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Egypt: Al-Ahram inside the operations room of the official campaign of President Sisi

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A part of the official campaign operations room of President al-Sisi follows the electoral process

A part of the official campaign operations room of President al-Sisi follows the electoral process

With the start of the presidential elections yesterday, the official campaign of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi witnessed intensive activity. A central operations room was equipped at the headquarters of the campaign in Cairo to monitor the electoral process in all the committees in Cairo and the various governorates around the country.
The campaign is equipped with a large number of computers and laptops and television screens to follow the elections moment by moment and to identify any problems facing the voting process and work to resolve immediately.
Al-Ahram was located inside the Central Operations Room, which turned into a beehive to follow up the work on the ground. The operations room did not detect any problems in the various committees. The voting process was easy and easy for all voters.
The operation room of the official campaign of President Sisi monitored the regularity of the electoral process through the reports received by the Chamber from all delegates in different centers of the Republic, which confirmed the high turnout of voters to vote in the elections in different provinces.

Turkey: The pro-Kurdish HDP party has elected Pervin Buldan, a Kurd, and Sezai Temelli, a Turk,

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(L-R) New co-chairmen of pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Pervin Buldan (L) and Sezai Temelli (R) applaud outgoing co-chairwoman Serpil Kemalbay during the HDP Congress in Ankara on February 11, 2018. Photo:AFP/Adem Altan

HDP elects new co-chairs ahead of key votes in 2019

The pro-Kurdish HDP party has elected Pervin Buldan, a Kurd, and Sezai Temelli, a Turk, as new co-chairs of the party on Sunday.
More than 30,000 people took part in the one-day third party congress in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

2018 will be the year of HDP’s contributions to peace’: Temelli

Pervin Buldan and Sezai Temelli are the nominees for the co-chair positions. They were selected by consensus by a commission in advance of the congress.

Pervin Buldan, 50, a Kurd born in Hakkari province. Her husband, Savas Buldan was accused of being financing the PKK. He was abducted and killed in 1994.

She founded an association for the families of missing persons and is a member of the Saturday Mothers – group that commemorates victims of extrajudicial killings every Saturday. She entered politics in 2007 and is currently a HDP deputy for Istanbul and deputy speaker of the parliament.

“It is a source of honor for me to be given the position of Selahattin Demirtas who never compromised democratic and principled politics,” she told the congress.

She also thanked former co-chair Figen Yuksekdag, as a source of inspiration. “In the name of my party and myself, I thank beloved Yuksekdag for being on front in all conditions with her determination and inspiring us as women,” she said.

Buldan vowed that HDP will not succumb to the pressures being exerted on the party. “HDP did not kneel despite all the pressure, and it will not kneel. Let this be a lesson,” she asserted.

Sezai Temelli, 55, a Turk, is a founding member of HDP. He was elected to represent an Istanbul district in the June 2015, but lost his seat in the November 2015 election. He has served as the party’s vice chairman responsible for economic policy.

“2018 will be the year of HDP’s contributions to peace,” he told the congress, vowing “HDP will give this tyrant government the most important lesson.”

He stressed that the party represents all the peoples of Turkey, saying “All of us – Kurds, Turks, Alevis, Sunnis, Romans, and Christians – will be organized and go into power with our radical understanding of democracy.”

“This is our goal,” he stated.

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish HDP party to select new leadership duo

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Selahattin Demirtas, the incarcerated co-leader of the left-wing pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy (HDP) party, will not stand for re-election. Now a successor must be found as the party seeks a fresh start.

Selahattin Demirtas’ exit from the political stage in January was a blow to critics of the Turkish government. The co-leader of the left-wing Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), is revered by many in the Turkish opposition as a principled democrat who refuses to be bowed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Many Kurds had expressed hope that the HDP under Demirtas could bring help bring an end to ongoing ethnic exclusion. However, Demirtas’ decidedly dissident stance was not tolerated for very long. In November 2016, he was arrested on terrorism charges and has remained behind bars ever since. Turkey’s state prosecutor is demanding a 142-year jail sentence for Demirtas.

Now that Demirtas has said he will not run for HDP leadership, speculation over his potential successor is rife. All will be revealed on February 11, when a new HDP leadership duo is elected at a party conference in Ankara. Organizers expect some 25,000 attendees. Numerous European left-wing parties, like Syriza from Greece, Podemos from Spain and Germany’s Left party have been invited to act as observers.

The HDP is a Kurdish umbrella organization that unites several different groups active in western Turkey, including socialist parties, feminists, anti-militarists, environmentalists and LGBTI activists. As a matter of principle, the HDP leadership duo comprises one candidate with Kurdish roots and another with a Turkish and socialist background.

The name of one candidate has been common knowledge for a while: Pervin Buldan, a prominent figure in the Kurdish political movement. In June 1994, her husband, Savas Buldan, a Kurdish businessman, was abducted by unidentified armed individuals, tortured and then murdered during Turkey’s “dirty war” against the Kurds during the 1990s.

