28 May 2023
The Secretary General of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF), Eng. Mohamed Hamel, held a virtual meeting today with Ahmed Mohamed Alkaabi, Assistant Undersecretary for Electricity, Water, and Future Energy at the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure of the United Arab Emirates.
They discussed the current state of energy markets and their medium- to long-term prospects, as well as preparations for the upcoming GECF meetings.
Hamel expressed his gratitude for the unwavering and valuable support of the UAE, a respected member country of the GECF.
He reiterated his sincere congratulations to the UAE on its recent elevation to full membership status in the Forum.
Alkaabi conveyed the greetings of Eng. Suhail Mohamed Almazrouei, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure, and praised the great progress made by the GECF Secretariat regarding membership expansion, quality of reports, and enhanced international engagement.
Echoing GECF’s sentiments, Hamel extended heartfelt congratulations and pledged full support to the UAE in its hosting of COP28. Mr. Hamel stated: “I am confident that COP28 will be a resounding success, not only in terms of exceptional organisation but in significant
outcomes as well. The UAE has always been a leader in combating energy poverty and climate change, advancing practical financial and technological solutions for sustainable development, combining in a balanced manner economic development, social progress andenvironmental protection. The exceptional experience of the COP28 President,
Dr Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, spanning various energies, innovative technologies, and a decade of climate diplomacy, will undoubtedly be a driving force for the success of COP28”.
Responding to the GECF’s commendation, Alkaabi appreciated the well wishes and reiterated the UAE’s commitment to ensure the success of COP28.
Alkaabi said: “As responsible energy producers and consumers, we understand the urgency to transformglobal energy systems and reduce emissions. We must collectively expedite decarbonisation,
while the world accelerates its adoption of cleaner energy. UAE’s commitment is evident in $50 billion investment in renewable energy projects across 40 countries, and in our investments in nuclear, solar, and carbon capture and storage. These are not mere pledges; these are tangible and real actions towards a sustainable future”.
Ankara, 28 May 2023 (Anadolu News)
Urecep Tayyip Erdogan has been reelected Türkiye’s president in runoff elections, the chairman of the country's Supreme Election Council (YSK) said on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters in the capital Ankara, YSK head Ahmet Yener said that Erdogan won Türkiye’s presidency over opposition challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the second-round runoff vote.
According to unofficial results, the Turkish incumbent won the race with 52.14%, while Kilicdaroglu got 47.86% of the votes, he said, adding that 99.43% of the ballot boxes have been opened so far.
In a speech in Istanbul late Sunday, President Erdogan said Türkiye’s 85 million-strong citizens are the winners in the national elections that concluded today.
More than 64.1 million people were registered to vote, including over 1.92 million who earlier cast their ballots at overseas polling stations.
Nearly 192,000 ballot boxes were set up for voters across Türkiye.
On May 14, no candidate won the required 50% in the first round, triggering Sunday’s runoff, although Erdogan took the lead with 49.52%.
On that day, Erdogan’s People’s Alliance also won a majority in parliament.
Doha, 21 May 2023
Introduction
Africa is projected to experience significant population growth, rising from around 1.4 billion to close to 2.5 billion by 2050, according to the 7th edition of the GECF Global Gas Outlook 2050. This, along with rural-urban migration, primarily by the youth population in search of better career opportunities in cities, is expected to result in almost 1.5 billion people living in cities by that date.
The continent's macroeconomic drivers of energy demand, such as population growth, urban isation, and industrialisation, are more favourable than any other continent.
The African region is on the brink of a massive take-off for industrialisation, with a growing young population, abundant natural resources, and emerging internal markets.
Africa’s real GDP is expected to nearly triple from US$ 2.7 trillion in 2021 to US$7.1 trillion by 2050. This potential for growth relies heavily on energy to provide the necessary amenities in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Despite Africa's strategic abundance of diverse energy resources and the critical role of
energy in its urbanisation and industrialisation process, significant energy access
problems persist for many Africans. These include limited energy infrastructure that
interconnects African countries from resource base regions to demand sectors, resulting
in vulnerabilities to external shocks. These shocks arise from distant geopolitical
tensions, leading to excessive inflation and cost-of-living crises.
