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MENASource

Jan 18, 2014

Official Results: 98.1 Percent Vote in Favor of Egypt’s New Constitution with 38.6 Percent Voter Turnout

By EgyptSource

Several days after polling stations closed on January 15, the High Elections Commission announced the results of the 2014 constitutional referendum, which took place over a period of two days. On January 18, Nabil Salib, head of the High Elections Commission announced voter turnout, and the number of votes in favor and against the constitution. 

North Africa Political Reform

MENASource

Jan 17, 2014

Known Unknown: Why the Egyptian Referendum is a Black Box

By Matthew Hall

Voting for the Egyptian Constitutional referendum concluded Wednesday but it will be impossible to learn the actual outcome. Yes, on Saturday the High Electoral Commission will announce the official results, but the severely limited state of domestic and international electoral observation precludes independent verification of government assertions. This is a serious concern for an election […]

North Africa Political Reform
REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

New Atlanticist

Jan 17, 2014

Egypt’s Constitutional Vote: Not a Free Pass for Army Rule

By New Atlanticist

Last week’s constitutional referendum in Egypt yielded a lop-sided result that recalls the non-democratic elections of the decades before the Arab Spring of 2011. Election officials say 98 percent of voters approved the constitution proposed by the military-backed government. Egyptian lawyer Hafsa Halawa cautions against a conventional wisdom that sees this result as a success […]

North Africa Political Reform
Assistant Secretary of State for Europe and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland

NATOSource

Jan 16, 2014

State Department: Implications of the Crisis in Ukraine

By Victoria Nuland, Department of State

Why does the United States have an interest in how this turns out? Because these same principles and values are the cornerstone of all free democracies, and America supports them in every country on the planet.

European Union International Organizations

MENASource

Jan 16, 2014

Misreading Egypt’s Referendum

By Maged Atiya

As soon as polls closed on January 15 2014, after two days of voting on amendments to the 2012 Egyptian constitution, it was clear that approval was guaranteed by an overwhelming margin well above 90 percent. The final margin was in fact close to 98 percent. This was the occasion for many commentators and scholars, […]

North Africa Political Reform

MENASource

Jan 16, 2014

Egypt’s Referendum: Calculated Choices Betting on a Better Future

By Hafsa Halawa

Over the past two days Egyptians have gone back to the polls to vote on their third constitutional referendum in as many years.  There has much written about the flaws of the document itself, similar in context and content to the criticism of the December 2012 constitution and the earlier March 2011 constitutional declaration, yet […]

North Africa Political Reform
REUTERS/Albert Gea

New Atlanticist

Jan 16, 2014

How the Voters of Catalonia May Change Europe

By Paul R. Williams and Roushani Mansoor

Today’s vote by the legislature of the Spanish region of Catalonia to formally petition Spain’s government to authorize a referendum on Catalonian independence is a reminder that Europe will face a challenge this year for which it seems unready. Even though Spain has firmly opposed the referendum, the Catalonians are sure to press ahead. This […]

Europe & Eurasia European Union
Canadian soldiers participating in NATO Exercise Cold Response 2012

NATOSource

Jan 15, 2014

Between A Rock and a Cold Place? NATO and the Arctic

By Page Wilson

At a press conference marking the visit of the North Atlantic Council to Norway in May, Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen announced that “at this present time, NATO has no intention of raising its presence and activities in the High North.”

Europe & Eurasia European Union

MENASource

Jan 15, 2014

Egypt’s Constitutional Referendum [Liveblog January 15]

By EgyptSource

With polling stations opening across Egypt and voting underway for the second day in the constitutional referendum, keep up with live updates on EgyptSource here

North Africa Political Reform

MENASource

Jan 14, 2014

Dispatch from Cairo: Day One of the Constitutional Referendum

By Tom Dale

In the first day of voting in a constitutional referendum, Egyptians queuing outside polling stations seemed to endorse, as much as the constitutional document itself, the leadership of army chief General Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, who is now widely expected to stand for the presidency in the coming months.

North Africa Political Reform

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