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Tunisia

The Parliamentary scene: A monitoring over the government and the slow progress in forming different bodies 

The Assembly witnessed a plenary session for hearing and asking questions for 6 Ministers on Friday, the 6th of November and Monday, the 9th of November. And they are: The Minister of Health, the Minster of the Local Affairs and Environment, the Minister of Equipment, Housing and Infrastructure, the Minister of State Property and Real State Affairs, the Minister of Social Affairs and the Minister of Transport and Logistics.

The Minister of Social Affairs presented a number of statistics which revealed the difficult situation of workers and institutions.  The Minister, Al Trabolsi revealed that the number of  technical workers who turned to be unemployed during the first 9 months of 2020 reached more than:

0
workers And they are distributed among:
0
institutions

In response to MPs’ inquiries during the session, Al Trabolsi acknowledged that the economic and social repercussions of the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic were dire for workers, many free professions and sectors which resulted in a fragile situation for workers. And he referred in particular for the sudden closure of many operating institutions and resorting to reducing the number of workers and the working hours. He also indicated that the informal sector was also one of the most affected sectors by the repercussions of this pandemic.

Also, during the same period, relevant institutions took the action of partial and legal layoff : 

0
workers of a total of 32,891 workers

And 48 institutions were suddenly closed which led to:

0
workers lost their jobs.

The minister of Social Affairs pointed out that there are several institutions that haven’t laid off their workers but have reduced the volume of work which resulted in a negative reflection on the financial situation for nearly : 1

0
workers

The minister also confirmed that regarding the disagreement among the social funds Unions and the Ministry, he didn’t suspend the agreement but he demanded unifying the procedures related to the supplementary housing loan of the funds’ agents and staffs within the range of 90,000 dinars.

And in the oral question of the MP, Jamila Alexiksi regarding the social safety law, she requested to know the funds which are allocated for implementing the program and to clear a number of chapters in the law, especially what are related to the strategy of reducing poverty, the High Council for Development and the National Agency for Social Inclusion.

The Minister of Social Affairs answered that the regulatory orders were exposed to the Council of Social Dialogue and the Social parties in order to know their opinions before issuing the regulatory orders. These texts are related to the formation of the aforementioned bodies, and the Minister considered that this law is a step towards social justice and would permit aids to reach who deserves, according to his opinion.

An “exceptional” plenary session has been set to convene for the Supreme Judicial Council  in order to consider the invitation made by the Assembly of People’s Representatives to the President of the Supreme Judicial Council for a dialogue session on the judicial, administrative and financial judiciary It is expected later to announce the situation of the Supreme Judicial Council regarding this invitation.

The Executive Authority: Alleged appointments and violations to the Presidency of the Republic

The Presidency of the Republic issued a presidential regulatory order No.112 of 2020 which is related to setting up a committee for the Presidency to restore the stolen money abroad. And that was criticized by the Head of the Administrative Judges Union, Walid Al Helaly in a post on his Facebook page. Al Helaly described that matter as “ a set of legal faults and violations”, and he also confirmed the need to return to decree No.15 of 2011 which is dated back to the 26th of March of 2011 regarding the creation of national committee to restore the illegally acquired money abroad which contradicts with the Presidential Order. In addition, the last preamble does not indicate that the prime minister was consulted in this regard, especially since the committee consists of ministers who are under the presidential authority of the prime minister, including who is in charge of state disputes (a public administration within the Ministry of State Properties). It also does not indicate that the regulatory presidential order has been referred to the Administrative Court for taking its obligatory and prior opinion before issuing.

On the other hand, concerning the new Ministerial appointments, it was decided to appoint Adnan Salama as the Head of the sub-department of the Criminal Cases and Mohamed Al Robaai as the Head of the sub-department for Researching Economic Crimes in the Judicial Police Department. Changes have also been made at the head of a number of regional areas of the National Security such as Tunis, Mégrine, Jebel Jelloud, Marsa, Beheira( Lake of Tunis),Ksar Hellal, Sousse  and other areas.

