Presidential and parliamentary elections were held in Madagascar on 20 December 2013, following a first round of presidential elections on 25 October. The presidential elections in December were a runoff between Jean Louis Robinson and Hery Rajaonarimampianina, the top two candidates to emerge from the first round of voting in October. The official results of the second round are expected to be announced on 7 January 2014.
The final plan for the complete destruction of Syrian weapons is yet to be approved. However, it has been decided that the most hazardous chemical weapons of Syria will be neutralized by the U.S.A. on a ship.
The Communist Party of Nepal - Unified Marxist–Leninist (CPN-UML) has put forward a demand for re election for the post of President and Vice President. A number of political parties supported by the High-level Political Committee (HLPC) are in the process of reaching a consensus regarding the launch of a formal probe into the recently conducted elections.
Libya’s interim government, established after the 2011 revolution, extended the deadline to hold elections and draft a new constitution, by one year to give itself extra time for the process.
A constitutional referendum was held in Croatia on 1 December 2013. The proposed amendment to the constitution would define marriage as being between a man and a woman, which would create a constitutional prohibition against same-sex marriage. The proposed amendment was carried after processing all of the ballots, the State Election Commission announced that 65.87% voted yes, 33.51% no and 0.57% of ballots were disregarded as invalid. 37.9% of eligible voters voted.
Protest in Thailand escalated, after the Thai opposition party formally resigned from the parliament as a gesture of protest against the present government. Led by Suthep Thaugsuban, the protestors remain adamant on their demand of the resignation of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra’s government. In an attempt to assuage the protestors the P.M. has proposed implementation of political reforms after the proposed elections.
Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s refused to sign a closer integration deal with European Union (E.U.). This refusal sparked massive protest across Ukraine. The protest called by the leaders of the opposition at Kiev, turned violent when met with a strict crackdown by the government. Amidst international pressure and continuous protest President Yanukovych’s had to withdraw the police forces and invite the leaders of opposition for talks. The opposition even called for a vote of no-confidence against the government, which failed to get a majority in the parliament.
Bangladesh continues to remain in the grip of violence as the protest led by The Bangladeshi National Party (BNP) leader Khaleda Zia against the Sheikh Hassina led interim government, continued. False cases against BNP leaders and the schedule of Bangladesh’s impending parliamentary elections are the main issues of these protests. The protest has claimed the lives of many and caused significant damage to public and private properties.
South Africa’s ruling party African National Congress (ANC) criticized the leak of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s reports which elaborated upon the extravagant expenditure made on President Jacob Zuma’s house. ANC claimed the reports were leaked to malign the party and president’s image before the upcoming general elections.
Iran censured the proposed Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) between U.S.A. and Afghanistan, which would allow stationing of about 12,000 troops in Afghanistan. The pact might have a detrimental effect on Afghanistan’s stability in the long run, and on the stability of the neighboring regions, namely, China, Pakistan, India, Iran, the Central Asian Republics, and Russia. NATO refused supplement U.S. troops in Afghanistan post 2014 if the proposed BSA failed.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s party achieved majority in the recently conducted Local council and Mayor elections. The ruling Socialist Party managed to get more than 49 % of the votes.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe praised the newly passed Japanese secrecy law as being beneficial for their national security. However, critics of the law dubbed it as anti-democratic.
Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first ‘black’ president, passed away at the age of 95 this month. His body was laid to rest at Qunu, Eastern Cape, after a state funeral in which dignitaries from around the world including Indian President Pranab Mukherjee went to pay their respect to the iconic leader.
Jamaat-e-Islami leader Abdul Quader Mollah, was hanged by the Bangladeshi court for perpetuation of the genocide during the 1971 Bangladesh liberation war. The execution led to protests across Bangladesh.
Belgium senate passed the Bill that legalized administration of Euthanasia (mercy killing) for incurably ill children suffering from immense physical pain.
Violence erupted between the Government and rebel forces in Sudan, when Sudan’s dissatisfied politicians and militia led by its former vice president, attempted to engineer a coup to overthrow the South Sudanese Government. After losing the control of Bor, the capital of a significant oil producing state, the forces of the government managed to wrest it back from the rebels.
The political allies of Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, recently got implicated in the charges of corruption. Given the severity of the charges the Prime minister will reshuffle the cabinet.
