"The situation for Merkel is grave," according to German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung (AFP/File /)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced a bitter political reality on Monday after the parties in her fragile coalition suffered heavy losses in a key regional election and a junior partner made threats to quit.
Sunday's blow for Merkel's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) in Hesse was the latest state poll marred by the image of the right-left "grand coalition" government limping from crisis to crisis at a federal level.
"The situation for Merkel is grave," daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung said late Sunday. "Now the question is whether we'll soon have to write 'in liquidation' after her coalition."
Preliminary final results showed both of the formerly dominant parties being hit with losses of around 11 percentage points in Hesse, western Germany, compared with the last election in 2013, although the CDU still claimed first place with 27 percent of the vote.
Meanwhile, the SPD tumbled to a tie for second place with the up-and-coming ecologist Greens, each at 19.8 percent.
Showing political gains was the far-right anti-immigrant party Alternative for Germany (AfD) which took 13.1 percent of the vote to enter the Hesse state legislature for the first time.
That result would allow the current state government of CDU and Greens to continue, albeit with a thinner majority.
- 'Unacceptable' -
Merkel's first order of business when she speaks at 1pm (1200 GMT) in Berlin will be bucking up the Social Democrats, who have threatened to leave the federal coalition that many blame for years of disappointing electoral setbacks.
That would almost certainly trigger fresh elections and perhaps the end of Merkel's political career.
"The state of the government is unacceptable," SPD general secretary Andrea Nahles said on Sunday, demanding from the CDU a "clear, binding roadmap for politics in the interest of the citizens".
She was seeking to strike a sober contrast to the highly personal internal quarrels of the conservative camp in recent months.
The ruling parties are like "two people drowning while chained to each other," political scientist Hans Vorlaender of the University of Dresden told public broadcaster ARD.
The government almost collapsed twice over the summer, notably when Merkel restrained hardline interior minister Horst Seehofer's attempts to toughen up migrant policy.
Armed with Nahles's checklist, by September 2019 the SPD "will be able to see whether this government is still the right place for us", the party leader said in an implicit threat to the chancellor.
After federal elections in September 2017 defined by sharp drops for both the centre-right and left and the appearance of the far-right in the Bundestag (parliament) for the first time, the SPD agreed only reluctantly to back Merkel yet again.
- Rendez-vous in December -
Increasing numbers of SPD members are calling for the party to quit government immediately and lick its wounds in opposition, as it is presently polling below AfD nationwide, at 15 percent to the far-right's 16 percent.
But Merkel also has to shore up support among her own party, where more and more members are calling her leadership into question.
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer -- widely seen as the chancellor's anointed successor -- spoke of a "very painful" night for the CDU in Hesse.
It was the second regional vote in quick succession to disappoint the conservative camp, after a battering in Bavaria two weeks ago.
Merkel's 13 years in power have piled up baggage from repeated compromise-laden "grand coalitions" with the SPD, as well as a fateful 2015 decision to keep Germany's borders open, ultimately allowing in more than one million migrants.
The mass arrivals are credited with fuelling the rise of the far-right, but Merkel has resisted calls to steer the CDU further rightward in response.
Although there are many months before the next regional poll, a vote touching the chancellor more personally is slated for December, when she must stand for reelection as party chief.
"In Merkel's situation, clinging on would be a worse mistake" than giving up the party presidency, conservative daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung commented late Sunday.
"By passing the baton of her own free will she would show that she knows the same thing everyone knows: the end of her chancellorship is approaching."
This year's campaign saw fierce attacks on Keita's perceived failure to dampen a wave of jihadist bloodshed and ethnic violence, as well as mounting accusations of fraud during July's first round vote (AFP / ISSOUF SANOGO)
A polling station chief was killed by suspected jihadists in northern Mali as security concerns disrupted a presidential runoff vote on Sunday.
Security had been drastically boosted ahead of the election's second round between President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and former finance minister Soumaila Cisse.
But over 100 stations had to be closed in the restive central and northern regions, according to local observer group POCIM.
"Jihadists came this Sunday around 13:30 (1330 GMT) to a polling station in Arkodia," in the northern Timbuktu region, a local official told AFP.
"They asked everyone to put their hands up. The polling station president tried to escape. The jihadists shot and killed him," the source said.
