Washington, U.S.A. — The Coalition of Americans for Political Equality PAC (CAPE PAC) is launching a major Get-Out-the-Vote (GOTV) campaign targeting Independent voters in support of U.S. Senate candidate Jeff Flake in the August 28 Republican primary.

Flake currently represents the Sixth Congressional District of Arizona and is serving his sixth term in Congress. His opponent in the Republican Senate primary race is real estate mogul Wil Cardon.

“Our aim is to target Independents in Arizona to raise awareness about Congressman Flake and help GOTV for him in the primary at the end of August,” CAPE PAC’s Chairman Jeff Loyd said.

According to the June voter registration report from Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett, there are currently 3.1 million registered voters in the state. Approximately two-thirds of registered voters are either Democrat or Republican, whereas over one million are listed as “Other” or Independent.

Arizona ‘s primaries are semi-closed, which means that Democrats cannot vote in Republican primaries and vice versa. However, registered Independent voters can participate in whichever primary they choose. Still, one of the largest issues in Arizona is that Independent voters do not know that they can vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries.

“Unfortunately many of these Independent voters don’t realize their rights and that they can still get out and vote for whomever they choose. Our efforts are aimed at helping to spread the word with Independents in Arizona about what a great Senator Jeff Flake will make. We hope to keep a seat in Arizona for the Republican Party, and help Flake become a strong, fiscal Conservative voice for The Grand Canyon State in the years to come,” Loyd said.

CAPE PAC expects to reach hundreds of thousands of Independent voters in the weeks leading up to the late August primary to help Flake get past the primary and head to election victory in November.

CAPE PAC has participated in various other elections through the United States, including Republican primaries in Indiana, Nebraska and Texas. The PAC uses digital media and broadcast/phone call campaign efforts to support strong Conservative candidates.

The Coalition of Americans for Political Equality Political Action Committee (CAPE PAC) is a non-profit political organization dedicated to restoring conservative values in the politicians elected to represent all citizens of the United States of America. Through the utilization of tools in the CAPE PAC advocacy center, CAPE PAC claims to assist an informed and active citizenry in their drive for change in the political landscape this November and beyond.

Image Courtesy of   homeros / Shutterstock.com

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The Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate, Mohammed Mursi, addressed Egyptian voters on Tuesday May 29, 2012 about concerns that his presidency would result in a strict Islamic state. Mursi claimed that not only would his Egyptian government be secular but he would emphasize the creation of an institution for the executive office instead of the presidency being one person.

Mursi spoke after his rival’s, Ahmed Shafiq’s, headquarters were attacked. Several store rooms were set fire to and computers were smashed.

Ahmed Shafiq, the rival to Mursi, was the prime minister under Mubarak, the former president removed through the most recent coup during the Arab Spring. Many of the youth voters are distrustful of Shafiq because of his relationship with the previous regime. However, many moderates support Shafiq because of his war and business records. He fought in three wars, including the Arab-Israeli conflict, as an air force pilot. He then went on to renovate EgyptAir which made the airline competitive and increased tourism.

Mursi claimed, “the Superman era is over,” emphasizing his desire to create an institution for the Presidency. Mursi also insisted that he would appoint individuals from opposing parties, not only from the Muslim Brotherhood.

The candidate addressed social issues in his speech as well. He made specific mention of the Coptic Christians and that they are the ‘brothers’ of Muslims and “will have full rights that are equal to those enjoyed by Muslims.” Additionally, Mursi claimed that Islamic dress codes would not be enforced; therefore, women would not be forced to wear the hijab. Mursi stated, “women have a right to freely choose the attire that suits them.”

Mursi’s statements came out amidst pressures from many Egyptian parties to have a candidate guarantee social reforms and political participation for all. There are also worries that the Muslim Brotherhood would create an autocratic rule or a government like that in Iran.

Originally the Muslim Brotherhood claimed that they would not put forth a presidential candidate and would focus solely on the parliament seats. The existence of Mursi as a presidential candidate at all thus reduces the Brotherhood’s credibility.

Mursi’s statement has indeed peaked the interest of several Egyptian political groups including the Social Democratic Party, the Ghad Party, and representatives from the National Association for Change. However these groups are still distrustful of both Shafiq and Mursi and have organized to demand more promises and action from Mursi before they agree to support him. Ayman Nour, head of the Ghad party, stated that the first condition was Mursi’s resignation from the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party. Mursi is currently the chairman of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Freedom and Justice Party and he stated that if he were to be elected president he would immediately resign his position.

The parties also demand that a presidential team of ten political figures from varying backgrounds be added to the executive branch to ensure that the minorities and underrepresented are no longer discriminated against or denied a voice. Additionally the parties request that a special committee be created to recombine the political programs of different presidential candidates to form a kind of national project.

Although these parties are willing to at least bargain with Mursi other parties are still very distrustful. The Wafd Party still claims that it will neither endorse Mursi nor Shafiq and finds neither candidate suitable. In addition there is a boycotting campaign for those who prefer neither candidate.

