Middle East This Week – January 29, 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

Ayla Ganioglu at Al-Monitor reports: “Turkey’s economic turmoil, fueled by a currency crisis amid unprecedented tensions with the United States last summer, has become the No. 1 concern of Turkish voters ahead of local elections on March 31. Two recent opinion polls suggest economic woes will sway the outcome of the elections, with the state of the economy and unemployment topping the list of what people see as the country’s primary problems.”

Israel Snap Parliamentary - April 9, 2019

Candidates from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party are burnishing their security credentials. Several high-profile figures have launched their campaigns in the past week, including former opposition leader Tzipi Livni and former military chief Benny Gantz, seen as Netanyahu’s chief rival. Israeli historian Gershom Gorenberg blasted Gantz’s lack of political experience and ideology, and the global trend of electing non-politicians to high office, in a Washington Post op-ed. Facebook has unveiled a new political ad transparency policy in order to combat foreign interference.

Algeria Presidential - April 18, 2019

Algeria’s oldest opposition party, Socialist Forces Front (FSS), will boycott the upcoming presidential election. Incumbent Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been in power since 1999, and Algerian elections are neither free nor fair. Winners are determined by a group of generals, who may give the 81-year-old, increasingly decrepit Bouteflika a fifth term, or may replace him as some generals have begun to publicly question his competence.

Afghanistan Presidential - July 20, 2019

Vizir Consulting president Arif Rafik writes: “Afghanistan’s Impossible Task: Talking and Fighting While Holding Elections” In a time in which Afghanistan needs its elite to unite and build consensus, it is holding elections, which are divisive winner-takes-all affairs.”

Tunisia Legislative - October 2019 and Presidential - November 2019

Amberin Zaman writes in Al-Monitor: “Democrat or Islamist firebrand — who is Tunisia’s Rachid Ghannouchi?” Ghannouchi’s moderate Islamist Ennadha Party has sought to portray itself as pro-democracy, but some question whether the party is truly committed to democratic values. Ennadha is leading polls ahead of elections set for later this year.

Tunisia’s secular politicians have formed a new political party to be led by Prime Minister Youssef Chahed.

Palestinian Legislative - Due by July 2019

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and his unity government have resigned. Palestinians are due to go to the polls within six months, but no election date has been set yet. France24 notes: “Analysts see the change in government as an attempt by Abbas to strengthen his position and further isolate his political rivals Hamas as a decade-long split in Palestinian politics deepens.”

The European Union missions to Ramallah and Jerusalem stated: “The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah have noted the dissolution of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in December 2018 and the announcement of legislative elections within 6 months,” they said in a statement. While the PLC has not been in session since 2007 and has not been in a position to exercise its function as the legislative body of the Palestinian Authority, as foreseen in the Palestinian Basic Law, over the course of the last decade, its dissolution formally brings to an end the mandate of the only elected governing body of the Palestinian Authority, a development the EU missions regard with concern.”

Libya Presidential or Parliamentary - 2019

The UN’s representative in Libya has called on Libyan officials to speed up the timetable for general elections. Elections had been planned for December 2018, but were canceled due to an uptick in violence and a stalemate between the country’s two rival parliaments. No new date has been set, but the international community has encouraged Libya to hold either presidential or parliamentary elections by June. Russia has criticized the idea, calling elections counterproductive.

Bahrain Legislative - November 2018

The Associated Press reports: “Bahrain’s highest court has upheld life sentences for a prominent Shiite cleric who led a now-shuttered opposition party and two of his colleagues. The ruling on Monday targeted Sheikh Ali Salman, who headed the Al-Wefaq political party and was a central figure in Bahrain’s 2011 Arab Spring protests.”

Upcoming Elections
On deck: Egypt local (planned for the first half of 2019 – delays possible); Turkey local (March 31); Israel snap parliamentary (April 9); Algeria presidential (April 18); Qatar municipal (May – councils are advisory only with no actual legislative power); Libya (international community wants presidential or legislative elections by June); Afghanistan presidential (set for July 20 – has already been delayed and could be again); Palestinian Authority legislative (due by July); Oman consultative assembly (October – assembly is advisory only with no actual legislative power); Tunisia parliamentary and presidential (October and November).

