Just a month after he took over as UNSMIL chief from Bernardino Leon, Martin Kobler watched while the deal, much of which has been hammered out over the past year by members of the Libyan Dialogue, was finally signed.
The agreement brings into being a nine-man presidential council headed by prime minister Faiez Serraj which will form a cabinet to run a Government of National Accord.
Following months of delays, the Selection Committee (SC) members for the election commissions on Thursday managed to convene their first preliminary meeting aimed at discussing their working program going forward.
The selection committee is assigned the task to scrutinize at least 36 nominees for the election commissions on the basis of their qualifications and experience and recommend their names to government.
The 33rd presidential elections session was postponed on Wednesday following a lack of quorum at parliament.
Speaker Nabih Berri scheduled the next session to January 7.
Following the postponement, Mustaqbal bloc leader MP Fouad Saniora warned: “The ongoing vacuum will lead to more dangers against Lebanon.”
“The ongoing vacuum will compound the internal problems in the country on various levels,” he added.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has again reiterated the need for a systemic change in Turkey’s governance, underlining that his aspiration for a presidential system had nothing to do with his personal prosperity.
“My duty as the president is to pave the way for the progress of my country and nation in every field and supporting efforts to this aim. Of course, it is the constitution which designates limits of my authority but my responsibility is certainly to my nation,” Erdoğan said on Dec. 17.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Reporters without Borders (RSF) and the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) at a joint press conference in Brussels on Tuesday called on the European Union not to allow the challenges of the refugee crisis to deter it from confronting Turkey about its poor press freedom record.
BEIRUT // For more than 18 months, political gridlock and ceaseless bickering has left Lebanon without a president.
In a country where politicians cannot come to an agreement on the most basic things, such as how to get rid of the rubbish that has piled up in the capital’s streets for months, choosing a president from the small pool of Christian former warlords, military officers, businessmen and feudal leaders who are eligible for the post and command political clout is a tall order.
The signing of the UN-brokered Libya Dialogue agreement known as the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) will take place in the Moroccan resort of Skhirat tomorrow rather than today, Wednesday, as planned, Moroccan officials have confirmed.
The delay is said to be caused by the logistical problems of getting as many key players as possible from Libya to Skhirat in time.
JEDDAH — A number of Saudi women candidates for the municipal elections who failed to make it this time did not regret the experience of running for the elections and said they would again run for the next elections four years from now.
They said the experience was fruitful regardless of success or failure.
“My candidacy was a dream come true. I was not disheartened by my failure,” said Miaad Sami Shaqra, a candidate who failed to win.
KABUL (Pajhwok): Meshrano Jirga or upper house of parliament members on Tuesday once again asked the government to announce dates for holding long-delayed parliamentary and district council elections and issue electronic ID cards.
Under the Constitution, the elections to Wolesi Jirga or lower house of parliament were due on June 22 last year.
Senator Farhad Sakhi said the leaders of the unity government should fix dates for the Wolesi Jirga and district council elections to end people’s concerns.
The president of the parliament and his opposite number in the Libya Dawn’s GNC have called for the postponement of the signature of the deal that is supposed to usher in the Government of National Accord.
The plea was made at a joint conference in Malta between House of Representatives’ president Ageela Saleh Gwaider and the president of Libya Dawn’s GNC, Nuri Abu Sahmain.
SHARJAH // Registration has been extended for people wanting to vote in the Sharjah Consultative Council elections
The higher committee of the SCC has extended registration to December 19, from December 17, following requests from citizens.
Fourteen registration centres — six in Sharjah City and one each at Al Dhaid, Khorfakkan, Kalba, Dibba, Hamriya, Maliha, Madam and Al Batayeh- are open for Emiratis from 8am to 6pm.
RIYADH: There has been praise from citizens, civil society, and several countries around the globe for the Kingdom hosting elections that allowed women to participate for the first time as voters and candidates.
The elections saw voters elect 20 women to municipal councils alongside 2,086 men. Four women were elected in Riyadh, making it the city with the highest number of women representatives.
They are Alia bint Makiman bin Ghabn Al-Furaiji, Huda bint Abdulrahman bin Ali Al-Jeraisi and Jawahar bint Othman bin Nasser Al-Saleh.
BAHA/NAJRAN: A number of districts and provinces failed to elect women for municipal council seats in Saturday's elections despite the fact that the number of female voters in all electoral centers in Baha reached 946 voters.
The lack of election of women to municipal councils in the area has sparked questions and concerns, especially in light of the enthusiasm of female voters and keenness of officials to ensure female participation in the region.
RIYADH: A low women’s turnout was registered in the electoral process in the Al-Khaleej neighborhood in the third electoral district with the exception of Al-Rawdah Center, which was characterized by medium to low turnout of female voters under the age of 20.
Middle-aged and older female voters turned out in greater numbers to vote in the municipal elections. These categories of women voters were much noticed going to cast their ballots for the 67 male and female contenders.
RIYADH: The National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) has declared the third municipal elections free and fair but said there were problems that hampered voters and candidates, including some breaking campaigning rules.
RAWALPINDI: Though all the 46 union councils (UCs) in the city have special seats reserved for non-Muslims, almost 75 per cent of them would not have any representation from minority communities.
The reason: only 12 UCs meet the criterion for a minority representative in the local government.
Under the Local Government Act 2013, there would be a reserved seat for non-Muslims in each of the union councils having at least 50 non-Muslim votes.
The Sharjah Advisory Council elections highlights the maturity of the parliamentary experience, and marks a new step in the efforts to strengthen political participation and empower citizens, a UAE minister has said.
Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said the political empowerment programme, launched by the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in 2005, represents a distinguished approach in political development and enhancing the political awareness of the citizens.
Contra todo pronóstico, al menos 17 mujeres han logrado salir elegidas concejales en Arabia Saudí en los primeros comicios municipales en los que las saudíes han podido participar como candidatas y votantes. Aunque la agencia oficial de noticias SPA solo ha anunciado los nombres de cuatro electas, el periódico electrónico Sabq, próximo al Ministerio del Interior, da por seguro que 17 van a sentarse en los consejos por elección. Otro tercio de los miembros serán designados por las autoridades.
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