In an article written by assistant Harvard professor Tarek Masoud, he addresses and comments on prominent issues and events leading up to Egypt's current political state. He states that the combination of a "failing regime, aging leader, and a people increasingly willing to confront both" led to the revolution that overwhelmed Egypt in January. Masoud noted the amount of restraint that Mubarak's forces used in the earlier waves of the protests, suggesting ...

In a report released today by the Working Group on Egypt are questions and concerns regarding the transitional government (SCAF) in Egypt. Thoughts and suggestions outlined in the report are summarized below: International monitoring of elections: The report suggests that, "U.S. policymakers should strongly encourage the SCAF to grant domestic as well as international monitors full access to all aspects of the polling process." The SCAF has purported that international monitoring undermines the ...

On Monday, the United States Institute of Peace hosted an event entitled "Beyond Tahrir: The Trajectory of Egypt's Transition." The discussion was with Major General Said Elassar, Assistant to Egyptian Defense Minister, Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF). Tara Sonenshine, Executive Vice President, United States Institute of Peace, provided introductory remarks. William Quandt, Edward R. Stettinius Professor of Politics, University of Virginia, moderated the discussion. For full notes, continue reading. ...

Abdel-Moez Ibrahim, head of the newly formed Supreme Elections Committee, issued election policies that have been approved by the committee in supervising the upcoming elections in Egypt.   According to Ibrahim, the next elections would be held under full judicial supervision to implement the slogan, "A judge for ever ballot box."  He also emphasized that other organizations would be involved in supervising the elections, specifically the General Prosecution, the State ...

Libyan representatives have reported they are ready have more talks with the United States and Libyan rebels in an effort to further push Libyan Leader Muammar Gadhafi from power.  According to a Libyan government spokesman, Gadhafi "will not bow to demands he leave power."  After a productive dialogue with Libyan representatives and the U.S. last week where the U.S. officially recognized Libya's rebel government, government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim said, "We believe ...

Nasrin Sotoudeh, a human rights lawyer and women's activist sentenced to 11 years in prison sent a letter in March 2010 to the head of Iran's judiciary.  The letter was released for the public today: "Your Judge confirmed that Iranian women cannot be ignored under any pretext," Sotoudeh wrote.  Isa Sahahrkhiz, an Iranian journalist and one of the founders of the Society for the Defense of Press Freedom in Iran ...

Today, Egyptian Major General Mamdouh Shaheen, a member of the ruling military council, announced that there will be 504 seats chosen by public elections, half of which will be elected by the single winner system and the other half by list-based candidacy. However, political parties and citizens have expressed concern over the single winner system and "favor list-based candidacy" which they argue "encourages citizens to elect representatives based on political platforms ...

On Thursday, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems hosted a panel discussion on the “Road to Reform in the Middle East and North Africa.” Panelists included Ambar Zobairi, Deputy Director, Middle East and North Africa, IFES; Elmar Brok, German Member of the European Parliament; and Michele Dunne, Director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, Atlantic Council. The panel was moderated by Bill Sweeney, President and CEO, IFES. For ...

This week, the International Republican Institute (IRI) released a public opinion poll on Tunisia and an analysis of the results.  Since former president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali did not allow independent surveys, there is a lack of current information and a "high demand for current survey data to provide Tunisian civil society and government officials an important tool to understand and respond to citizen priorities." Similar to the results of a March IRI ...

Yesterday, the IFES released a report detailing Tunisia's new election process which started July 11. Elections will take place on October 23, 2011 for in-country voters holding a valid state-issued ID and will begin October 20 for out-of-country voters holding a valid passport. Currently, the transitional government in Tunisia is comprised of interim president Fouad Mebazaa, prime minister Beji Caid el Sebsi as well as a cabinet. The October 23rd elections ...

Alireza Nader, an international policy analyst at RAND Corporation, writes in the United States Institute of Peace's Iran Primer about the growing rift between Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the Revolutionary Guards, who have been instructed to deal with the "deviant current" known as Ahmadinejad and members of his inner circle including, Chief of Staff Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei.  Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has instructed the Revolutionary Guards to "help ...

Daphne McCurdy, POMED Senior Research Associate, writing at OpenDemocracy discussed the political and legal crisis confronting Turkey since its June 12 election. She examined the apparent politicization of legal decisions that have precluded Hatip Dicle, an independent backed by the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) from taking his seat. McCurdy used the Dicle case to highlight tensions within Turkish society, including those between the political and armed aspects of the Kurdistan ...

Egypt's interim prime minister, Essam Sharaf announced on Monday that Egypt's parliamentary elections would be held in late September despite many political groups request for a later election date.  New political groups wanted a later election date due to concerns over the former ruling party and the Muslim Brotherhood gaining the upper hand in the elections. The Egyptian Court of Cassation Party Affairs Committee approved the establishment of four new political ...

On Friday, Moroccans voted to approve the constitutional changes proposed by King Mohammed VI last month that promised to implement reform and political openness.  Reports show that the referendum was passed by 98.5 percent of the vote, though the final results could still take several days. U.S. State Department Spokesman, Mark Toner welcomed the  referendum "as an important step in Morocco’s ongoing democratic development. We understand that it’s going to take a ...

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad spoke to reporters after a cabinet meeting on Wednesday in his first public reaction a week after the arrests of his closest allies.  Ahmadinejad denounced the arrests and asserted that they were "politically motivated and vowed to defend his government."   The arrests signify Ahmadinejad's recent political struggle with the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. In the past week, four senior government officials have been arrested, including ...

Emma Hayward, from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, discussed whether or not the new constitutional provisions introduced by King Mohamed VI would lead to real reform or stabilization in an article entitled, "Morocco's Constitutional Referendum: Context, Content, and Impact."  Hayward asserted that many of the new provisions are unclear including, the provision that does not specify whether the king or the ruling party will choose the prime minister following ...

At a press conference held at the Hungarian National Assembly, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addressed questions about the Obama Administration's contact with the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.  Clinton said that the Obama Administration is continuing limited contact with the Muslim Brotherhood "that has existed on and off for about five or six years."  According to Clinton, it is in the interest of the United States to engage with peaceful and nonviolent parties ...