to create a “shadow parliament” to protest the recent parliamentary elections. The group includes members of Wafd Party, the Muslim Brotherhood, and independents. Former MP’s also rallied Monday in front of the State Council Court in Cairo to support the shadow parliament. “The establishment of this democratic People’s Assembly is an act of popular civil disobedience,” said Hamdeen Sabbahi, a former MP from the Karama Party. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said in a speech Sunday that “‘As president of Egypt, I wish the rest of the parties had achieved better results…And I wish they hadn’t wasted their efforts in arguments about boycotting the election and then actually participating in it, and then announcing that they are withdrawing from the election over doubts about its results.’”
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties | Comment »
Egypt: Opposition Protest Highlights “Illegitimate” Parliament
December 13th, 2010 by Evan
Opposition party members took to the streets of Cairo to protest Egypt’s new parliament on Sunday (BBC video here). The demonstrators represented a wide spectrum of Egypt’s opposition, including the Muslim Brotherhood, the liberal Wafd and Ghad parties, and the leftist Tagammu. “All political factions are here to announce the illegitimacy of the ruling regime. These shameless elections were the final nail in this regime’s coffin,” activist Gamal Fahmi told Al-Masry Al-Youm. At Time, Abigail Hauslohner described the protests and the opening of the new parliament Monday as the “first day of a new era.” There is a growing consensus in Egypt that the regime went too far in rigging the parliamentary vote: “Both the Brotherhood and the liberal Wafd boycotted the run-off vote; others had boycotted the entire process. The bulk of Egypt’s opposition now finds itself on the outside of parliamentary politics, with some of the unlikeliest of allies now apparently joining hands to craft a new strategy for what may be a moment of opportunity.”
Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: U-Shahid Report on Run-Off
December 10th, 2010 by Jason
The Egyptian civil society organization U-Shahid has released a report on the run-off election describing “82 cases…of riots that escalated to the exchange of gunfire,” and “52 reports of vote tampering, whether ballot-stuffing the ballots for whole polling stations or in the presence of large numbers of ballots thrown out of the polling stations.” The Egyptian Association for Supporting Democratic Development (EASD) also released a report on the same time period describing “587 instances where observers were not allowed to freely observe the voting process…205 incidents where voters were not permitted to cast their ballot without a legal reason…327 cases of group voting…259 instances of illegal voting, 237 cases of ballot box stuffing, 315 instances where candidate campaign materials were allowed inside polling stations, 437 cases of influencing voter choices during the vote, and 193 instances where voters with disabilities were not offered assistance.”
Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections | Comment »
Egypt: Challenges Ahead for NDP
December 10th, 2010 by Evan
In a new piece for the BBC, Shadi Hamid analyzes the new, NDP-dominated parliamentary. Hamid notes that the outcome surprised “nearly everyone, including NPD officials who had hoped for a more ‘credible’ result.” NDP’s sweeping victory has further delegitimized the regime, given “new life” to Egypt’s weakened and divided opposition, and may result in greater inter-NDP bickering as new parliamentarians jockey for position. Meanwhile, in The Middle East Quarterly Lee Smith has an article on post-Mubarak politics in Egypt. Smith cautions that “the passing of Mubarak and the rise of his successor, presumably his son, means that the largest Arab state’s future orientation can no longer be taken for granted.”
Posted in Egypt, Elections | Comment »
Egypt: A History of Democratic Demands
December 9th, 2010 by Jason
Moataz Abdel Fattah writes that the recent parliamentary elections represent the “third defeat” of democracy in Egypt’s modern history. Fattah argues that “[r]ecalling the previous attempts should be a motive for expelling despair and striving to repeat the attempt and learn the lessons of the past.” The first attempt took place from “1879 until the occupation of Egypt in 1882,” when the Khedive Ismail dissolved the parliament. This led to the Revolt of 1881 under the leadership of Ahmed Orabi. The revolt, and the constitutional demands it made, were eventually defeated by an alliance between the Khedive and the British. The second attempt began in 1919, and ended when “ten parliaments, all of which (except one) did not complete its full term,” due to dissolution by the king. The third attempt “was experienced by the current generation during what was called the spring of democracy in 2004 until it was defeated in the autumn of despotism in 2010.”
Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Freedom | Comment »
Egypt: ElBaradei Ups Criticism of Parliamentary Vote
December 8th, 2010 by Evan
Criticism of Egypt’s parliamentary election grew following the second round of voting.
Mohamed ElBaradei published a series of statements and a
video (Arabic) on his Facebook profile reiterating his call for a boycott of the upcoming presidential elections and warning that the recent elections “were the straw that broke the camel’s back.” Without legitimate venues to express themselves, Egyptians “will resort to peaceful civil disobedience […] if we are not allowed, the Egyptian people will have no choice but - I hope this will not happen - there will be violence.” In
The Globe and Mail,
Michael Bell countered the Egyptian government’s claims to democratic legitimacy: “Mr.
Mubarak professes that Egypt has its own distinct democracy, but he rules under a state of emergency that gives the security apparatus free reign to ensure his party’s candidates emerge victorious.”
Posted in Egypt, Elections | Comment »
EU Registers Concern about Egypt’s Elections
December 8th, 2010 by Evan
Catherine Ashton, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, released a statement calling the recent election in Egypt “insufficient.” Citing reported irregularities, restrictions on media and independent observers, and violence against opposition activists, Ashton encouraged Egyptian to respond to international concerns and “permit domestic and international monitors to observe future elections.”
Posted in EU, Egypt, Elections, Human Rights | Comment »
POMED Notes: “The Realities of Power Sharing in the Next Iraqi Government”
December 7th, 2010 by Jason
The Middle East Institute (MEI) held an event on Tuesday titled “The Realities of Power Sharing in the Next Iraqi Government” with Reidar Visser. The event was held to mark the release of Visser’s new book, “A Responsible End?: The United States and the Iraqi Transition, 2005-2010.” Visser was introduced by Kate Seelye, the Vice President of Programs and Communications at MEI.
(To read full notes, continue below the fold or click here for pdf.)
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Civil Society, DC Event Notes, Elections, Iran, Iraq, Kurds, Political Parties, Sectarianism, US foreign policy | Comment »
Egypt: ElBaradei Interviewed
December 7th, 2010 by Jason
Der Spiegel has released an interview with Mohamed ElBaradei. In the interview, Elbaradei is asked about the recent parliamentary election and specifically “Why was there a lot more interference and manipulation this time?” He answered that “[t]he regime is more desperate and more nervous than it has ever been before during the 29 years that (Egyptian President) Hosni Mubarak has been in power. […] The regime also fears the presidential elections next year. For Mubarak and his people, this poll was a test run for oppression.” In response to a question about his “expectations” of the next parliament ElBaradei replied, “It will function like the Duma in Moscow during the darkest days of the Soviet era. As a consequence, the opposition will close ranks even further. The religious-conservative Muslim Brotherhood and my own National Association for Change will be working together to bring about change.”
Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: The Brotherhood’s Decision
December 7th, 2010 by Evan
In a new piece for Al Masry Al Youm, Issandr El Amrani explains the challenges facing the Muslim Brotherhood moving forward. As the Egyptian government increases pressure on the Brotherhood ahead of the 2011 presidential vote, the organization must choose “whether it wants to be a quietist religious movement, a banned political party lobbying the regime for a margin of toleration, or the conservative element of a national coalition fighting for greater democracy.” In recent years, the organization has tried to be all three at different times, El Amrani writes, adding that this strategy has “obviously not delivered great results.”
Posted in Egypt, Elections, Muslim Brotherhood | Comment »
Egypt: EASD Counting Statement, Wafd “Pushed” to Run
December 7th, 2010 by Jason
The Egyptian Association for Supporting Democratic Development (EASD) has released a statement reporting incidents observed by its members. The incidents include violence and security forces denying observers access to polling stations. Meanwhile, Ahram Online reports on the Wafd Party’s decision to not participate in the second round of voting. In spite of their boycott, Wafd managed to win 6 seats. Abdallah El-Senawy, editor of the opposition newspaper El-Arabi explains: “‘The NDP needed to prove to the international and the local audience that political pluralism exists in Egypt, through ensuring the presence of some opposition MPs in the parliament.’”
Posted in Civil Society, Egypt, Elections, Political Parties | Comment »
