Latest news with #constitution
Associated Press
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Ivory Coast leader's bid for a fourth term after rivals sidelined is seen as a risk for democracy
LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — The decision of Ivory Coast's President Alassane Ouattara to run for a fourth term risks a return to a past era of 'old guard dictator rule,' an analyst warned on Wednesday. Ibrahim Anoba, an Africa affairs analyst at the Atlas Network, was speaking a day after Ouattara ended months of speculation about his contested candidacy with an announcement that is likely to lead to a near-guaranteed extension of a presidency that started in 2010. While Ouattara, 83, said his decision to run was informed by the 'unprecedented security, economic, and monetary challenges' the country faces, his announcement comes after the disqualification of most of his prominent rivals, including former Credit Suisse chief executive Tidjane Thiam. After changing the constitution in 2016 to remove presidential term limits, Ouattara is the latest leader in West and Central Africa to attempt to stay in power with little or no challenge from a weakened opposition. Togo's Faure Gnassingbé swapped the presidential system with a parliamentary system and introduced a new all-powerful role, while in Cameroon Paul Biya is eyeing an eighth term after being in power since 1982, nearly half his lifetime. Central African Republic's Faustin Touadera is seeking a third term amid a constitutional controversy. With Ivory Coast considered a regional powerhouse, analysts say a weakened opposition and the constitutional change that kept Ouattara in power after abolishing initial term limits could lead the country to an era of one-man rule, especially in a region where democracy is increasingly being challenged. Opposition protests against Ouattara have been blocked, and several protesters have been arrested and accused of disturbing public order. 'We might be sliding back to that era of old men, old guard dictator rule in West Africa because (of) the attitude of the military and equally the civilian rulers,' said Anoba. 'And the announcement of Ouattarra is a reflection of that reality.' Opposition politicians are now rallying against Ouattara, which could feed into a growing wave of discontent among citizens battling declining economies and security challenges. 'It is a repetition of the same problem that we have seen lead to the same consequences,' said Anoba. West and Central Africa has recorded 8 coups since 2020, with the military juntas sometimes pointing to the lack of fair democratic processes as one of their reasons for deposing elected governments. A spate of power grabs by military powers has reconfigured the region's geopolitical lines and split the decades-old regional bloc known as ECOWAS. Periodic elections have been used by others to maintain democratic credentials, but analysts say the trend of constitutional changes and attacks on opposition have been no different from the military powers that have all extended their stay in power. 'What we are having at the moment across West and Central Africa is status-quo elections,' said Beverly Ochieng, a senior analyst at Control Risks. 'They end up reinforcing the authority and executive power of the incumbent in a way the opposition parties are not able to challenge it.' Ochieng added: 'There is also almost like an equivalent in the sense that people want to prolong their stay in power and are willing to use constitutional and transitional means to achieve.' Ivory Coast has maintained its reputation as one of Africa's most stable democracies, especially after its ruinous civil wars. It has established itself as a major African economic power, mostly due to the policies of Ouattara's presidency. However, beneath the veneer of stability is a firm grip on government institutions that makes it impossible for the opposition to challenge the ruling party, analysts say. Ivory Coast has frequently experienced electoral violence, which has killed several people, even pushing it close to another civil war in 2011 when then-leader Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede defeat after losing the election, and some 3,000 people were killed in the violence that followed.
CNN
3 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Syria to hold parliamentary ballot in September, first elections since Assad's removal
Syria will hold parliamentary elections in September, the head of a body tasked with organizing the election process told state media Sunday. Mohammed Taha al-Ahmad, chairman of the Higher Committee for People's Assembly Elections, told state news agency SANA that elections will take place between Sept. 15 and 20. They will be the first to take place under the country's new authorities after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December. One third of the 210 seats will the appointed by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, with the rest to be elected. In a recent interview with the Erem News site, another member of the elections committee, Hassan al-Daghim, said an electoral college will be set up in each of Syria's provinces to vote for the elected seats. A temporary constitution signed by al-Sharaa in March called for a People's Committee to be set up to serve as an interim parliament until a permanent constitution is adopted and general elections held, a process that could take years. The announcement of impending elections comes at a time when the country is increasingly divided in its views of the new authorities in Damascus after sectarian violence broke out in the southern province of Suwayda earlier this month. The fighting killed hundreds of people and threatened to unravel Syria's fragile postwar transition. The violent clashes, which broke out two weeks ago, were sparked by tit-for-tat kidnappings between armed Bedouin clans and fighters from the Druze religious minority. Syrian government forces intervened, ostensibly to end the fighting, but effectively sided with the clans. Some government fighters reportedly executed Druze civilians and burned and looted houses. Israel intervened, launching airstrikes on government forces and on the Defense Ministry headquarters. Israel said it was acting to defend the Druze minority.
CNN
3 days ago
- Politics
- CNN
Syria to hold parliamentary ballot in September, first elections since Assad's removal
The Middle East Syria conflictFacebookTweetLink Follow Syria will hold parliamentary elections in September, the head of a body tasked with organizing the election process told state media Sunday. Mohammed Taha al-Ahmad, chairman of the Higher Committee for People's Assembly Elections, told state news agency SANA that elections will take place between Sept. 15 and 20. They will be the first to take place under the country's new authorities after the fall of former President Bashar Assad in a lightning rebel offensive in December. One third of the 210 seats will the appointed by interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa, with the rest to be elected. In a recent interview with the Erem News site, another member of the elections committee, Hassan al-Daghim, said an electoral college will be set up in each of Syria's provinces to vote for the elected seats. A temporary constitution signed by al-Sharaa in March called for a People's Committee to be set up to serve as an interim parliament until a permanent constitution is adopted and general elections held, a process that could take years. The announcement of impending elections comes at a time when the country is increasingly divided in its views of the new authorities in Damascus after sectarian violence broke out in the southern province of Suwayda earlier this month. The fighting killed hundreds of people and threatened to unravel Syria's fragile postwar transition. The violent clashes, which broke out two weeks ago, were sparked by tit-for-tat kidnappings between armed Bedouin clans and fighters from the Druze religious minority. Syrian government forces intervened, ostensibly to end the fighting, but effectively sided with the clans. Some government fighters reportedly executed Druze civilians and burned and looted houses. Israel intervened, launching airstrikes on government forces and on the Defense Ministry headquarters. Israel said it was acting to defend the Druze minority.
