Headlines Tunisia

Tunisia: Draft Constitution published ahead of referendum

Tunisia on Thursday published in the Official Gazette the draft constitution, scheduled to be submitted to a referendum on July 25. The 139-article draft was completed behind closed doors in less than a month, suggesting a substantial change in the country’s political system, which would now grant greater powers to the executive. Under the draft […]

Headlines Tunisia

Tunisia: New Constitution does not mention Islam as state religion

Tunisian President Kais Saied confirmed on Tuesday that Islam will not be listed as the “State religion” in the new Constitution he will put to a referendum on 25 July. “In the next constitution of Tunisia, we will not talk about a state whose religion is Islam but (Tunisia’s membership) of an Ummah (nation) whose […]

Headlines Tunisia

Tunisia expels Venice Commission members over report on constitutional referendum

The Tunisian President Kais Saied Monday expelled members of the Venice Commission after the advisory body of the Council of Europe issued Friday a report criticizing the leader’s plans to hold a referendum on a new constitution. The report branded urgent opinion posits that it was unrealistic to hold a credible referendum in the absence […]

Algeria Headlines

Algeria to hold referendum on new constitution

Algeria will hold on November 1 a referendum on the new draft constitution, which grants more power to the parliament and the Prime Minister following several months of protests that led to the partial overhaul of the previous regime. The Presidential office announced the date Monday following a meeting between the President and the head […]

Headlines Mauritania

Mauritania: President Debunks Claims He Fled the Country

Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz has made an appearance at a rally to prove his presence in the country after reports pointed out that he fled Mauritania few days before the August 5 referendum. The Mauritanian President, accompanied by his wife, showed up at a rally in Nouadhibou Tuesday, to deflate the rumors claiming […]

Headlines Mauritania

Mauritania: IRA Movement Leader Vows to Remove President by 2019

President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz will not rule Mauritania beyond 2019, end of his current tenure, Biram Ould Dah Ould Abeid, President of the Initiative for the Resurgence of the Abolitionist Movement (IRA) has told sympathizers. Mauritania has been embroiled in a political crisis after it became clear that President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz wanted […]

Egypt Europe Headlines International Morocco

Referendum, Unfeasible Solution to Sahara Issue- Italian Official

Italy’s deputy Foreign Minister Mario Giro made  it clear that the referendum option does not offer a feasible solution to the regional conflict over the Sahara and that the Algerian-Backed Polisario separatists had better give up the chimera of conducting a vote on the Sahara’s independence. The Italian official made the remarks during the presentation, […]

Headlines Mauritania

Mauritanians to decide on July 15 whether President could extend reign

Mauritanians will decide on July 15 whether autocratic leader Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz could run again for the elections in 2019, the year his current term ends. The date of the referendum on constitutional reforms proposed by the President’s ruling party was set by the cabinet last week. The fate of the President in 2019, […]

Headlines Mauritania

Mauritania to Hold Referendum to Abolish Senate, Change Flag

President of Mauritania Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz announced that a referendum would be held to vote for the amendment to the constitution providing notably for abolishing the senate and changing the flag. The amendments to the constitution, which has been in force since 1991, were approved by the lower house but rejected by a majority […]