Lull in violence offers hope for end to Ethiopia’s war

Significance Following a recent federal offensive, Tigrayan forces have largely withdrawn from neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions and federal authorities have said they will not pursue them. Amid hopes this could open a window for peace talks, the federal government is pushing forward with plans for a wider national dialogue. Impacts Some improvements in the humanitarian situation may be expected, but needs will remain extremely high. Reduced conflict (alongside escalating crises in neighbouring Sudan and Somalia) may temporarily ease pressure from Western partners. Ongoing instability in Oromia and related Oromo-Amhara tensions will test the key Oromo-Amhara alliance within the ruling party.

Ndugai’s exit stresses Tanzania ruling party divisions

Headline TANZANIA: Ndugai’s exit stresses ruling party tensions

Pelaksanaan Sistem Pemerintahan Presidensial Dengan Multi Partai Di Indonesia

The government system in post-reform Indonesia is a presidential system with many parties. The advantage of this system is that it is more democratic because many parties are considered to accommodate the wishes and interests of people from various backgrounds through political parties, while the weakness is that it is difficult for the ruling party if it is not in the majority. The purpose of this study was to determine the implementation of a presidential system of multi-party governance in post-reform Indonesia. The results of the study are that in a presidential government system with many parties (multi-party system) such as in Indonesia, it will cause problems if no political party wins the election with a majority vote, the President must build a coalition with a number of political parties that have representatives in the House of Representatives (DPR). DPR). Since the holding of the 1999 and 2004 elections, there have been efforts to simplify political parties, by reducing the number of election participants through the electoral threshold and then changing since 2009 to reducing the number of political parties that may sit in parliament by using the minimum threshold requirement (parliamentary threshold). However, this method has not been successful because there are still relatively many political parties sitting in parliament, this is due to the parliamentary threshold that is too small. Ideally, the parliamentary threshold, which was previously 4% in the 2019 election, is raised to 8% in the 2024 election. Thus, a strong, effective and stable presidential government system with only 4 (four) to 6 (six) political parties will be realized.

Is the Anti-Incumbency Sentiment Changing in Tamil Nadu? A Case Study of 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly Elections

Elections are the most important pillar of democracy. A voter's behaviour is influenced by many parameters that can turn the outcome of the election. Many constituencies follow a certain voting pattern. The voters of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, have often been categorized as having an anti-incumbency sentiment, where the ruling party has often switched in every consecutive election. However, there seems to be a gradual shift in this sentiment. This paper presents a case on the relaxation of the anti-incumbency sentiment by analyzing the voting data across the constituencies in the five elections of the last two decades. Some aspects which could have contributed to this voting behaviour are also discussed.

‘The Nir Coalition’ in 1959 and the Opposition Struggle against Mapai

The article deals with the opposition’s success in electing a new Speaker of the Knesset who was not member of ruling party – Mapai. The Mapai Speaker of the Knesset, Yosef Sprinzak, had died in January 1959, and the natural candidate to replace him was Moshe Sharett, an honorable member of Mapai. Sharrett however, turned down the nomination, and the party leaders chose a pale political figure, MK Berl Locker, to run in his stead. As a result of this choice, Yochanan Bader of the Heruth Movement proposed a new candidate – MK Nachum Nir who was not a member of the Mapai party but of Ahdut Ha-Avodah. The vote took place in March 1959, and Nir won, marking the first time a non-Mapai figure was elected to a state position, a highly significant event in Israel’s political history.

The time–space tactics of Chinese Buddhist and Taoist believers under state–religion tension

This study explores the experience of elderly rural Buddhist and Taoist believers in communist China where the ruling party has maintained decades-long regulatory control over religion. Based on ethnographic observation and oral histories, the analysis begins with how the actors made sense of and coped in their relationship with the state during the fieldwork period (May–June 2020) when state regulations restricted public religious practice because of COVID-19. The analysis then looks back on how practitioners experienced tightening state ideological control from the early 2010s to before COVID-19; further back at the religious revival during the opening and reform (1980s–2010s); and finally, the Cultural Revolution period (1960s–70s) when strict atheistic measures were imposed. Their narratives reveal the practical logic (habitus) which practitioners used to mediate their resistance against and compromise with the authoritarian state. Specifically, four logical modes that involve actors’ different time–space tactics were identified, namely state–religion disengagement, state–religion enhancement, religious (dis)enlightenment, and karma. The implications of these ostensibly conflicting modes of thinking in mediating the actors’ resistance–compliance interface in contemporary China are discussed.

Hungary opposition will give ruling party tough fight

Headline HUNGARY: Opposition will give ruling party tough fight

Buhari's electoral bill veto may weaken ruling party

Headline NIGERIA: Electoral bill veto may weaken ruling party

Polityka w cieniu koronawirusa

Politics in the Shadow of COVID-19: Parliamentary Election in the Kingdom of the Netherlands On March 15-17, 2021, the first parliamentary elections in the European Union during the pandemic took place in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The political authorities of the Kingdom of the Netherlands decided to hold the elections despite severe sanitary restrictions and curfew. On January 15, 2021, the outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, chairman of the People’s Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), handed over the resignation of the entire government to the King. The immediate cause was the report of the parliamentary investigative commission announced in December 2020 on the extremely restrictive operation of local tax offices in connection with government child benefits. Mark Rutte has been running the country efficiently since 2010 and was also a favorite in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The elections were conducted without any disturbances. 37 parties were admitted to elections, the largest number in the post-war history of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The election winners were ruling party VVD party and progressive liberals from D’66. The discussion on the formation of the new government has already started and is accompanied by great emotions. It is going to be a long period of negotiations and their results are difficult to be predicted. The article presents the main actors of this parliamentary game.

Wybory parlamentarne w Serbii w 2020 roku – szczyt dominacji politycznej Serbskiej Partii Postępowej?

Serbia’s Parliamentary Elections in 2020: The Peak of Political Domination of the Serbian Progressive Party? The Serbian parliamentary elections in 2020 were not groundbreaking in political terms, but their results directly determine the immediate future of Serbs. Taking into account the current geopolitical situation in Serbia, it should be emphasized that the next four years may prove critical for the international position of this country. The elections on June 21 were special due to the circumstances in which they were held. Among them, the global problem should be mentioned – the coronavirus pandemic, which paralyzed the functioning of many countries, including Serbia. The second important factor relates to the largest anti-government protests since 2000, which began in late 2018 and lasted until the state of emergency declaration due to the threat of COVID-19. The results of the parliamentary elections in 2020 should be interpreted as the strengthening of the Serbian Progressive Party and its leader Aleksandar Vučić. Moreover, it is a clear signal that the opposition still do not have adequate public support to compete effectively with the ruling party. Nowadays, there are no political conditions for an alternation of power in Serbia. Following the impressive victory in the parliamentary elections, the Serbian Progressive Party may continue the process of increasing influence in the most important state organs.