Meanwhile, the government announced that it reached an agreement with the protesters of the Kamour Movement in Tataouine. The agreement included a set of financial commitments and developing projects that should be implemented in Tataouine. Although the government announced that its approach in solving the developments problems in the rest of regions would be the same, the crisis with the Kamour Movement raised serious questions regarding the State’s policy which moves after making pressure. 

This speech had raised a great uproar and dissatisfaction in a number of governorates and the most important of which were Kairouan, Sidi Bou Zid, Tozeur and Siliana. And these governorates considered that Al Mechichi excluded them in his speech and didn’t include in the list of governorates and bodies that would have a special Ministerial Council or the governorates that would benefit from the solution of the Kamour’s problem.

The Political and Partisan scene: The wager of democracy is not easy inside the parties themselves

The Ennahda movement witnessed disagreements within it which resulted in the return of old members who withdrew from it and other members who expressed their refusal for the situation of the biggest Islamic Movement in Tunisia. Mr. Mohamed Al Jebali, the former prime minister the former General Secretary of the Ennahda Movement who resigned from it, sent a letter to the Head of the Ennahda Movement Rashid Al Ghannouchi, under the title “ a vision in reforming the situation and overcoming the crisis”. He described in this letter a brief diagnosis of the critical situation of the movement and a detailed vision of what he called overcoming this situation, considering the approval of this vision a condition for him to re-join the movement. One of the most important points that were included in this letter, the call to stop the bleeding within the movement through paving the way for an administrative, organizational and psychological atmosphere for a frank and constructive dialogue concerning all issues that are important for the Movement and the Country. And on another level, the 11th conference would be well prepared in order to be the conference of unification, reformation and strategic planning at all levels and fields. In another phase, the 11th conference would be well prepared so that it would be the conference of unification, reformation and strategic planning at all levels and fields. Ghannouchi also called for the commitment to implement all the articles of the Basic Law of the Movement and to express that he wouldn’t change any chapter in it. He also said that the next conference would determine the future of the movement and any change it approves would respect the principle of non-retroactive  application. He also suggested a primary structure for the executive bureau in which he would be the General Secretary who supports a number of leaders who signed the petition of the 100 , in order to do designate tasks of the bureau Al Jebali also confirmed the continuation of the role if the Head of the Movement and the creation of a council of Sages.

The Ennahda Movement: The failure to renew leadership affects the young leaders

The leader, Jawhara Al Tais who is responsible for youth in the Ennahda movement, announced in a post on her Facebook page on Monday, the 9th of November, her official resignation from the movement. She explained that the reason for her resignation is that the work within the movement has become

“ a drain on the moral balance and its aim is to adopt ways to ensure only the positions here or there regardless what is required to be accomplished”
Jawhara Al Tais
Responsible for youth in the Ennahda movement

All this comes in light of the control of Al Ghannochi to the leadership of the movement, although he has previously expressed that he hasn’t any intention to run for the presidency of the party or the Republic. 

On the contrary, the benefits of the parties continue through disagreements. Abeer Mousa, the Head of the Free Constitutional Party, declared their intention to organize a series of protesting activities which would start with an open sit in on Monday, the 16th of November of 2020 and set up tents on Khair El Din Pasha street in the capital in front of the headquarter of the Union of Muslim Scholars Organization In Tunis. Then it would be followed by protests all over the world in front of the headquarters of Human Rights organizations and the Tunisian Embassy abroad. The protests of the Free Constitutional Party come as a reaction against the First Instance Court in Tunis which rejected on Tuesday, the 10th of November, a lawsuit filed by the Free Constitutional Party, with the aim of stopping the activities of the International Union of Muslim Scholars in the country.

Meanwhile, the news of the deep corruption which penetrates the (core) fabric of the institutions and relations.

The report of the Court of Accounts: A diagnosis of corruption and accountability?

In its general report on the results of monitoring the funds of the electoral campaign of the premature presidential elections, the Legislative elections in 2019 and party finance, the Court of Accounts sent a set of critical notes to the Central Bank and Tunisian Post. He also criticized the “illegal” misuse of the social media pages (Facebook) from the point of view of foreign funding for publicity operations. And the report also looked at the unfair and unbalanced use of Audio Visual Media,  as a number of candidates benefited from more coverage than the competitors.

