Women's rights activists in Morocco have welcomed plans to change an article of the penal code that allows rapists of underage girls to avoid prosecution by marrying their victims.
The Independent Election Commission (IEC) on Wednesday said it had adopted a new voter registration plan for presidential and provincial council polls, accepting both old voting cards as well as computerised identity cards.
IEC Secretary Zia-ul-Haq Amarkhel told a news conference in Kabul that the old voting cards would be acceptable without the panel’s approval. The plan was approved after a series of consultative meetings with stakeholders, including mainstream political parties and civil society organisations.
The Interior Ministry announced Monday that it had received an accurate list of Lebanese expatriate voters who wanted to take part in upcoming parliamentary polls from all of its diplomatic missions.
The Central News Agency reported that the ministry had received data related to 10,201 expatriate voters from 49 missions, denying media reports that only 6,733 voters had been registered abroad. The ministry noted that the number had been lowered to 10,012 after a thorough examination of the lists of names.
Malaysians living in south Thailand, Singapore, Brunei and in Kalimantan, Indonesia will have to return home to vote in the 13th general election, the Election Commission (EC) said.
EC secretary Datuk Kamaruddin Mohamed Baria said they were not entitled to the postal voting facilities for Malaysians living abroad. For south Thailand, those living in the Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Songkhla and Satun provinces would be affected.
With less than 24 hours until Israelis vote in general elections, party leaders were campaigning down to the wire ahead of a ballot that is expected to return Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to office.
The vote on Tuesday is widely expected to usher in a government which will swing further to the right, whittling away at the chances of a peace deal with the Palestinians and raising the prospect of greater diplomatic isolation for Israel.
Political arena united in uproar over Netanyahu's choice of soon to be ex-Likud minister as chairman of Israel Land Administration. Labor dubs it 'pathetic'
Israel's elections have aroused minimal interest from Middle Eastern states who once scrutinized such votes for clues about the fate of the so-called peace process.
Whether they endorsed US-backed negotiations with the Palestinians or were out to sabotage them, regional powers would see Israeli polls at least as significant straws in the wind.
With parliamentary polls around corner, Egypt's National Salvation Front (NSF) can't shake claims that its membership includes figures that were once affiliated with ousted Mubarak regime.
Analysts and activists predicted on Sunday that at least two women might win outside the 15-seat women’s quota in Wednesday’s parliamentary elections.
“I expect that this time four or five women might win seats outside the quota because several women have proven themselves in the previous House and they have strong bases that will re-elect them without the need for a quota,” said Director of the Centre for Strategic Studies at the University of Jordan Musa Shteiwi.
Syria's opposition umbrella group have met in a bid to name a prime minister-in-exile, a day after Syria rejected the idea that President Bashar al-Assad will be overthrown.
The diplomatic developments came on Sunday as five members of one family were killed in government air attacks on a village in Damascus province, according to a watchdog.
Le président du Front national algérien (FNA), M. Moussa Touati, a plaidé, samedi dernier à Alger, pour l’élaboration d’une charte nationale définissant le régime politique en Algérie et soumise à un référendum populaire qui déterminer la nature des amendements à apporter à la Constitution.
Le président du parti du Front de la justice et du développement, M. Abdallah Djaballah, a appelé hier à Alger à confier l’amendement de la Constitution aux personnes compétentes qui représentent différents courants activant dans le pays afin que la nouvelle constitution bénéficie « d’un consensus national. »
Un vent d'alternance semble souffler sur les partis politiques en Algérie. Le président du Mouvement de la société pour la paix (MSP) s'est résolu en fin du compte à se retirer de la tête du parti en mai prochain.
Gradual transition to a constitutional monarchy is a one-way road, but it requires active political parties that can win voters’ confidence through adopting practical and workable programmes touching on the public’s needs and national interests, analysts said on Saturday.
This was a point highlighted by His Majesty King Abdullah in his second discussion paper released last week.
Moustapha Ould Abeiderrahmane, président du RD et député à l’Assemblée Nationale, dans une interview exclusive.
Members of Egypt's main opposition group, the National Salvation Front, say a united effort is the only way to challenge Islamist dominance in upcoming lower house poll.
The Sudanese government filed a series of complaints against Uganda with the African Union (AU), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), an official in Khartoum said today.
The Undersecretary of Sudan’s foreign ministry Rahmatallah Mohamed Osman said that his government accused Kampala of trying to overthrow the regime and embracing anti-Khartoum rebel movements.
