Togolese opposition members arrested over campaign against new constitution
Lome, Togo Reuters Nine Togolese politicians who were running a campaign against a new constitution that could allow President Faure Gnassingbe to extend his 19-year rule have been arrested, a spokesperson for an opposition coalition said on Thursday. Opposition voices are growing in the tiny phosphate-producing West African nation over constitutional reform that could change […]
Unexpected defeat of referendums shows growing power of Ireland’s traditional Catholics
Dublin, Ireland RNS At a Mass said in Latin on Sunday, Ireland’s traditional Catholics declared political victory, days after a pair of referendums aimed at secularizing the Irish Constitution were unexpectedly and resoundingly defeated. On Friday, the Irish Government put two measures to a vote that would have extended the rights of unmarried couples in […]
Irish Government “walloped” by referendum defeats
Dublin, Ireland Reuters Irish voters have rejected proposals to replace constitutional references to the makeup of a family and a mother’s “duties in the home” in a significant defeat for the government. Prime Minister Leo Varadkar had pitched the vote, held on Friday to coincide with International Women’s Day and counted on Saturday, as a […]
Ireland to vote on removing ‘sexist’ references to women from constitution
Dublin, Ireland Reuters Ireland is poised to vote on Friday – International Women’s Day – to replace constitutional references on the importance of a woman’s “life within the home”, the latest attempt to update its socially conservative 1937 founding document. While social change in the once deeply Catholic nation has spurred the removal of bans […]
Chad holds divisive post-coup constitutional referendum
N’Djamena, Chad Reuters Chad holds a referendum on a new constitution on Sunday that looks unlikely to mend deep divisions between the junta and opposing groups that have fuelled a political and security crisis in one of the world’s poorest countries. The military authorities have called the vote as a vital stepping-stone to elections next […]
Chileans reject conservative constitution to replace dictatorship-era text – early results
Santiago/Valparaiso, Chile Reuters Chileans on Sunday rejected a new conservative constitution to replace its current text that dates back to the Augusto Pinochet dictatorship. With 27.81 per cent of ballot boxes tallied, a total of 54.61 per cent Chileans rejected the new text while 45.39 per cent voted in favour of it. A Chilean Navy […]
Australia debates Indigenous referendum as pamphlets launched
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Parties on both sides of a debate on whether to constitutionally recognise Australia’s Indigenous people released their official pamphlets on Tuesday, which will start being delivered to letterboxes across the country. Australians will be asked to vote in a referendum later this year on whether they support altering the constitution to include a […]
Essay: Tunisia’s once-vibrant democracy is on its deathbed – but it can be saved
JOSÉ IGNACIO HERNANDÉZ G, a fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, looks at Tunisia’s slide into authoritarianism…
Sudanese factions break deadlock with talks over draft constitution
Khartoum, SudanReuters Sudan’s military leaders have submitted notes on a draft constitution as a basis for talks under international mediation, three political sources told Reuters, signalling an easing of a year-long political deadlock. The draft constitution, drawn up by the Sudanese Bar Assocation in August, provides for a transitional civilian-led authority with oversight over the […]
Chile overwhelmingly rejects progressive new constitution
Updated: 12.30pm (AEST)Santiago, Chile Reuters Chileans overwhelmingly voted against a proposed new constitution on Sunday, rejecting what would have been one of the world’s most progressive charters. While nearly 80 per cent of Chileans voted to draft a new constitution in 2020, nearly 62 per cent of voters rejected the new text with 99.74 per […]