Middle East This Week – January 8, 2019

Each day, 21votes gathers election and political news from a different region of the world. We explore the greater Middle East and North Africa on Tuesdays. Click the map pins.

Turkey Local - March 31, 2019

Campaigning continues in Turkey’s local elections. Kurdistan24 reports that eight Kurdish political parties and movements across the ideological spectrum, from left-wing to center-right, have united to contest polls in 100 cities and towns.

Israel Snap Parliamentary - April 9, 2019

Some Israeli political parties are holding primaries ahead of the April snap elections. Some parties aren’t holding primaries, but the major ones are. Governing Likud and opposition Labor will both hold their primaries in early February.

Alliances continue to shift. Justice minister Ayelet Shaked and former defense minister Naftali Bennet have split off from the right-wing Bayit Yehudi to form the New Right Party, and have brought on Breitbart writer Caroline Glick as a candidate for Knesset. The New Right posits that Likud isn’t conservative enough, but that Bayit Yehudi is too religious.

Haaretz’s Amitai Ziv reports on cyber vulnerabilities ahead of the elections: “Israel still uses paper ballots rather than digital systems, so the only opportunity for a hacking attack comes before actual polling. The vulnerabilities are in the computerized lists of voters, its distribution to polling places and tabulation of the results, said Gal Fenigshtein, a Check Point intelligence analyst.”

Afghanistan Presidential - July 20, 2019

After messy and long-delayed parliamentary elections and heading into the presidential election campaign, with a possible American withdrawal, Afghanistan remains in a state of flux. The Council on Foreign Relations notes: “Despite renewed peace talks with Taliban officials, led by U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad, prospects for a peaceful end to the conflict in 2019 are uncertain.” Farhat Popal at the Bush Institute cautions against giving into the Taliban’s retrograde vision for the country: “It is imperative that the voices, the interests, and the progress of Afghan women be represented. The tremendous gains made by Afghan women over the years, as well as their future and that of their children, should not be sacrificed for the sake of expediency. While it may lead to a peace agreement in the short term, it will jeopardize stability in the long term.”

Oman Consultative Assembly - October 2019

The Omani government has announced the dates for nomination of candidates for the Majlis al-Shura, Oman’s consultative assembly that actually does not have the power to legislate.

Tunisia Presidential and Parliamentary - Fall 2019

Italian wire service ANSA reports: “Anouar Ben Hassen, a member of the country’s Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE), told local radio Jawhara that parliamentary elections could be held on a date to be determined between Sunday, October 6 and Sunday, December 1, 2019; while presidential elections could be held on a date to be determined between Sunday, November 3 and Sunday, December 29, 2019.”

Libya Local - Possibly 2019

Libya Observer reports: “The head of the central commission for municipal councils’ elections Salim Bin Tahiya said Thursday that they will start elections procedures for municipalities – which have ended their current terms – next March. Bin Tahiya told reporters that 69 municipalities were registered, adding that they will start the elections in municipal councils where there are high rate of voters, saying Al-Bayda and Al-Khoms have been seeing high rates of voters.”

Egypt Local - Possibly 2019

Egypt’s municipal councils were dissolved eight years ago, and local elections have faced delay after delay. However, Egypt Today reports: “Parliament’s Local Administration Committee’s member Mohamed Salah expected Egypt’s local election to be held in the last quarter of 2019, adding that the local administration law will be discussed in the Parliament’s plenary session.” One should not count on the elections actually happening in 2019, but it’s worth keeping an eye on the situation.

Upcoming Elections
Turkey Local – March 31, 2019
Campaigning continues in Turkey’s local elections. Kurdistan24 reports that eight Kurdish political parties and movements across the ideological spectrum, from left-wing to center-right, have united to contest polls in 100 cities and towns.

Israel Snap Parliamentary – April 9, 2019
Some Israeli political parties are holding primaries ahead of the April snap elections. Some parties aren’t holding primaries, but the major ones are. Governing Likud and opposition Labor will both hold their primaries in early February.

Sharren Haskel, a leader of the liberal faction of Likud, has announced her primary campaign:

Alliances continue to shift. Justice minister Ayelet Shaked and former defense minister Naftali Bennet have split off from the right-wing Bayit Yehudi to form the New Right Party, and have brought on Breitbart writer Caroline Glick as a candidate for Knesset. The New Right posits that Likud isn’t conservative enough, but that Bayit Yehudi is too religious.

Haaretz’s Amitai Ziv reports on cyber vulnerabilities ahead of the elections: “Israel still uses paper ballots rather than digital systems, so the only opportunity for a hacking attack comes before actual polling. The vulnerabilities are in the computerized lists of voters, its distribution to polling places and tabulation of the results, said Gal Fenigshtein, a Check Point intelligence analyst.”

Afghanistan Presidential – July 20, 2019
After messy and long-delayed parliamentary elections and heading into the presidential election campaign, with a possible American withdrawal, Afghanistan remains in a state of flux. The Council on Foreign Relations notes: “Despite renewed peace talks with Taliban officials, led by U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad, prospects for a peaceful end to the conflict in 2019 are uncertain.” Farhat Popal at the Bush Institute cautions against giving into the Taliban’s retrograde vision for the country: “It is imperative that the voices, the interests, and the progress of Afghan women be represented. The tremendous gains made by Afghan women over the years, as well as their future and that of their children, should not be sacrificed for the sake of expediency. While it may lead to a peace agreement in the short term, it will jeopardize stability in the long term.”

 

Oman Consultative Assembly – October 2019
The Omani government has announced the dates for nomination of candidates for the Majlis al-Shura, Oman’s consultative assembly that actually does not have the power to legislate.

Tunisia Presidential and Parliamentary – Fall 2019
Italian wire service ANSA reports: “Anouar Ben Hassen, a member of the country’s Independent High Authority for Elections (ISIE), told local radio Jawhara that parliamentary elections could be held on a date to be determined between Sunday, October 6 and Sunday, December 1, 2019; while presidential elections could be held on a date to be determined between Sunday, November 3 and Sunday, December 29, 2019.”

Libya Local – Possibly 2019
Libya Observer reports: “The head of the central commission for municipal councils’ elections Salim Bin Tahiya said Thursday that they will start elections procedures for municipalities – which have ended their current terms – next March. Bin Tahiya told reporters that 69 municipalities were registered, adding that they will start the elections in municipal councils where there are high rate of voters, saying Al-Bayda and Al-Khoms have been seeing high rates of voters.”

Egypt Local – Possibly 2019
Egypt’s municipal councils were dissolved eight years ago, and local elections have faced delay after delay. However, Egypt Today reports: “Parliament’s Local Administration Committee’s member Mohamed Salah expected Egypt’s local election to be held in the last quarter of 2019, adding that the local administration law will be discussed in the Parliament’s plenary session.” One should not count on the elections actually happening in 2019, but it’s worth keeping an eye on the situation.


The Israeli Knesset (parliament) building. Photo credit: Wikimedia/James Emery

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