The Court discovered through checking the files of the Electoral Authority that the presidential candidate, Yusuf Al Shahid had used the resources of the civil administration during conducting the activities of the electoral campaign. The report mentioned that the campaign of the former prime minister had used an administrative car and two public buses which the candidate denied when answering the Court of Accounts.

The Court of Accounts confirmed in its report that one of the candidates for the premature presidential elections, didn’t open a private bank account for the electoral campaign and didn’t deposit the amounts of money in the bank account and it was 8,500 dinars. In addition, 9 candidates submitted bank statements that do not cover the entire electoral period and do not include all banking operations which were done under the title of the election campaign.

For his part, the first president of the Court of Accounts, Najeeb Al Qatari, announced that the court had contacted many relevant institutions on financial transactions to monitor the corrupt money that was used to finance some electoral campaigns, and soon, judicial tracking of all violations would be undertaken, stressing the court’s impartiality in dealing with all candidates. 

Also, a judge at the Court of Accounts, Fadela Karqouri, announced during a press conference in the capital today, Tuesday, the 10th of November of 2020, that only five of the 221 parties submitted their annual financial reports, and 44 parties did not respect the principle of periodicity,

Vital sectors in a rage

A reconciliatory session which was held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Transport to consider the strike warning message at the Tunis Transport Company ended in failure.

The Trade Union announced its insistence to the full strike on the 9th and 10th of November of 2020, but this strike was postponed to the 23rd and 24th of the next December. 

The Press Syndicate is also planning to approve the field actions due to the government’s lack of seriousness in addressing their problems. The employees of the Ministry of Finance also held a sit in  against arbitrary decisions that have been taken in their regard.

After reaching the Kamour agreement, the employees of the company “Birenco”, the eastern field of Kerkennah, who are under the Tunisian General Labor Union, issued on Sunday a message to announce a strike on the 12th and 13th of November of 2020, with the suspension of production, for the sake of a number of demands that would be presented in a working session to discuss the general increase in wages for 2020 and the incentive grant for the year 2018 and 2019 and the automatic progression in the wage scale for January 2020.

the company “Birenco''

As for the tourism sector, which is the most affected sector  during the covid crisis, dozens of workers working in the tourism sector on Tuesday morning, the 10th of November, carried out a protest in front of the state headquarters to demand payment of their wages from the employers for the months of August and September of October.

Tunisia is witnessing an increase in irregular migration cases, especially in light of the country’s deteriorating economic conditions. An army unit in Sfax this week rescued 24 Tunisian immigrants, including a woman and a child. 

And what is considered exceptional during this period is the report of the Human Rights Watch Organization regarding the freedom of expression in Tunisia, The organization said that “ freedom of expression in Tunisia is at risk with the increase in the number of prosecutions,” adding that “the Tunisian authorities should immediately stop using the laws that are largely outdated, over-general, and repressive” to prosecute people for exercising their right to freedom of expression on Internet”.  

In a brief, detailed report on its website and in a campaign it launched on Monday, the 9th of November of 2020, the “Amnesty” organization stated that “at least 40 people, including bloggers, political activists, human rights defenders and directors of pages on the social network” Facebook “, have been subjected to Criminal judicial prosecutions from 2018 till 2020, simply for posting tweets on the Internet blogs criticizing the local authorities, the police, or other public officials.

Libya

In the first session of the Libyan political dialogue, members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Tunisia discussed the features of the next phase to build a democratic path, activate peaceful solutions, reach a fruitful dialogue to reach a solution to the current Libyan crisis and elect a new executive authority in the country.

A Libyan source who participates in the meetings in Tunisia said that the meetings search to reach an end to the state of the armed conflict and achieve security in the country. He asserted that they aim to unify the institutions of the Libyan State that have been divided for years, stop the collapse in services and economy and improve the performance of the State’s institutions. The Libyan source asserted that the meetings aim at forming a government that would be responsible for preparing the Presidential and Parliamentary elections to ensure holding the elections in its time. In addition, taking all the necessary measures including creating appropriate security conditions, conducting a social dialogue concerning the elections, its constitutional rule, the election’s law, facilitating the electoral process and preparing the necessary infrastructure for electronic voting. In addition to  providing an integrated project to build a future state for all Libyans, proposing that project for a comprehensive community dialogue, launching the comprehensive National reconciliation, combating corruption, stopping wasting the public money and taking all preventive measures.

