Vol 55 No 2 | MOROCCO Headaches for Benkirane 24th January 2014 A deteriorating economic situation adds to political tension as parties manoeuvre for next year’s elections Morocco seems to have emerged stronger from the Arab Spring. The constitution promises a more open political system and improved human rights. A coalition government led by the...
Vol 55 No 2 | ALGERIA Après moi, moi 24th January 2014 Despite his infirmity, Bouteflika is set to run again in April for a fourth term. The ruling elite is bereft of political or economic ideas Inconceivable though it seemed only a few months ago that the enfeebled, 76-year-old President Abdelaziz Bouteflika could stand again after his stroke, that is exactly what he is...
Vol 55 No 2 | MAURITANIA Abdel Aziz plays it safe 24th January 2014 The President will hold the political ring while coopting minor politicians and parties, but he’s keeping out of the regional operation in Mali Although the ruling Union pour la République suffered setbacks in some smaller regions in last year’s general election, it has consolidated its grip and still monopolises the political...
Vol 55 No 1 | EGYPT Consolidation is the goal 10th January 2014 The political calendar is crowded as the forces that took control of the state and ousted Mursi seek to strengthen their position Egyptian electors will be called to the ballot box at least three times in 2014, to approve the new constitution, elect a president and choose a single-chamber parliament....
Vol 54 No 25 | EGYPTETHIOPIASUDANITALY Secrets of the dam builder 12th December 2013 Sudan has now thrown its weight behind the Millennium Dam, at a time when curiosity about the contractor, Salini, was already growing As Egyptian, Ethiopian and Sudanese ministers sat down to discuss the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on 9 December, one item was notably absent from the agenda. The role...
Vol 54 No 25 | EGYPTETHIOPIASUDAN Shoring up regional support 12th December 2013 After a period of defiant independence, Addis Ababa has now, belatedly perhaps, built strong diplomatic support behind the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam. Before the joint meeting of the...
Vol 54 No 25 | EGYPT Vote on constitution nears 12th December 2013 Liberals hope democracy can co-exist with a military insulated from scrutiny but many lawyers wonder about the flaws in the new legal framework Egypt’s draft constitution has been handed to President Adly Mahmud Mansour for formal signing, after the 50-member drafting panel approved it on 1 December. A simple majority referendum...
Vol 54 No 25 | EGYPTSUDAN Cape to Cairo, again 12th December 2013 Agrogate, an Egyptian private equity group, hopes to start work this month on a hard-top road in Sudan, the 362 kilometre Dongola-Toshke (Argeen) Highway, which will link the...
Vol 54 No 23 | LIBYA Little leadership and less oil 14th November 2013 Ali Zeidan has kept his grip on the premiership but financial pressures, oil blockades and secession threats in the east and south are crowding in The recent failure of the Muslim Brotherhood-backed Justice and Construction Party (JCP) and its allies to remove Prime Minister Ali Zeidan – whether via a vote of the...
Vol 54 No 21 | EGYPT Smart bomb for subsidies 17th October 2013 The smart-card fuel rationing system is about to be launched, says a Finance Ministry source. The government of ex-President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak conceived the scheme and ex-President Mohamed...