Moreover, excessive greenhouse gas emissions from developed nations contribute to floods and climate-related vulnerabilities, which come at a high cost for Africans, given their low-level
economies and under-industrialisation. The UN SDGs serve as a pathway for African
growth and development in the face of these challenges.
While biomass and renewable energy have large potential in meeting the African energy
demand, urgent need to address indoor pollution from biomass, while lack of much-
needed funding to ensure technology readiness, economic viability, lack of resilience
and intermittency have rendered renewable energy options insufficient to meet African
economic growth potentials, leaving an opportunity to deploy many energy sources, with the abundant and cheap natural gas reserves as the fore-front energy candidate.
2$-$UN SDGs and Africa’s future energy demand
The adoption of the UN SDG 7 goals, with affordable energy as the central pillar,
represents one of the most sustainable pathways for developing the African economy.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has affirmed that "Energy is also critical for
achieving almost all other global goals."
Affordable, reliable, and abundant energy is
crucial for Africa to urgently eradicate poverty (SDG 1), given that more than 455 million
people lived below the poverty line just before the Covid-19 pandemic, with a further 30 m
The role of natural gas in powering Africa’s future million added to this figure after the pandemic. For simplicity, Figure 1 provides a link between some of the UN SDGs to avoid a complicated diagram involving all SDGs.
Pronounced energy poverty is becoming a global challenge due to the spike in energy
and commodity prices, underscoring the need for a more reliable and affordable energy
option. Clean, reliable, and affordable energy has a significant impact on advanced
health (SDG 3), as the WHO considers health to be "inextricably linked" with energy.
This link also extends to the provision of quality education for all (SDG 4), where modern affordable energy is essential for rigorous and comprehensive learning tools and solutions, ranging from sophisticated laboratories to basic classroom lighting.
Moreover, affordable energy access creates an enabling environment for industry, innovation, and infrastructure (SDG 9), providing options for cheap technologies to ensure clean water (SDG 6), improve job security and economic growth (SDG 8), and combat climate change (SDG 13).
These linkages underscore the unprecedented
scientific and historical significance of affordable energy in launching economic growth, which Africans need now more than ever.
The role of natural gas in powering Africa’s future
million added to this figure after the pandemic. For simplicity, Figure 1 provides a link
between some of the UN SDGs to avoid a complicated diagram involving all SDGs.
Pronounced energy poverty is becoming a global challenge due to the spike in energy
and commodity prices, underscoring the need for a more reliable and affordable energy
option. Clean, reliable, and affordable energy has a significant impact on advanced
health (SDG 3), as the WHO considers health to be "inextricably linked" with energy.
This link also extends to the provision of quality education for all (SDG 4), where
modern affordable energy is essential for rigorous and comprehensive learning tools
and solutions, ranging from sophisticated laboratories to basic classroom lighting.
Moreover, affordable energy access creates an enabling environment for industry,
innovation, and infrastructure (SDG 9), providing options for cheap technologies to
ensure clean water (SDG 6), improve job security and economic growth (SDG 8), and
combat climate change (SDG 13). These linkages underscore the unprecedented
scientific and historical significance of affordable energy in launching economic growth, which Africans need now more than ever.
The African continent faces three significant challenges: lingering acute energy access
problems, vast infrastructural deficits, and exposure to vulnerabilities due to rising
geopolitical tensions and climate change. These challenges continue to put Africans at severe risk compared to other continents.
Unfortunately, the issue of African energy
access has rarely been reported or prioritised, despite African energy consumption per capita heing the lowest globally upto five times less than the global average.
Many African countries suffer from the most severe energy inequality worldwide, with electricity consumption per capita lower than that of an average household fridge.