The most recent polls show Mursi only one percentage point ahead of Shafiq. The race will be very close and both candidates will need to win over the youth vote especially or risk losing those who created and supported the revolution.

Image Courtesy of  MOHPhoto / Shutterstock.com

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Lesotho held its closest general elections last Sunday May 26, 2012. The current Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili won the election for the fourth time and his party also took 41 seats in the National Assembly.

Mosisili’s party, The Democratic Congress, holds the simple majority to needed to run the government. The leading opposition party, All Basotho Convention, won 26 seats in the lower house although Thomas Thabane lost the election for Prime Minister.

The Lesotho Congress for Democracy gained 12 seats while the final opposition party won the last seat. The Lesotho Congress for Democracy is Mosisili’s former party and under which he won the 1998, 2002, and 2007 elections. The Democratic Congress, Lesotho Congress for Democracy, and All Basotho Convention originally came from the same party which means that they do not have significantly different positions from each other.

Lesotho, “the world’s highest country”, is a constitutional monarchy with a bicameral legislature, but only the lower house, the National Assembly, is elected; the Senate, the upper-house, is appointed.

All of the parties are trying to address the greatest issues at stake in the country. Currently poverty and lack of employment are the greatest threats.

Mosisili has been blamed for not emphasizing the development of mining in the country, one of its main resources, but these economic problems are further exacerbated by Chinese immigrants and South Africa. Lesotho is surrounded by South Africa and Lesotho’s economy is dependent on South Africa hiring its people. However, with the decline in the global economy fewer Basotho (people of Lesotho) are being hired.

Lesotho also has a high rate of Chinese immigration. Many of the Chinese are creating businesses that are causing the local Basotho businesses to fail. This situation is creating a lot of tension between the Basotho community and the Chinese community in Lesotho. Only the All Basotho Convention has addressed this tension in its platforms which makes them somewhat unique in the country.

Another problem in the country that all of the parties are trying to address is the AIDS epidemic, specifically that over a quarter of the population is HIV positive. Additionally educational reforms need to be enacted and more schools are needed across the country.

According to the BBC, Tom Thabane, the head of the All Basotho party and former prime minister candidate, has formed a coalition of the All Bastho Convention, the Lesotho Congress of Democracy, and two smaller parties to create a greater majority than the Democratic Congress’s. According to Thabane, “We have gone way below what we were a few years ago, and that’s inexplicable…we put power in the hands of the wrong people and we are taking it away from them.”

In 1998 the elections, when Mosisili took power, were full of strife and coups. The end to this political instability came when the South African military intervened and started Lesotho on a path to democracy. Even though this election was a controversial one it has been reported as peaceful and credible according to allAfrica.com.

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In a Texas case that could have implications for other voting rights cases nationwide, the Supreme Court on Friday Jan 20, rejected a lower court’s redistricting plans for the state’s new electoral seats, which could pose constitutional concerns.

According to the 2010 Census, Texas’ population grew by more than four million people in the last decade – 65% of which is attributed to Hispanics – giving the state four additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives and requiring changes in the election districts for the State Legislature.

Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, jurisdictions labeled as historically discriminatory in electoral procedures (including Texas) must submit plans for changes affecting voting to the Attorney General or the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The Texas Legislature’s initial set of election maps had not been approved at the time of Texas’ first primaries, leading the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas to create its own map for use in the interim.

The Texas court’s map gives greater voting power to the new population, which is largely minority, whereas the Legislature’s map seems to dilute the electoral power of the Hispanic and African American voters. The Supreme Court determined that the lower court had overstepped its authority, and ordered it to adhere more closely to the original plan.

“Election redistricting is an extremely important and delicate undertaking, with many opportunities for the empowerment or disenfranchisement a particular group of citizens,” said Benny Agosto, HNBA National President and Texas resident. “The HNBA is concerned about the constitutional implications of this decision, and the potential ripple-effect on redistricting disputes in which Latino voters’ rights are at stake.

As a national advocate for Latino voting rights, the HNBA will continue to follow these developments closely to ensure that democracy is not being compromised.”

“Protecting the Hispanic community’s electoral voice and the right to elect their candidate of choice is paramount. HNBA stands behind efforts to ensure that redistricting maps comply with the Voting Rights Act. Maps in Texas, and throughout the country, must account for the growth in the Hispanic population,” added Celeste Villarreal, HNBA Vice President of External Affairs.

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Early Wednesday, Kizza Besigye, the Ugandan opposition leader who has spearheaded the recent protests against rising fuel prices and the election of his opponent, President Yoweri Museveni, claimed that he had been barred from returning to his country after receiving medical treatment in Kenya. Two weeks ago, Dr. Besigye was violently arrested during a protest. After posting bail, he travelled to the neighboring country to be treated for eye injuries he suffered when police attacked his vehicle. They had drenched him with pepper spray and hauled him onto a pick-up truck, according to Reuters.

Dr. Besigye has been highly critical of the incumbent President and the recent elections which he believes was rigged.