HDP spokesperson and parliamentarian Ayhan Bilgen hopes the party conference will mark a fresh start. “Our party is five years old. And Turkey’s political landscape has changed,” Bilgen said. He does not want to party to change its basic principles. Instead, he thinks, the HDP should pursue them by employing new methods and reorganizing. “We can neither give up on our goal of democratizing Turkey, nor on fighting for the rights of Kurds,” Bilgen insisted. He said his party should wage a democratic fight against Erdogan’s state of emergency in order to counter the country’s polarization.

OSCE/ODIHR presents recommendations from final report on parliamentary elections in Armenia

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A team from the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) visited Yerevan from 29 November to 1 December 2017 to present the final report of OSCE/ODIHR election observation mission for the 2 April parliamentary elections in Armenia.

The report’s findings and recommendations were explored during meetings and discussions with representatives of the National Assembly, Central Election Commission, political parties, state authorities, civil society and the international community. The ODIHR team outlined potential areas for further co-operation and proposed concrete steps that can be taken by various stakeholders to address the recommendations.

The ODIHR team drew attention to priority recommendations aimed at addressing persisting issues of vote-buying and abuse of state resources with a view to strengthening public confidence in the electoral process.

The report recommends, among other things, undertaking inclusive and timely electoral reforms to address remaining gaps and ambiguities in the law, including with regard to campaigning, campaign finance regulations, the right to appeal and deadlines for filing complaints. ODIHR noted that further efforts are needed to remove restrictions on the suffrage rights of persons with disabilities and enhance their access to voting procedures, to increase women’s participation in elections and enhance the effectiveness of election administration.

The majority of ODIHR interlocutors highlighted the need to address the lack of public trust in the electoral process in Armenia and called on the political establishment to demonstrate political will against all forms of pressure on voters and publicly discourage the buying and selling of votes.

“While acknowledging stakeholders’ willingness to engage in a meaningful process to implement the electoral recommendations, broad and inclusive consultation is needed for a successful reform process,” said Donald Bisson, Deputy Head of the ODIHR election observation mission, during the visit.

“ODIHR stands ready to offer its support in implementing the recommendations, including through a review of amendments to electoral legislation, advice on good practices and matters of technical implementation,” said Alexander Shlyk, Head of the ODIHR Elections Department.

All OSCE participating States have committed themselves to promptly follow up on ODIHR election assessments and recommendations.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in tense election for new president

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The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is holding a third round of voting today to elect a new president with an intense competition between the proposed candidates Stella Kyriakides (Cyprus, EPP/CD) and Emanuelis Zingeris (Lithuania, EPP/CD).

“The Armenian delegation gives preference to the candidate from Cyprus as an objective and impartial MP. The outcome of the previous two rounds of voting showed that Kyriakides has a greater chance,” head of the Armenian delegation to PACE told Panorama.am.

None of the candidates receives unilateral support from the EPP/CD as well. According to some news, the Azerbaijani and Turkish delegations voice support to Zingeris. The voting results will be announced today.

To note, none of the candidates received an absolute majority of the votes as a result of the second round of voting held on Monday. Stella Kyriakides gained 121 votes and Emanuelis Zingeris – 69 votes.

A candidate is required to receive 152 votes for absolute majority.

 

Source Panorama.am

Nagorno-Karabakh elections: Major parties endorse incumbent president

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The major political parties in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) have decided to back the incumbent president in the election scheduled later this month.  

Members of the ruling Free Fatherland party unanimously agreed at a recent board meeting to endorse Bako Sahakyan as their favored candidate. “We haven’t considered any other candidacy. The 77-member board voted in favor of proposing Bako Sahakyan’s candidacy as a president,” Atur Sahakyan, the leader of Fatherland faction in Nagorno-Karabakh’s National Assembly, told Tert.am.
The country’s top legislative body will be conducting a voting in three weeks to elect the president of the transitional period. Nagorno-Karabakh adopted the presidential model in the wake of the February 20 constitutional referendum. Under the new legislation, a president elected by the National Assembly will govern the country in the coming three years.

 

Sahakyan receives support also by the Artsakh Democratic Party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutyun (ARF-D).

 

Asked why the political forces’ choice focused on the incumbent, Tovmasyan replied, “He is the best – politically and in all other respects.  We have practically no discontent when it comes to his personality. I would like recognized countries too, to have presidents like him.”

Under procedures enshrined in the country’s new Constitution, Sahakyan’s candidacy will be nominated at a National Assembly session which will later conduct a voting to approve the proposal. All the three political forces enjoy a majority of votes at in country’s chief lawmaking body.

Nagorno-Karabakh preparing for nationwide elections

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Karabakh electionElectoral processes are drawing near in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).
The second Armenian republic will be electing a president and a National Assembly from 19 to 29 July.
“Although the new Constitution requires that the president be elected by the people, the National Assembly will for now be responsible for the procedure as we are in a transitional period until 2020,” David Babayan, a spokesperson for the country’s president, told Tert.am.