Counting was underway in some of the 23,000 polling stations across the country after voting ended at 1800 GMT.
The first round vote on July 29 was marred by violence and threats from armed groups that led to several hundred polling stations being closed -- but no casualties had been reported.
Authorities in the vast West African nation said Saturday they had disrupted a plot to carry out "targeted attacks" in the capital Bamako on the eve of the vote.
Sunday's ballot in Mali is a rerun of a 2013 faceoff between Keita, 73, and Cisse, 68, amid a wave of jihadist bloodshed and ethnic violence.
This year's campaign saw fierce attacks on Keita's perceived failure to halt the violence, as well as mounting accusations of vote fraud.
But public enthusiasm has been low and the opposition is fractured.
"We hope the new president does better and knows how to make up for past mistakes," voter El Hajd Aliou Sow, a retired civil servant, told AFP.
Mali, a landlocked nation home to at least 20 ethnic groups where the majority of people live on less than $2 a day, has battled jihadist attacks and intercommunal violence for years.
After the first-round vote the pool of candidates was reduced from 24 to two, as Keita was credited with 42 percent of the vote and Cisse picked up 18 percent.
- Fraud claims -
Keita cast his vote in Bamako shortly after 0900 GMT Sunday and warned against "staged" electoral fraud after accusations of ballot box stuffing and other irregularities.
"How could you stage fraud when you are assured of the support of your people?" Keita said.
Cisse's party told AFP in the early hours of Sunday that ballot papers were already circulating, several hours before polls opened.
In at least five stations in the capital of Bamako, voting reports -- which give the number of voters and votes cast for each candidate -- were signed before the numbers were filled in, an AFP journalist witnessed.
"It is like signing a blank cheque," a source close to the organisation of the poll said. "You can imagine what happens in the rest of the country."
The three main opposition candidates had mounted a last-ditch legal challenge to the first-round result, alleging ballot-box stuffing and other irregularities. But their petition was rejected by the Constitutional Court.
Cisse has failed to unite the opposition behind him, and first-round challengers have either backed the president or refused to give voting instructions.
Local observers said voter turnout was low amid heavy rains in several regions, the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP) said in a statement.
- Polling stations closed -
Results are expected within five days. Turnout was low in the first round at around 40 percent.
Security had been tightened for the second round, an aide in the prime minister's office said, with 20 percent more soldiers on duty.
But voting could not take place in several areas, including the northern village of Kiname, 120 kilometres (75 miles) from Timbuktu, where "armed men came and took all the voting material to the river bank and set it on fire," a resident told AFP.
"There was no voting in Toguerekotia in the Sossobe district (of the central Mopti region) because of insecurity," WANEP, which has 150 observers across the country, said in a statement.
Outside Mali, the hope is that the winner of the election will strengthen a 2015 accord that the fragile Sahel state sees as its foundation for peace.
The deal brought together the government, government-allied groups and former Tuareg rebels.
But a state of emergency heads into its fourth year in November.
Jihadist violence has spread from the north to the centre and south of the vast country and spilled into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, often inflaming communal conflicts
Almost 40 Nigerian opposition parties have agreed to field a joint candidate to prevent the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari next year.
The alliance includes the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and a splinter group that broke away from Mr Buhari's governing All Progressives Congress (APC) last week.
President Buhari, who came to power in 2015, announced in April that he was seeking his party's approval for running for another term in office.
This has been one the biggest political developments in the run-up to elections in February.
The new coalition says their aim is to defeat the 75-year-old incumbent, whose first term has been beset by poor health, and rescue Nigeria from what they called ''darkness''.
Many serving senators, members of the lower house of parliament and some state governors are believed to be behind the new movement, our reporter says.
Mr Buhari has come in for criticism for his handling of Nigeria's economy, the largest in Africa.
His administration has pointed to the fight against corruption and the military operations against Islamist militant group Boko Haram as some of his achievements.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was signed by the parties at the end of an enlarged meeting at the Yar ‘Adua Centre, Abuja, resolved among others, to field a joint presidential candidate against President Buhari.
The coalition also resolved to agree on common candidates for governorship, National Assembly and state assembly elections across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The MoU, which was read by Chief Tom Ikimi, also resolved to promote core values for the restructuring of the country and sharing of political offices among persons and groups across the six geopolitical zones.