Malay Mail
4 days ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Rallies and shouts of ‘turun' will not lead to resignation of PM — Hafiz Hassan
JULY 26 — A written constitution like the Federal Constitution gathers unto itself various sources of law, some of which are implicit. These are unwritten sources in the form of conventions, prerogatives, discretionary and residual powers. One can therefore look beyond the written law to help ensure the continuation of constitutionalism and the rule of law. (see Zainun Ali JCA (as she then was) in Dato' Dr Zambry bin Abd Kadir v Dato' Seri Ir Hj Mohammad Nizar bin Jamaluddin (Attorney General of Malaysia, intervener) [2009] 5 MLJ 464) The first of the unwritten sources – that is, convention – is a well established source. In the Zambry v Nizar case, the established convention on loss of confidence was acknowledged by Raus Sharif JCA (as he then was). The appellate court, though, may not have decided on the convention. As such, the statement on the convention is – what lawyers call – obiter dictum. The term is Latin for 'something that is said in passing' or simply 'other things said'. Under the doctrine of stare decisis or binding legal precedent, obiter dictum (plural dicta) is not binding. It is the ratio decidendi (plural rationes decidendi) of a judgment that is binding. The term means 'the ground or reason of decision' or simply 'the rule in a decision'. It is the legal principle upon which the decision in a specific case is founded. The rule in the Zambry v Nizar case in the higher Federal Court when Nizar appealed against the decision of the Court of Appeal is this: There is nothing in the Perak State Constitution stipulating that the loss of confidence in the Menteri Besar (MB) may only be established through a vote in the Legislative Assembly (LA). Evidence of loss of confidence in the MB may be gathered from other extraneous sources, provided they are properly established. Such sources should include the admission by the MB himself and/or representations made by members of the LA that the MB no longer enjoys the support of the majority of the members of the LA. On the facts of the case, there was evidence of such admission by Nizar himself and the loss of confidence of the majority of the members of the LA in the leadership of Nizar as expressed by 31 members of the LA. As there is similarly nothing in the Federal Constitution stipulating that the loss of confidence in the prime minister may only be established through a vote in the Dewan Rakyat, the ratio in the Zambry v Nizar case applies to establishing the loss of confidence in the prime minister. But while a vote on a motion of confidence in the Dewan Rakyat is not the only mechanism to establish or determine the loss of confidence, shouts of 'turun' certainly do not determine the loss of confidence. And while demonstrations or representations made by MPs – properly established – of the loss of confidence in the prime minister outside the Dewan Rakyat is a decided mechanism, public rallies are not – no matter the number of rally protestors: 10,000, 100,000 or 1 million. MPs can shout 'turun' in the Dewan Rakyat; they can join the public in a rally to call for the prime minister to 'turun' in the exercise of their basic freedoms guaranteed by the Federal Constitution. But neither will lead to the resignation of the prime minister. All it takes is a majority vote of 'Aye' to a motion of no confidence in the prime minister or properly established representations made by MPs that the prime minister has lost the confidence of the majority of MPs. That's 112 out of 222 MPs. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has dared the Opposition to 'go and table a no-confidence motion' in the Dewan Rakyat. Will the Opposition take the dare after the 'turun Anwar' rally?
Japan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Japan Times
Philippine court says Sara Duterte impeachment unlawful
The Philippines' Supreme Court on Friday said the impeachment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte is unconstitutional, in a stunning victory for the embattled politician and rival of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. The top court said the complaint didn't comply with the constitutional rule that only one impeachment proceeding may be initiated against the same official within one year. Duterte was awaiting a trial in the country's Senate that could lead to barring her from public office if convicted. Her legal team welcomed the decision, saying it has "once again upheld the rule of law and reinforced the constitutional limits against abuse of the impeachment process.' The court said in a statement that the Senate "could not acquire jurisdiction over the impeachment proceedings,' which suggests that the trial can't go ahead when Congress opens next week. In a separate statement, a spokesperson for the Senate said the chamber is "duty-bound to respect the finality of rulings issued by the High Court.' The vice president was impeached in February by the House of Representatives on accusations that include plotting to assassinate Marcos and misusing public funds. She denies allegations of wrongdoing. "The articles of impeachment, which was the fourth complaint, violated the one-year period ban because there were three complaints that were ahead of it,' court spokesperson Camille Sue Mae Ting told reporters. The court added in a statement that a new impeachment complaint can be filed starting Feb. 6 next year and "is not absolving Vice President Duterte from any of the charges against her.' The court statement said the decision was unanimous. Judges appointed by former President Rodrigo Duterte, the vice president's father, dominate the high court. It's unlikely that another impeachment complaint will be filed again, said Bob Herrera-Lim, managing director of risk consultancy Teneo. "The narrative that emerged from the midterms is that the Duterte family still has significant political support, and that voters may have tired of the battle between the Marcos and Duterte families as being the focus of politics,' he said. Marcos is set to deliver an annual State of the Nation Address on Monday before lawmakers during the opening of the 20th Congress. "We call on everyone to respect the Supreme Court and place their trust in our institutions,' Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary Claire Castro said.