The source pointed out that they had received a draft from the UN Mission concerning the mechanism of choosing the head of the new government, his deputies and the members of the presidential council. He asserted that the later (the presidential council) would consist of a president and two deputies who would reflect the geographical balance and its meetings could be held or its decision could be taken from any other Libyan city. The source mentioned that the meetings would discuss the formation of a government of a national unity on the basis of specialization, competence, experience, integrity, geographical and demographic balance, and equal opportunities. He cleared that the term of the office of the Executive Authority “ the Presidential Council and the Government of National Unity” would be 18 months, starting from the date of gaining confidence. And in case of the delay of completing the necessary constitutional rules to launch a permanent phase, the mandate would be renewed automatically for additional 6 months only, unless the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum rejects.

The source indicated that the Libyan Presidential Council would nominate the head and members of the National Defense and Security Council in consultation with the Prime Minister, and within a period not exceeding a month from the Presidential Council assuming its duties. It also would declare a state of emergency, war and peace, and take exceptional measures after the approval of the National Defense and Security Council, and that the matter should be presented to The House of Representatives, within a period not exceeding ten days from its issuance for approval. The Council has to exercise its powers  and take its decisions unanimously. And any issued decision in the name of the Presidential Council is not considered unless it is signed by the Speaker and his deputies and is based on the minutes of the meeting with its number and date.

He cleared that the new Prime Minister would appoint and withdraw the head of the Public Intelligence after consultations with the relevant bodies, represent the State in its foreign relations, conclude agreements and sign the memorandums of understanding that would serve the preliminary stage and its objectives which should be ratified according to the  legislations in force. In addition to ending the state of armed conflict, implementing what it is agreed upon by practical formulas to ceasefire and unifying all State’s institutions including the security and military institutions.

The Libyan dialogue: A hope in overcoming the crisis of the military level and possible obstacles

Perhaps the most important obstacle to implement the outcomes of the Libyan dialogue in Tunisia is the threat of militias in western Libya, which impedes any agreement among the parties to develop a road map and reach radical solutions. Izz El-Din Aqil, a Libyan political analyst who lives in Tunisia, said that the success of the Libyan Dialogue Forum is conditional on the agreement to disarm militias and warlords.

Aqil also added that “the chances of the success of the meeting in Tunisia seem weak, especially that the international vision has not fully matured towards Libya, and that a number of participants in the Libyan Political Forum in Tunisia are not able to address the Libyan situation in the required ways that satisfy a wide spectrum of Libyans under the domination of power by the militias in Tripoli.  It is noted to remind that the semi military and militia presence exist in the East of Libya. This matter raises very important challenges.

Meanwhile, on the military level, Sirte has completed the preparations to host the meetings of the 5+5 joint military committee. And according to sources, all arrangements have been made to receive the participants in the meetings under the auspices of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya.

The sources cleared that all the chosen sites were prepared for meetings, accommodations and a media center. The Libyan Joint Military Committee (Committee of Ten) concluded its meetings within the 5th round of discussions in Ghadames, in the presence of the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General for political affairs in the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Stephanie Williams, and she also confirmed that The Joint Military Committee (5 + 5) “would supervise the exit of foreign fighters and mercenaries” from Libya.

Libya’s Oil: The return of the production as a result of the political agreements

On the economic level, the National Oil Corporation in Libya stated that Libya’s production of crude oil rose to one million and 36035 barrels per day from 850 thousand barrels per day a few days ago.

It is noteworthy that the blockade since January has caused Libya’s oil production to drop to about 100 thousand barrels per day from 1.2 million barrels per day.