The coalition also promised a unity government in the event of winning the election with a joint manifesto that will usher in a well-structured economic and fiscal federalism.
Besides the PDP, other parties in the coalition include the Action Alliance (AA); Alliance for Democracy (AD); Africa Democratic Party (ADC); Action Democratic Party (ADP); All Grand Alliance Party (AGAP); Action People’s Party (APP); Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD); and Better Nigeria Progressive Party (BNPP).
Others are the Democratic Alternative (DA); Democratic People’s Party (DPC); Grand Democratic Party of Nigeria (GDPN); Green Party of Nigeria (GPN); KOWA Party; Labour Party (LP); Mass Action Joint Alliance (MAJA); and Masses Movement of Nigeria (MMN).
Also in the group are the National Conscience Party (NCP); New Generation Party (NGP); National Unity Party (NUP); Nigeria Intervention Movement (NIM); People’s Alliance for National Development and Liberty (PANDEL); Peoples Progressive Party (PPP); People for Democratic Change (PDC); Providence People’s Congress (PPC); and the Reformed All Progressive Congress (RAPC).
Others are the Restoration Party of Nigeria (RPN); Social Democratic Party (SDP); Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN); All Grassroots Alliance (AGA); National Interest Party (NIP); Nigeria Democratic Congress Party (NDCP); Progressive People’s Alliance (PPA); and Young Democratic Party (YDP) among others.
Speaking at the event, the national chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, said the country has witnessed all forms of intimidation aimed at suffocating democracy in the land.
Secondus also cited what he described as frame-ups, arrest and total breakdown of law and order in some states like Zamfara where the governor had to relinquish his position as the chief security officer.
The PDP chairman said, “Just last week, the APC conquest regime came up with Executive Order which all political watchers, including civil society groups likened to Decree 2 of the military era.
Also speaking at the event, the national chairman of the SDP, Chief Olu Falae, said there was need for the coalition to produce overwhelming majority in the federal and state legislatures to form the required majority for the restructuring of the country.
Speaking as national chairman of the rAPC, Alhaji Buba Galadima said his presence at the event alone signified a lot.
Said he, “I am highly delighted and elated by the presence of the creme de la creme of the Nigerian society seated here. What we are about to do will send the shivers not only to those on the other side but to the entire world.
“We are witnessing a significant event, most diplomats and leaders of other countries of the world keep wondering whether there are men and women of courage and integrity in this country.
“Let me say that since we made a declaration of the formation of the Reformed All Progressives Congress, R-APC, we have received unprecedented messages of support, solidarity from all over the world.
“I am confident that if we put our acts together, should we talk together, if we are fair to ourselves, do things transparently and bring up one man or woman, we will provide future for our children and grandchildren.
“This is not going to be a tea party, there are demands we will be facing. He (Buhari) is a military General, but we know him and you know that I know him. If I were him and if I were his adviser, I would advise him not to attempt to contest.
“I have my reasons. If what I know, if what I have access to and I know, I assure you that General Buhari will not only will lose the election but will lose his deposit.
“I said it is not going to be a tea party because from the day we announced the formation of the Reformed APC, a lot of people received threats, a lot of people received gratification and a lot of people received the pressures from all quarters to persuade them to back out. But one person that most people could not approach I don’t want to mention names.
“Some of us are old soldiers and history said they never died. We are ready, prepared to take on this fight despite any deprivation, intimidation and even torture because this country belongs to all of us.
“They are thinking of setting aside public money which they accused others of using during elections for this purpose. They can use the big stick because you know a desperate person can do anything. He can kill, if he has power, he can arrest and detain but whichever one they choose to do, we are prepared to lay down our lives to save our nation.
“They can say anything, they say we are inconsequential, they said we don’t matter, they said we are inconsequential but when we were forming the party, the APC of which I was one of the nine signatories, those people that are making this noise, we did not see their faces neither did we see their signatures. So how could they say we are inconsequential?
“And if we are inconsequential, why would they run heater skelta, from pole to pole going to the National Assembly to persuade my people that they should not leave? So this is a challenge to them and I assure you seated here that if we put our acts together, talk together, discuss together, the sky is our limit and success is ours”.
Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu who also spoke at the event said signing the MoU would rescue Nigeria in 2019 and restore her to the path of democratic freedoms, joy, security, and development.
Ekweremadu added that the event was a gathering to witness the birth of a new Nigeria and to show that Nigerians have seen hope again. He urged the coalition not to disappoint the Nigerian people.
Ekweremadu said, “For three years, what I see on the faces of Nigerians is frustration and anguish. But for the first time, I tell you that I saw joy. I saw people laughing and smiling for the first time in three years.
“Those our brothers and sisters, and investors, who left Nigeria in the last three years are also rejoicing with you because by this time next year, they will all be back.
“Those factories that were closed are going to come back alive by this time next year and Nigerians will rejoice.
“The people of the South East whom the programmes and practices of this government are forcing them to have a rethink on their membership of this country, today will rejoice and be happy that a new country that will be fair to all is coming; a country that they will be proud to be part of and continue to contribute to her development.
“All our people in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps, who have been wondering or believe that they will spend the rest of their lives in the IDP camps are happy today because their stay there is almost over; because next year, we will enthrone a government that will take them to their homes and protect them there.
“The media houses, all the instruments and institutions of democracy that have been trampled and muzzled in this country, they will be free again to do their work without fear of intimidation.
“Those, who are being persecuted on account of their political views or insisting that the right thing should be done, are also going to rejoice because a new dawn is here.”
Others who also spoke at the gathering include Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola; Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel; former National Secretary the PDP, Senator Ben Obi among others.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he has been "entrusted by the nation" to lead again (AFP / Bulent Kilic)
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan won tightly-contested presidential polls, the election authority said Monday, extending his 15-year grip on power as the opposition complained bitterly about the conduct of the vote count.
Turkish voters had for the first time cast ballots for both president and parliament in the snap polls, with Erdogan looking for a first round knockout and an overall majority for his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The stakes were particularly high as the new president will be the first to enjoy enhanced powers, without even a prime minister, under a new constitution agreed in an April 2017 referendum strongly backed by Erdogan but which opponents say grants autocratic powers.
Erdogan defeated his nearest rival Muharrem Ince with an "absolute majority" of more than half the vote without needing a second round, said the chief of Turkey's election authority, Sadi Guven.
"I have been entrusted by the nation with the task and duties of the presidency," Erdogan said in a victory address at his Istanbul residence.
"Turkey has given a lesson in democracy to the entire world," he added, pointing to an 88 percent turnout.
Erdogan won 52.5 percent in the presidential poll while Ince, of the secular Republican People's Party (CHP), was on 31.5 percent, state-run Anadolu news agency said, based on a 99 percent vote count.
If confirmed, the figures would show Erdogan polling on a similar rating or even stronger than his 2014 election victory where he won his first mandate after over a decade as prime minister.
Celebrations erupted outside Erdogan's residence in Istanbul and AKP headquarters in Ankara, with crowds of flag-waving supporters, AFP correspondents said.
The usually loquacious Ince however remained silent, tweeting only that he would make a statement at 0900 GMT on Monday.
- HDP scores parliament seats -
Trailing were Selahattin Demirtas of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) with over eight percent in third and Meral Aksener of the nationalist (Iyi) Good Party with over seven percent. Read More...
Malaysian leader Najib Razak faced the media but did not give a clear concession of defeat (AFP / MOHD RASFAN)
Malaysia's defeated leader Najib Razak said Thursday he accepted the will of the people after the coalition that has led the country for six decades suffered a shock loss to veteran ex-leader Mahathir Mohamad, 92.
But he did not make a clear concession, and added that it was up to the nation's king to decide who would become the next prime minister as no single party had won a majority parliament.
Analysts warned he could be trying to buy time to win defections from other parties over to his Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, in what would be a desperate bid to cling to power despite a landslide defeat.
Mahathir came out of retirement to take on his former protege Najib, after the leader became embroiled in a massive corruption scandal involving state fund 1MDB that battered Malaysia's international standing.
The veteran politician's victory, announced in the early hours after a bitter, racially charged campaign, defied expectations of a win by BN and sparked celebrations on the streets of the capital Kuala Lumpur overnight.
The opposition faced an uphill battle due to what critics said were no-holds-barred attempts by Najib to hang on to power.