The east African country has been plagued by violent clashed between demonstrators and police during protests against rising food and fuel prices. The Daily Mail reported that President Museveni, in power for 25 years, is accusing the opposition of trying to spread chaos to avenge their defeat in February’s disputed presidential elections, in which he won by 68%.

The opposition was heading “walk to work” protests which urge Ugandans to leave their cars at home on Mondays and Thursdays in solidarity with those who cannot afford fuel. However, the protests have sparked violence in the capital Kampala, as well as other major cities for nearly a month, leaving scores of people injured. On Monday, at least nine unarmed people are believed to have been killed – Reuters report that three were shot in the back as they fled security forces.

The scene of the clashed, in pictures, show special water cannons spraying protestors with pink liquid spray. This practice is common in Uganda and elsewhere on the continent, having been used during the Apartheid era in South Africa, most famously in the 1989 Purple Rain Protest in Cape Town, The Daily Mail explains.

After Besigye had left for Kenya, his officials told Reuters that upon his return he would stage a “national prayer” rally on the same day as the inauguration ceremony for Museveni which is tomorrow, Thursday. However, before noon on Wednesday, Beignye told the BBC from Nairobi airport that he had been indirectly denied re-entry to Uganda. “The Ugandan government had told the Kenya Airways chief executive that if they board us the aircraft will not be allowed to land in Uganda and that we were not welcome and that therefore they had absolutely nothing to do if they wanted to fly to Uganda but offload us,” he stated.

The Ugandan authorities have denied any role in the matter. “The government of Uganda has nothing to do with Dr. Besigye’s travel plans from Kenya or any sovereign state,” Fred Opolot, director of the government media centre, stated at a news conference in Kampala. “The understanding is that Dr. Besigye, as per communication from his party, is on his way from Nairobi and should arrive sometime today,” he continued as reported by Reuters.

At noon, Dr Besigye confirmed that he had been given permission to return to the BBC, but had no explanation as to why the authorities had reversed their decision.

It is not clear whether the confusion was a misunderstanding between officials, or a ploy to entice or dwindle the demonstrators.

Dr. Besigye and Mr Museveni are former colleagues, but fell out about 10 years ago. According to the BBC, Besigye had left the country but returned in 2005 with the introduction of multi-party politics.

Photo provided by besigyekizza

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The Egyptian revolution has begun to transition into an administrative phase as the first rounds of voting commence in the coming weeks. Working towards a stable, democratic government, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has appointed a committee to revise Egypt’s constitution, and prepare for the upcoming elections.

On March 19 a public referendum scheduled to take place, will set the preliminary measures by which Egypt’s political future will be defined. In polling stations open to the public from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Egyptians will determine whether they agree to amendments made on 8 articles in the constitution (75, 76, 77, 88, 93, 139 and 149 and the cancellation of Article 179).

Article 75 now states that a president—of at least 40 years old— must be borne by two Egyptian Parents, and cannot marry a foreign wife—Mubarak’s wife, Suzanne, was half Welsh.

Article 76 outlines the eligibility of a candidate to run for president: the candidate should be endorsed by 30 members from the People`s Assembly or the Shura Council (the lower and upper houses of parliament); receive 30,000 signatures from Egyptians from 15 Governorates; or be a member of a party that holds at least one seat in Parliament.

Article 77 restricts a president from serving more than two terms in office, each lasting four years. No limit previously existed, and Mubarak was able to hold five, six-year terms.

Article 88 was modified to allow judicial oversight during the election process—from voter lists to the announcement of results.

Article 89 concerns the means to amend the constitution, ensuring that the next elected parliament will form a 100 member elected commission to draft a new constitution within the first six months after its election.

Article 93 has been amended so the Supreme Constitutional Court is the sole arbitrator on contested memberships. Previously, the People’s Assembly had authority in determining the validity of the parliamentary membership.

Article 139 requires a president to appoint a vice president within the first two months of inauguration.

Under article 148, if the president wants to apply the State of Emergency for over six months, it must be approved by a public referendum. Formerly, the Emergency Law could be renewed by the People’s Assembly.

If passed, the changes will be the basis for parliamentary elections scheduled for June, and the presidential election in August.

“We are putting them [the amendments] to public debate now,” said Sobhi Saleh, the only member of the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood on the committee. “If there is a substantive challenge, we will take it into consideration.”

The June elections will affect the formation of political parties in parliament and consequently establish nominees for the presidency.

Anticipated frontrunners emerging are Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, and former International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed ElBaradei.

ElBaradei, 68, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005, said he will vote in opposition to the March 19 amendments, pushing for a new constitution to be drafted. “The current constitution fell. It would be an insult to the revolution if we decided to retrieve this constitution.”

On March 9 Moussa, 74, the most prominent figure to announce his candidacy, stated he “would not be another Mubarak.” Popular amongst middle class Egyptians, Moussa’s future plans include peace with Israel, cooperation in favor of submission to U.S. relations, political integration between the Muslim Brotherhood and Copts, and encouragement for women and the younger generation to become involved in Egypt’s future. “The choice should be to the people.”

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