The Human Rights Bulletin: Other violations recalled on the recent past

 Gunmen shot a prominent  opposition woman in Benghazi. The Amnesty International indicated that the murdered woman declared her intention to publish a video concerning the corruption in the circle of Khalifa Haftar. Human Rights groups stated that Hana Al Barasi who clearly criticizes the violations in the Eastern regions which are dominated by the General Command forces under the leadership of General Khalifa Haftar, was shot in a public place. “She was shot dead on the 20th Street, one of the largest commercial streets in Benghazi”, a security source told AFP, requesting anonymity. He added:

Moments before that, she was broadcasting a live video on her Facebook account”
a security source

In the clip, which she posted on her Facebook page, the lawyer appeared sitting in a car in front of the camera criticizing the armed groups which are close to Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, the strong man in eastern Libya, stressing that she is threatened. the assassination of Hanan Al Bara’asi sparked many condemned reactions which demanded justice. The lawyer Elham Al Saudi, who is also known for her defense of human rights, said in a tweet that it is “a terrifying news and a painful reminder of the reality , especially for women” . And Hanan Salah who is a researcher on Libyan affairs at the Human Rights Watch in New York, said that “Al-Bara’asi was speaking clearly bout cases of alleged assault and rape that women were subjected to in Benghazi and referring to the involvement of members of armed groups in Benghazi and she raised allegations of financial fraud. Hanan Salah wrote on Twitter that the assassination of Al-Bara’asi “reminds us of other such crimes that no one has been punished for”

The authorities in the east should promptly investigate and hold the perpetrators accountable”

The Amnesty International Organization stated that AL Bara’asi and her daughter were threatened to be killed. The organization indicated that Al Bara’asi stated her intention to publish a video that exposes corruption in the Haftar family, on her social networking page. 

The assassination of Hanan Al Bara’asi came about a year and a half after the enforced disappearance of the Representative Siham Sergiwa, who was kidnapped by an armed group in Benghazi after she criticized the attack launched by Field Marshal Haftar on Tripoli, and she has not been found since then. The eastern Libyan forces “ the Libyan National Army” led by Haftar, and other authorities in eastern Libya do not immediately release statements concerning the assassination.

During this week also, 112 corpses were found in separated mass graves in Tarhuna in the south of Tripoli. Previously, 14 corpses were found in 5 mass graves on the 5th of November and 3 other corpses later. Despite not completing the processes of identifying the officially discovered corpses, most of the corpses were found in civilian clothes, according to the official sources.

From the counting of the discovered corpses : 

0 Women

And in one mass grave of 8 persons : 

0 Women

The news continues of the possibility of the existence of larger numbers in 16 expected regions in Tarhuna.

Egypt

The end of the second phase of the elections: The government… No irregularities

The National Elections Authority headed by Counselor Lashin Ibrahim, Vice President of the Court of Cassation, announced that the last days of voting for the second phase of the House of Representatives elections, which took place in 13 governorates, had ended and counting work had begun within the :

0
Subcommittees.

Counselor Lashin Ibrahim said that the National Authority closely followed the voting process since early morning and did not observe any violations that would affect the electoral process, and it received a set of inquiries which most of them were inquiries about the committees, indicating that the commission responded to all inquiries

The new MPs: Changing names and the only constant is loyalty to the regime

The preliminary results showed that a number of the most prominent current MPs failed to retain their seats, or even to reach the run-off round which two representatives of the coalition  “25-30” succeeded in reaching. Candidates’ complaints continued concerning the use of political money to buy the votes of the electorate which is considered a phenomenon that  was led by the Nation’s Future Party and its candidates during the two phases of the elections.

As the National Elections Authority is expected to announce the official result of the second phase on the 15th of November , its president emphasized that what is announced in the general committees is only a numerical count of the votes of the electorate.

The Authority had announced the results of the first phase without mentioning the number of votes of the candidates. This is what some candidates complained about as they confirmed that the officially announced results contradict  with what the public committees had informed them after the vote count had been completed.

According to the announced “numerical counting”, the current MP Mortada Mansour failed to reach the run-off stage in the Mit Ghamr district in the Dakahlia governorate, he and Osama Radi, one of the candidates of the Nation’s Future Party. Ahmed Mortada Mansour who preceded his father in losing the elections, had announced that his father had advanced on the rest of the candidates, before the announcement of the counting of the ballots of the general committee in the district which had a wide media follow-up, perhaps because of the privacy of Mortada Mansour, the lawyer and president of the Zamalek Club, as one of the most representatives who faced requests to lift their immunity, and the «Parliament» Headed by Ali Abdel-Al rejected all.

