Politics

Tunisian President enacts new electoral laws that reduces parties’ powers ahead of elections

Published

2 years ago

September 16, 2022

Tunisian President Kais Saied has further trimmed the powers and influence of political parties in the country after he made new changes to electoral law three months ahead of legislative elections on December 17.

The new electoral law, which was published on Friday, according to
opposition groups, is the latest step in a sweeping power grab by Saied whom they have accused of carrying out a coup against democracy and turning the country into a one-man rule.

His critics have also accused him of “authoritarian drift and endangering the democratic process” initiated after the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011 which brought down longtime autocrat, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

The new electoral law effectively reduces the number of members of the Lower House of Parliament from 217 to 161, and mandates that candidates will now be elected directly instead of via party lists.

Before enacting the new law, Saied had said at a cabinet meeting on Thursday:

“In the past, the parliament deputy drew his legitimacy from his party. Today, he must assume his responsibilities, above all, before his constituents.”

According to the new rules, parliament members “who do not fulfill their roles” can be removed if 10% of constituents who voted for them lodge a formal request with parliament.

While opposition figures have to criticise the law and warned that it threatens the country’s democratic gains, Saied has insisted that he had no intention of excluding any party from the parliamentary elections.

He argued that the new electoral law was based on a study of systems in other countries, and “will allow the people to freely express their will and to vote for the person of their choice.”

Click to comment

Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

11 hours ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.

Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

1 day ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.