Romania's constitutional court has confirmed Traian Basescu's re-election as president, turning down a rival's appeal for the vote to be quashed.[from the BBC news here]
It had ordered 138,000 void ballots to be recounted after Mr Basescu won by a narrow margin of 70,000 votes.
Rival Mircea Geoana had called for the vote to be quashed, alleging fraud.
His Social Democrat party said it knew of 13,000 cases of multiple voting, and had received nationwide reports of bribery and vote-rigging.
"The constitutional court confirms that Mr Basescu is elected as president of Romania, having picked up the largest number of votes cast," said a statement released by the court.
"The court unanimously rejected a request by the Social Democratic Party to cancel the second round of voting held on 6 December."
Some 10.4m votes were cast from among 18m eligible voters in last weekend's presidential election.
Election observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe said the vote had generally met commitments made, but urged authorities to investigate reports of irregularities.
The confirmation of Mr Basescu's election win means a new prime minister can be appointed and a new government formed.
Romania has been run by a caretaker government since October.
The presidential election is Romania's first as a member of the European Union.
Friday 18 December 2009
Monday's news: on Friday
Swiss minaret appeal goes to European Court
An appeal against last month's decision by Swiss voters to ban minarets has been submitted to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.[from the BBC news here]
The appeal was lodged by Hafid Ouardiri, an Algerian-born Muslim and a former spokesman for the Geneva Mosque.
Mr Ouardiri wants the court to rule that the ban is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Some 57.5% of Swiss voters and 22 out of 26 cantons - or provinces - voted in favour of the ban last month.
The referendum proposal was put forward by the Swiss People's Party (SVP), the largest party in parliament, which said minarets were a sign of Islamisation.
Switzerland's federal government had urged Swiss voters to reject it, warning it would contravene religious freedom and human rights and could stoke extremism.
A lawyer for Mr Ouardiri, Pierre de Preux, said the appeal would lead to unusual proceedings in Strasbourg, with both sides effectively opposing the measure backed in the poll.
The Strasbourg authorities are expected to take up to 18 months to determine whether Mr Ouardiri's complaint is "formally receivable", the Geneva-based lawyer said.
Once the request is approved, it could take a few more years to reach a ruling, he said.
Switzerland is home to some 400,000 Muslims and has just four minarets.
After Christianity, Islam is the most widespread religion in Switzerland, but it remains relatively hidden.
Tuesday 8 December 2009
75 thousand asylum seekers granted protection status in the EU in 2008
About 75 thousand asylum seekers were granted protection status in the EU Member States in 2008. This represents more than one-third of the world-wide decisions granting protection, and makes the EU the region with the highest number of asylum seekers who received a protection status.
The majority of the asylum seekers that lodged an asylum claim in the EU see however their claim rejected. Over 70 percent of all claims are rejected at the first instance of the asylum procedure.
More than 75 percent of those who in response to this rejection lodge an appeal are eventually rejected at the final instance.
Out of those who were granted protection last year more than 40 thousand persons were granted refugee status and 25.5 thousand persons received a subsidiary protection status.
11 thousand obtained an authorisation to stay for humanitarian reasons as provided under national legislation.
With 16.6 thousand persons, Iraqis were by far the largest group of beneficiaries of protection status in the EU last year.
- published by Eurostat here.
Crisis Group's Call for Support
Dear Crisis Group Supporters,
2009 has been another eventful year in international relations, and on behalf of all of us at Crisis Group, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for joining in our efforts to prevent deadly conflict. Whether by using our reports, engaging us in policy debates, or providing us with much needed financial support, you play a critical role in assisting our efforts in the pursuit of peace and security.
It has been almost six months since I took on the position of Crisis Group’s President, and I am constantly impressed with the calibre of all associated with the organisation—our Board members and staff, our Council members and supporters as well as Crisis Group’s interlocutors in the field and advocacy capitals.
I write today to provide you with a very brief update on some of this year’s key issues, a look towards 2010 and to let you know of an important year-end Matching Challenge.
We have continued to produce timely hard-hitting reports on a wide range of situations all over the world, often putting in the public domain ideas and recommendations that diplomats and political actors welcome privately and eventually incorporate into their policy orientations. Even when we do not succeed in preventing altogether recourse to unlawful deadly force in conflict, our engagement, in Sri Lanka for example, clearly serves to mitigate the devastation.
We cover some 60 conflicts, some heavily mediatised, others that would be almost invisible among opinion makers but for our intervention. We increasingly use podcasts, videos, blogs and other interactive features online—all of which have helped Crisis Group improve its efficacy and expand its reach even further.
Crisis Group will continue to build on our achievements in 2010 as the authoritative source of field-based insights, analyses and recommendations and as a prime reference for international and domestic policymakers on conflict resolution. We will remain engaged in debates involving many actors in complex situations, such as Afghanistan/Pakistan, the Middle East and Sudan, while continuing to draw attention to preventive opportunities in situations that, if neglected, could enflame entire2 0countries and regions. Our current work on Guinea is a good example of our efforts to intervene early in less known but potentially deadly emerging conflicts.
We look forward to your continued support of our efforts. Maintaining a diverse funding base is critical to preserving Crisis Group's political independence and credibility, and it is with this in mind that we are pleased to announce a year-end Matching Challenge. Thanks to the generous initiative of Crisis Group Board member, Frank Giustra, contributions up to a total of $500,000 made to Crisis Group before the end of the year will be doubled. We hope that you will help us meet this Challenge as we, collectively, continue to rise to the challenge of the advancement of international peace and security.
Once again, thank you so much for your involvement with Crisis Group. I wish you and your family the very best in this holiday season and for the New Year.
Yours sincerely,
Louise Arbour
President
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