His government was accused of gerrymandering while activists said he hurled cash and gifts at voters and there were a litany or problems with the electoral roll, including dead people appearing on the list.
In his first public comments since the results, Najib -- looking shattered after the shock loss -- told a press conference: "I accept the verdict of the people and BN is committed to the principles of democracy."
However he added that "because no party got a simple majority, the king will decide in a while who will get the confidence of the parliament."
To claim a simple majority in parliament, a party or coalition would require 112 seats.
The opposition alliance, Pact of Hope, along with a small ally on Borneo island, won 121. BN won just 79 -- down from 133 previously.
However the official Election Commission listed the scores for the alliance's separate component parties when they released the results, not the overall score for the alliance as a whole.
- 'Unstatesmanlike' -
James Chin, a Malaysia expert from the University of Tasmania, said Najib's speech was not a concession and there was speculation that he was trying to persuade MPs from other parties to defect to BN.
"This is dangerous -- Malaysians won't accept a long transition period," he told AFP.
Bridget Welsh, an analyst from John Cabot University, slammed his speech as "unstatesmanlike".
"He seems to be in denial. It sends out a message that he's willing to use tactics such as defections and buying people to try to stay in power."
Najib's remarks came as speculation swirled about why Mahathir had not been sworn in as prime minister Thursday, as had been widely expected.
Najib's defeat could be just the start of his problems -- Mahathir has vowed to bring him to justice over allegations that billions of dollars were looted from 1MDB, which the scandal-hit leader set up and oversaw.
Mahathir's return to the political frontlines saw him reconcile with jailed opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim -- his former nemesis.
Despite what critics say were BN's blatant attempts at cheating, the explosive corruption allegations, coupled with anger at rising living costs, proved too much for Malaysia's 15 million voters.
Citizens were already sick of racially divisive politics in the multi-ethnic country and graft scandals under years of rule by the coalition.
In Mahathir, the opposition found the perfect person to take on Najib. He is a staunch Malay nationalist who could appeal to the country's biggest ethnic group, and whose years in power were remembered as a prosperous period in the country's history.
The initial euphoria at the opposition victory will likely give way to some apprehension.
Mahathir was also accused of being an authoritarian leader, and political opponents were thrown in jail during his time in office.
FILE - In this Feb. 11, 2018, file photo, South African Deputy President and African National Congress party President Cyril Ramaphosa, delivers a speech at the Grand Parade in Cape Town, South Africa. Now acting President Ramaphosa is in charge until parliament elects a new leader Thursday, Feb. 15 2018 following the resignation of Jacob Zuma, the government said. (AP Photo)
JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday was elected as South Africa’s new president by ruling party legislators after the resignation of Jacob Zuma.
Ramaphosa was the only candidate nominated for election in the parliament after two opposition parties said they would not participate. The opposition parties instead unsuccessfully called for the dissolution of the National Assembly and early elections.
Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng presided over the parliamentary election and congratulated Ramaphosa, who had been Zuma’s deputy and has called for a fight against corruption.
Zuma resigned after years of scandals that damaged the stature of the ruling African National Congress party.
The opposition Democratic Alliance party will cooperate with Ramaphosa if he acts in the interests of the South African people, said party leader Mmusi Maimane.
“We will hold you accountable and I will see you in 2019 on the ballot box,” Maimane said.
Members of a smaller opposition party walked out of parliament before the election, saying the ruling ANC party plan to choose a new president was “illegitimate.”
Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters party, said ANC lawmakers had failed to hold former Zuma to account for alleged corruption and had therefore violated the constitution.
Ramaphosa is South Africa’s fifth president since majority rule started after the end of apartheid in 1994. On Friday evening, he is expected to deliver the state of the nation address that had been postponed during the ruling party’s days of closed-door negotiations to persuade Zuma to resign.
Zuma resigned in a nationally televised address late Wednesday after the ANC instructed him to step down or face a parliamentary motion of no confidence that he would almost certainly lose.
The South African currency, the rand, strengthened against the dollar in early trading Thursday after Zuma’s resignation, which ended political turmoil that had stalled some government business.
On Thursday the foundation of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, welcomed Zuma’s departure but said the state must act against “networks of criminality” that have hurt the country’s democracy.