Turkey Local – March 31, 2019
Ayla Ganioglu at Al-Monitor reports: “Turkey’s economic turmoil, fueled by a currency crisis amid unprecedented tensions with the United States last summer, has become the No. 1 concern of Turkish voters ahead of local elections on March 31. Two recent opinion polls suggest economic woes will sway the outcome of the elections, with the state of the economy and unemployment topping the list of what people see as the country’s primary problems.”

Israel Snap Parliamentary – April 9, 2019
Candidates from Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party are burnishing their security credentials. Several high-profile figures have launched their campaigns in the past week, including former opposition leader Tzipi Livni and former military chief Benny Gantz, seen as Netanyahu’s chief rival. Israeli historian Gershom Gorenberg blasted Gantz’s lack of political experience and ideology, and the global trend of electing non-politicians to high office, in a Washington Post op-ed. Facebook has unveiled a new political ad transparency policy in order to combat foreign interference.

Algeria Presidential – April 18, 2019
Algeria’s oldest opposition party, Socialist Forces Front (FSS), will boycott the upcoming presidential election. Incumbent Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been in power since 1999, and Algerian elections are neither free nor fair. Winners are determined by a group of generals, who may give the 81-year-old, increasingly decrepit Bouteflika a fifth term, or may replace him as some generals have begun to publicly question his competence.

Afghanistan Presidential – July 20, 2019
Vizir Consulting president Arif Rafik writes: “Afghanistan’s Impossible Task: Talking and Fighting While Holding Elections” In a time in which Afghanistan needs its elite to unite and build consensus, it is holding elections, which are divisive winner-takes-all affairs.”

Tunisia Legislative – October 2019 and Presidential – November 2019
Amberin Zaman writes in Al-Monitor: “Democrat or Islamist firebrand — who is Tunisia’s Rachid Ghannouchi?” Ghannouchi’s moderate Islamist Ennadha Party has sought to portray itself as pro-democracy, but some question whether the party is truly committed to democratic values. Ennadha is leading polls ahead of elections set for later this year.

Tunisia’s secular politicians have formed a new political party to be led by Prime Minister Youssef Chahed.

Palestinian Legislative – Due by July 2019
Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah and his unity government have resigned. Palestinians are due to go to the polls within six months, but no election date has been set yet. France24 notes: “Analysts see the change in government as an attempt by Abbas to strengthen his position and further isolate his political rivals Hamas as a decade-long split in Palestinian politics deepens.”

The European Union missions to Ramallah and Jerusalem stated: “The EU missions in Jerusalem and Ramallah have noted the dissolution of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) in December 2018 and the announcement of legislative elections within 6 months,” they said in a statement. While the PLC has not been in session since 2007 and has not been in a position to exercise its function as the legislative body of the Palestinian Authority, as foreseen in the Palestinian Basic Law, over the course of the last decade, its dissolution formally brings to an end the mandate of the only elected governing body of the Palestinian Authority, a development the EU missions regard with concern.”

Libya Presidential or Parliamentary – 2019
The UN’s representative in Libya has called on Libyan officials to speed up the timetable for general elections. Elections had been planned for December 2018, but were canceled due to an uptick in violence and a stalemate between the country’s two rival parliaments. No new date has been set, but the international community has encouraged Libya to hold either presidential or parliamentary elections by June. Russia has criticized the idea, calling elections counterproductive.

Past Elections
Bahrain Legislative – November 2018
The Associated Press reports: “Bahrain’s highest court has upheld life sentences for a prominent Shiite cleric who led a now-shuttered opposition party and two of his colleagues. The ruling on Monday targeted Sheikh Ali Salman, who headed the Al-Wefaq political party and was a central figure in Bahrain’s 2011 Arab Spring protests.”

Former army chief Benny Gantz in 2014. Gantz is Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s most prominent rival in the upcoming elections. Photo credit: Israeli Defense Forces

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