The current MPs who failed to maintain their seats also included the spokesman for the current parliament, Salah Hassaballah (the independent candidate, after his resignation from the presidency of the Freedom Egypt Party), who received only about 12,000 votes in the 2nd electoral district of Shubra El-Khaima in the Al Qalyubia Governorate. The three district seats went to the candidates of “The Nation’s Future party “, Mujahid Nassar, Abd al-Salam al-Khadrawi and Ashraf Amin as each one of them received more than :

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Votes

Unlike Mansour and Hassaballah, the 2nd phase witnessed also the loss of the current MPs, Mohamed Abu Hamid who is a candidate for the “Republican People party” ” in the Abdeen district in Cairo, who was one of the first candidates to officially announce their loss, after obtaining only :

0
Votes

 while the candidate of the Nation’s Future, Ashraf Hatem won in the district’s seat with more than :

0
Votes

And from the losing MPs to members of the “25-30” parliamentary coalition which has a number of members who have opposition voices in the current parliament, while the coalition has supported most of the government’s decisions over the past five years.  The ended round yesterday witnessed that:   Ahmed Al-Tantawi, Diaa Al-Din Daoud and Ahmed Al-Sharqawi reached the run off stage that would take place in early December.

The Egyptian regime continues its repressive policy with its keenness to satisfy his allies according to the new political balances. As the regime released some detainees after electing the new president of the USA directly. In the meantime, the regime implemented executing prisoners and imprisoned detainees in new cases.

A wholesale execution 

In a press conference for the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, the organization indicated that the death sentence was carried out against 53 people in October, which exceeds the annual total of executions for each of the past three years. Concern is raised about the steady rise in the death sentences and the number of people sentenced to death in the same case, in addition to the total number of death sentences issued by Egyptian courts in one year.

The blessing of the US elections The release of the relatives of Mohamed Soltan

Over the past Thursday and Friday, 5 relatives of the political activist Mohamed Soltan returned home as the authorities implemented the decision to release them which was issued on Tuesday, the 3rd of November of 2020 after being imprisoned for 144 days in revenge for Sultan’s prosecution of the Egyptian government, according to the activist, through his account. On Twitter.

Sultan who is the son of the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Salah Sultan, had accused the former prime minister, Hazem Al-Beblawy, of “attempting to kill him outside the law, ordering  and supervising acts of torture against him” in a lawsuit he filed, in early June, before a federal court In Washington where Al-Beblawy lives due to his work as CEO of the International Monetary Fund.

Sultan previously announced that after filing the case, and in mid-June, the Egyptian security forces raided the homes of his relatives, and arrested five of his cousins, between the ages of 20 and 24, and were remanded in custody, pending investigations in case No.649 of 2020.

And in his tweet, Sultan said that despite the release of his cousins, his father’s whereabout detention is still unknown since a security force went to him in Wadi Al Natron prison where he was serving a life sentence as it investigated him concerning a number of his family members and then transferred him to an unknown place. 

Joe Biden had called on the Egyptian authorities in July to immediately release Sultan’s relatives, saying that “the era of blank checks for Trump’s favorite dictator (referring to Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi) has ended.”

  On Thursday, the 5th of November, the Egyptian courts released nearly 600 detainees on political cases just in case of the winning of the Democratic candidate for the position of President of the United States.

The Judiciary is still continuing its unfair rulings and the arbitrary pretrial detention

In the meantime, rulings against activists, journalists and lawyers are still continuing, especially the decisions of prosecuting activists of various intellectual and political loyalties:

the lawyer Amr Nowhan, who posted the picture of Al Sisi with the ears of “Mickey Mouse”

On the other hand, according to the Egyptian Medical Syndicate page, the number of victims among doctors in combating Coronavirus has reached : 

0 martyrs
despite official statements that confirms that the epidemiological situation is under control
With regard to the latest developments in the spread of the virus in Egypt, Tunisia and Libya :
Last Update: 12/11/2020 - 15:00
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recovery cases
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This post is also available in: Arabic

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