Report: The Militia Challenge in Libya
In a report released in mid-December, 2011, the International Crisis Group analyzes the "significant problem" posed by militias in Libya after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi. The report recommends that Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) work with local authorities ...
February 7, 2012
Category: Democracy Promotion, Elections, Featured, Government, Libya, Military, Political transition
Opposition Wins Big in Kuwait’s Election.
Today, early election results in Kuwait indicate that more than 30 of the 50 parliament seats have been secured by the opposition movement, which includes Islamists, liberals and independents, as well as youth groups who cite inspiration from the Arab ...
February 3, 2012
Category: Elections, Featured, Islam and Democracy, Kuwait, Monarchy, Political Islam, Political Parties
Pressure Surrounding Upcoming Elections in Algeria
Algeria, the only North African state "untouched by the Arab spring", will be under tremendous pressure as it prepares for parliamentary elections this coming May. Algerian authorities recently gave the green light for ten additional political parties to stand in the elections, but a larger problem has surfaced--the apathy of the Algerian electorate. The last elections saw a 35% turn out, the lowest number in Algerian history. The government has resorted to text ...
Kuwaiti Candidate’s Campaign Headquarters Burned Down
Hundreds of angry tribesmen burned down a tent that was serving as the campaign headquarters for Mohammed Al Juwaihel, a current candidate for Kuwait's parliament elections this week. Reportedly, "Al Juwaihel criticised a candidate from the Mutairi tribe, a 100,000-strong ...
Egypt’s SCAF Bypasses Parliament in Issuing Elections Law
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), the military junta that took power in Egypt after the January revolution, drew ire from the newly-elected parliament yesterday when it issued rules for upcoming presidential elections. The law did ...
January 31, 2012
Category: Egypt, Elections, Featured, Islamist movements, Legislation, Military, Political transition
U.S. Embassy Shelters American NGO Workers
Earlier today, the U.S. Embassy in Egypt confirmed that it was sheltering a “handful” of American citizens who were barred from leaving Egypt last week. The unidentified Americans are employees of U.S.-funded nongovernmental organizations raided by Egyptian police late last year ...
Report: Egypt’s Transition to Democracy One Year On
Yesterday, Human Rights First released its report on the human rights situation during Egypt's post-revolution transition, titled "Egypt’s Transition to Democracy One Year On: Recommendations for U.S. Policy". While touching on concerns that Islamist domination of the parliament ...
January 28, 2012
Category: Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Featured, Foreign Aid, Human Rights, Military, US foreign policy
POMED Notes: The Arab Revolt: Can the Liberals Compete?
On Thursday, The Foundation for the Defense of Democracies hosted a panel event discussing the ability of liberals to compete in the newly formed governments of the Arab Spring. The panel featured Khairi Abaza Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, an expert on democratic reform in the Arab world. Joining him was the Director of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East Michele Dunne, ...
Observers React to Egypt’s Year of Transition
The first anniversary of Egypt’s revolution elicited commentary on Egypt’s transition, not all of which was optimistic. In a joint piece for the Washington Institute for Near East Peace, Samuel Tadros argues that "there is no true democratic transition in Egypt," ...
January 26, 2012
Category: Egypt, Elections, Featured, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, Political transition
Algeria to Allow Opponents to Participate in Elections
For the first time in over a decade, the Algerian government has decided to give 10 new opposition parties the opportunity to register officially as political entities. Algeria, which in the 1990's endured over a decade of civil war resulting in the deaths of nearly 200,000 Algerians, has more or less remained passive as neighbors Libya, Egypt, Tunisia overthrew their respective leaders with hopes of developing legitimate representation. Analysts contend that Algeria, with ...
January 23, 2012
Category: Egypt, Elections, Featured, Government, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood, Political transition
POMED Notes: The United States and Egypt: Between Islamists and Generals
On Friday, the Women's Foreign Policy Group hosted a panel on the relationship of the United States and Egypt by examining what the ruling leadership of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) means for the future of Egyptian society, and U.S. policy. The speaker was Michele Dunne, director of the Atlantic Council's Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. The panel was moderated by Patricia Ellis, president of ...
January 20, 2012
Category: Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Government, Military, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Parties, Political transition
January 19, 2012
Category: Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Featured, Political Parties, Political transition
Calls to Condition Egypt’s Aid Amid Human Rights Abuses
On Sunday, the Washington Post editorial board recommended that the U.S. government withhold promised military aid until all the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) raided by Egyptian police late last year are "allowed to reopen and harassment of their Egyptian partners ceases." In a similar protest ...
Deputy Secretary of State Burns Arrives in Egypt
The U.S. State Department announced that Deputy Secretary of State William Burns arrived in Cairo Tuesday for meetings with Egyptian officials, politicians, businesspeople, and civil society leaders. Victoria Nuland, spokeswoman for the State Department, said the discussions "will ...
Islamists in Egypt Back Timing of Military Transition
The Muslim Brotherhood decided to support Egypt's interim cabinet remaining in power until after the presidential elections scheduled for June, according to a senior leader in the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice party. In an interview with David Kirkpatrick ...
January 10, 2012
Category: Egypt, Elections, Featured, Government, Islam and Democracy, Islamist movements, Muslim Brotherhood
Islamist Gains in Egypt’s Elections While Women Protest
In a paper entitled Salafis and Sufis in Egypt, which was released by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Jonathon Brown reviews Egypt's latest election and the gains made by a number of Islamist parties- particularly the Muslim Brotherhood ...
December 22, 2011
Category: Civil Society, Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Elections, Featured, Freedom, Government, Human Rights, Muslim Brotherhood, Political Islam, Political Parties, Political transition, Protests
POMED Notes: After the Arab Spring: Challenges for Credible Elections
On Wednesday, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems held a panel discussion to discuss the current spate of post-revolutionary elections that have occurred in places like Tunisia and Egypt, and elections that are being prepared for currently in Libya. The discussion also focused on the technical hurdles that numerous countries face when planning and carrying out credible elections. All discussants but one were members of IFES including Nicolas Kaczorowski, IFES ...
December 14, 2011
Category: DC Event Notes, Egypt, Elections, Event Notes, Foreign Aid, Freedom, Government, Libya, Political transition, Tunisia
December 14, 2011
Category: Elections, Featured, Government, Kuwait, Political transition, Public Opinion, Reform
Second Phase of Egyptian Elections Under Way
Egyptian voters began heading to the polls early Wednesday in the second phase of parliamentary elections. Votes are being cast in Giza and Beni Sueif; the Nile Delta provinces of Menufiya, Sharqiya and Beheira; the cities of Ismailiya and Suez; ...