“Under the new Constitution, 2020 will be a year of nationwide elections, which will see voters ballot simultaneously for both the president and the National Assembly,”  he added.

The new cabinet thus formed will not be led by a prime minister; instead, there will be a state minister and ministers directly subordinated to the president, Babayan explained.

Speaking to Tert.am, Artur Tovmasyan, a deputy leader of the Free Fatherland party and the head of the Fatherland faction in the country’s National Assembly, said their team, as a majority political force, has numerously held debates with members of the Artsakh Democratic Party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaksutyun (ARF-D).

“The Fatherland faction is the biggest [political force] in parliament in terms its representation. Hence, electing the president will be impossible without us. No parliamentary force ever decides against considering the positions voiced by the Free Fatherland party, especially the Fatherland faction. Everybody understands that one party alone cannot virtually elect a president; we are the ones securing the necessary number of parliament members,” he said.

Tovmasyan added that the party will be holding a congress early in July to elect a governing body but also authorize parliament members to back specific presidential contenders. Bit he refrained from naming their favorite.

 

“We will also elect our party’s chairperson at the Congress. Our decision is to back [incumbent Prime Minister] Arayik Harutyunyan. But he will not run for election. Arayik Harutyunyan has his favored candidate who is acceptable also for the lawmakers representing the party,” he said.

 

 

 

Hripsime Hovhannsyan

CCAF: First time that France parliament will have 3 Armenian members

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France parliament will have 3 Armenian members This is the first time that three Armenians are elected MPs in France, at the same time.

Co-chairman of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations in France (CCAF), Ara Toranian, told the above-said to Armenian News-NEWS.am.

“We are glad, we are happy that we have Armenian deputies in [French] parliament,” he said. “This means that Armenians have active participation in the country’s political life, especially considering that they are among the authorities.”

In Toranian’s words, however, solely President Emmanuel Macron’s Republic on the Move (La République En Marche (La REM)) party had Armenian MP candidates.

As reported earlier, three Armenians were elected MPs in Sunday’s second round of National Assembly elections in France. They are Jacques Marilossian, Guillaume Kasbarian, and Danièle Cazarian.

UK Theresa May have lost her gamble in calling a “Snap” Election

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Teresa may electionLONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain, smarting from a humbling snap-election defeat that cost her Conservative Party its governing majority, said on Friday that her party would stay in power by forming a minority government with the Democratic Unionist Party of Northern Ireland.

“What the country needs more than ever is certainty, and having secured the largest number of votes and the greatest number of seats in the general election, it is clear that only the Conservative and Unionist Party has the legitimacy and the ability to provide that certainty, by commanding a majority in the House of Commons,” Mrs. May said outside No. 10 Downing Street, using the full name of her party. “As we do, we will continue to work with our friends and allies, in the Democratic Unionist Party in particular.”

Mrs. May had called an election three years early in the hope of winning a stronger mandate as Britain prepares for two years of negotiations over its withdrawal from the European Union, but voters did not reward that gamble. Instead, they produced a hung Parliament — one in which no party has an outright majority in the 650-seat House of Commons.

The fractured voting — which saw strong gains by the largest opposition party, Labour, and modest gains by a smaller party, the centrist Liberal Democrats — was a further indication of stark political divisions in Britain, days before formal negotiations over withdrawal from the European Union are scheduled to begin in Brussels.

Armenian community presents demands to Iranian presidential hopefuls

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Iranians will be electing the country’s new President on May 19. Five candidates will be running in the election after Tehran Mayor Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf withdrew from the race, urging voters to cast their ballot for conservative cleric Ebrahim Rais.

At a meeting held last week representatives of the Armenian community compiled a two-page petition addressed to Iranian presidential hopefuls.

“Iranian Armenians are free to opt for any candidate. We have no lobbying in its classical sense. Most Armenians back the reformists. This does not mean, however, that there are no supporters of conservatives,” Armenian member of the Iranian Majlis Karen Khanlaryan said in an interview with Public Radio of Armenia.

The community, however, shares common concerns, which have been presented to the candidates.

“We have raised the issue of Armenian Genocide recognition, and demanded material and moral support for the development and preservation of the Armenian community,” Karen Khanlaryan said.

Speaking about the concerns, the lawmaker said: “A number of churches and schools need to be protected, but the Armenian community is unable to cover the costs by itself. The budget allowances provided to the community are not enough,” he said.

For Karen Khanlaryan, recognition of the Armenian Genocide is of primary importance and should be on the agenda of the elected President.

“The issue of Armenian Genocide recognition should come on the agenda, considering the regional developments,” the MP said, adding, however, that “it’s hard to predict the results.”

The community has also demanded to involve Armenians in government activities. “We have not had any representative in the executive. There have been office employees, but no has been appointed to a political post,” Khanlaryan said.

The petition has been sent out to all candidates, even the one who withdrew from the race. There has not been any response.

Karen Khanlaryan noted that “the incumbent President has spoken about minority rights,” and the MP sees this as a hint.