As the country marks the centenary of Mandela’s 1918 birth, “there is a need to reckon with the failures of the democratic era,” the foundation said. “We believe that we are at a critical moment in our history, one which offers us the unique opportunity to reflect, to rebuild, and to transform.”
Pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow addressing crowds in Hong Kong ahead of a candlelight vigil to mark the June 4 Tiananmen crackdown in Beijing in 1989 (AFP/File / Anthony WALLACE)
One of Hong Kong's best-known democracy activists was banned Saturday from standing as lawmaker in upcoming elections, the latest blow to freedoms in the city as Beijing tightens its grip.
Agnes Chow, 21, a former leader of the mass Umbrella Movement protests of 2014 that called for political reform, had her nomination rejected because she supports self-determination for the semi-autonomous city, the government said.
It comes as fears grow that political debate in the city is being shut down under pressure from an assertive Beijing, with the recent jailing of democracy activists fuelling concern.
The emergence of campaigners calling for independence for Hong Kong since the failure of the Umbrella Movement to win reform has incensed Beijing, and President Xi Jinping has made it clear that he will not tolerate any challenge to Chinese sovereignty.
The pro-Beijing Hong Kong government has previously barred independence activists from standing for office, but Chow's ban is the first against a more moderate campaigner.
She had been hoping to stand in by-elections in March, which were triggered by the disqualification from the legislature of six lawmakers who protested while taking their oaths of office in 2016.
"Self-determination or changing the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) system by referendum which includes the choice of independence is inconsistent with the constitutional and legal status of HKSAR," the government said.
It added that someone who "advocates or promotes" self-determination or independence cannot uphold the city's mini-constitution, the Basic Law.
Chow is a member of Demosisto, a political party co-founded by leading democracy campaigner Joshua Wong, who is currently out on bail after being jailed for his role in the 2014 rallies.
Demosisto does not campaign for independence but advocates self-determination and a referendum for Hong Kong people to decide how they want to be governed.
The ban on Chow has wide-scale implications for other similar activists wanting to stand for office, including Wong.
Demosisto said it "strongly condemns" what it called a political decision.
"The government's motivation is to eliminate the hopes of an entire generation of young people," it said in a statement.
The ban is also another set-back for the pan-democratic camp, which is trying to win back the six seats it lost due to the disqualifications.
Losing the six seats robbed it of the one-third minority vote needed to block important bills in the pro-Beijing legislature.
Hong Kong was handed back to China in 1997 under a "one country, two systems" deal that grants it a partially elected legislature and rights unseen on the mainland, including freedom of speech and the right to protest.
But there are growing fears those liberties are being eroded.
The Basic Law specifies that Hong Kong is an "inalienable" part of China, but activists say that does not mean views that challenge that status should be silenced, given that freedom of speech is protected.
Members of the Catalan parliament gather for its first session since a failed independence bid (AFP / LLUIS GENE)
By AFP
Catalan lawmakers on Wednesday elected a separatist as parliamentary speaker, the first stage of a plan by pro-independence deputies to get regional leader Carles Puigdemont, in self-exile in Belgium, back into power.
As MPs met for the first time since a failed bid to break from Spain, protesters waving separatist flags gathered outside the assembly in Barcelona where pro-independence parties are in the majority after winning regional elections on December 21.
With 70 out of 135 deputies, they largely favour Puigdemont, sacked by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy along with his cabinet on October 27 after the regional parliament declared unilateral independence, as candidate for president.
- Control of parliament key -
Despite being in Belgium, Puigdemont wants to make a comeback and govern the deeply divided region.
For separatist lawmakers, the first step towards this was to secure control of parliament by getting one of their supporters elected as speaker.
They did precisely that on Wednesday, with 65 lawmakers voting for Roger Torrent, a member of the leftwing separatist ERC party, against 56 who cast their ballot for an anti-independence candidate.
Separatists will also attempt to get a majority of their supporters elected as deputy parliamentary speakers.
These make sure assembly rules are respected and will decide whether Puigdemont and others are allowed to be lawmakers while remaining out of the country.
Including the former Catalan president, five separatists are abroad and risk arrest on charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds for their role in the failed independence bid if they come back to Spain.
A further three pro-independence lawmakers are in jail pending a probe into the same charges.
Large yellow ribbons that have come to represent support for those in jail were placed on parliamentary seats Wednesday.
Separatist lawmakers clapped when their names were read out in the opening session.
"Those who should be here are precisely those who aren't," said Ernest Maragall, one of these MPs.
- Sworn in via videolink? -
To be elected president, Puigdemont should in theory be present at a later parliamentary session where the vote to name a new leader takes place, but he wants to appear by videolink or write a speech and have it read by someone else.
The Catalan parliament's rules stipulate that the candidate for the regional presidency must "present his or her government programme to parliament".
It does not detail whether this must be done in person, but several legal experts, the opposition and the central government insist it cannot be done remotely.
Rajoy's government has warned Madrid will maintain direct control over Catalonia if Puigdemont attempts to govern from Belgium, which could lead to yet another crisis.
Madrid's direct rule has proven very unpopular in a region that had enjoyed considerable autonomy before its leaders attempted to break away from Spain.
According to Economy Minister Luis de Guindos, the secession crisis that kicked off on October 1 when Catalan leaders held an independence referendum despite a court ban has taken a financial toll.
He has said the crisis has slowed economic growth in the region at an estimated cost of one billion euros ($1.2 billion).
More than 3,000 companies have moved their legal headquarters out of the region as uncertainty persists.
A Turkish-Cypriot woman shows an election stamp reading "Yes" in Turkish as voters cast their ballot in a snap election at a polling station in the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) only backed by Turkey on January 7, 2018 (AFP / Birol BEBEK)
By AFP
Turkish Cypriots on Sunday voted in a snap parliamentary election overshadowed by last year's failure to reach a peace deal for the divided island in UN-backed talks.
More than 190,500 people are registered to vote in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), established in the wake of Turkey's 1974 invasion of the island in response to an Athens-backed coup.
The vote comes ahead of presidential polls later this month in the internationally recognised Greek-majority Republic of Cyprus with peace efforts on hold until both sets of elections are over.
Polling stations opened at 0600 GMT and are to close at 1600 GMT.
The election in the northern third of Cyprus comes six months after efforts to reunify the island collapsed at a UN-hosted peace summit in Switzerland over a number of disputes, including the withdrawal of Turkey's 45,000 troops.
The TRNC, whose statehood is only recognised by Turkey, is currently governed by a coalition of the right-wing National Unity Party (UBP) and its junior partner the Democratic Party (DP).
Analysts say the DP of Serdar Denktas -- son of late TRNC founder and hardline leader Rauf Denktas -- could fall under the five percent threshold due to intra-party disputes.
The UBP and the pro-solution Republican Turkish Party (CTP) are the other major parties in the election, followed by the Peoples' Party (HP) of Kudret Ozersay -- a former negotiator in peace talks with the Greek Cypriots.
The election, originally planned for July, were brought forward after tensions in the ruling coalition and the opposition pressed for snap polls.
- 'New beginning' -
Analysts say a coalition government is the most likely outcome because no one party is likely to win an absolute majority in the 50-seat parliament.
The Social Democracy Party (TDP) of Turkish Cypriot president Mustafa Akinci -- regarded as strongly pro-solution -- and the newly established far-right Rebirth Party (YDP) founded by settlers of Turkish origin are also running in the election.
"Every election, like every new year and every new day is a new beginning. I hope and wish that this will be a good beginning for our community," Akinci told reporters after casting his vote.
"Depending on the results, as the president, I will be doing whatever my responsibilities dictates me to do. So we will see what the results will be and we'll take our actions accordingly."
Observers say that the Cyprus problem has not played a central role in the campaign, which focused on bread-and-butter issues like the economy, with Turkish Cypriots still hugely dependent on Turkish assistance.
But a pro-solution government could give Akinci a better hand to play in any future talks with the Greek Cypriots while a harder line administration would deal a blow to his authority.
The personal life of UBP leader and prime minister Huseyin Ozgurgun came under the spotlight during the campaign, after he announced in December that he was getting divorced following reports he had an affair with a well-known Turkish Cypriot actress.
On January 28, the Republic of Cyprus is set to hold a presidential election in which conservative incumbent Nicos Anastasiades is the frontrunner.
Anastasiades has campaigned on a pro-peace ticket, vowing to try to revive talks with Akinci, despite the souring of their relationship after two years of tough and ultimately fruitless negotiations.