It is important to note that economic growth is essential in empowering Africans with higher incomes, which in turn enables them to afford energy.
The African continent's vulnerability to geopolitical tensions due to the lack of functional infrastructure emphasises the urgent need to improve energy affordability. Recent
turbulence in the energy market has worsened the situation, pushing African countries
into debt distress, driving up food prices, and exacerbating energy poverty.
This presents a critical opportunity for Africa to harness its economic growth potential and
build a resilient system that can serve as a buffer against rising geopolitical
uncertainties that disrupt supply chains. The only way forward is through the adoption of
affordable, reliable, and abundant energy resources.
The role of natural gas in powering Africa’s future.
The evolution of the energy mix in Africa over the last two decades African region had very marked variations of energy trends, being uniquely divided between sub-Saharan Africa, where energy poverty persists, hampering economic growth, and North Africa and South Africa, having higher economic development
promoted by the stronger electrification and energy requirements.
The region’s energy demand relies heavily on traditional biomass (e.g., wood, dung and
other solid wastes), primarily for cooking. It is by far the most widely used energy source
across Africa, with the exception of South Africa, where the country’s energy mix is
dominated by coal, and North Africa, with natural gas and oil accounting for almost 90%
of sub-region energy demand.
Nevertheless, taking into account expanding African population, some progress has been made in reducing reliance on the inefficient use of traditional sources, as reflected in changing energy mix over the last two decades.
With the total energy demand rising significantly from 495 Mtoe in 2000 to 860 Mtoe in 2021, the share of traditional biomass in the African energy mix dropped from 37% to
33%. Despite its rise in absolute terms, there was observed a shift to modern biomass
along with accelerated penetration of natural gas and oil, driven by strong electrification,
industrial development, increasing vehicle fleet and the uptake of piped gas and LPG
within households. Natural gas specifically contributed 26% to Africa’s energy demand
growth between 2000 and 2021.
As a result, in 2021, natural gas and oil represented around 40% of African energy mix,
up from 31% in 2000. Natural gas overtook coal (which is extensively used in South Africa) as the third largest fuel in 2015 and reached 17% share in 2021, with Algeria, Egypt and Nigeria accounting for the overwhelming majority or around 80% of the continent’s natural gas demand.
The significance of natural gas in Africa In light of the need for a secure, affordable, and sustainable energy source to fuel economic growth and alleviate poverty in Africa, all the available energy options willb continue to be relevant, although at changing energy mix over time. Among the diverse energy options for Africa, the abundance of natural gas and the proven efficiency of combined cycle gas turbines (CCGTs) in power generation make it a suitable complement to renewables in Africa's just transition plan.
However, realising the potential of natural gas requires significant upstream investment
and long-term contracts, which some international investors were hesitant to undertake until recently, that IEA’s position emphasised the importance of expanding natural gas use for Africa’s industrialisation (3). African countries can leverage their natural gas
resources to create a viable long-term investment pathway, particularly by capitalising
on short to medium-term funding opportunities. It is important to note that the rising demand for natural gas in Africa will require increased production to meet domestic needs, with exportation to distant destinations as a potential option. In spite of the
The role of natural gas in powering Africa’s future
underinvestment in the sector, African natural gas reserves are gaining significant
attention for investment, with Africa targeted to supply European Union’s gas demand of
up to 30 bcm by 2030 due to reduced dependency on Russian supply. The recent surge
in demand for African gas supply for the short to medium term due to geopolitical
tensions is unclear. However, Africa must focus on the certainty that gas will be needed
for the future, regardless of potential future events.
Africa's path towards a low-carbon future is clear yet limited. With a large population
and the need for sustainable economic growth in the next three decades, Africa must
address extreme poverty, which is at alarming levels globally and reduce emissions. As
shown in Figure 4, Africa contributes the least to global emissions. To meet these
challenges, Africa requires an energy source that is abundant enough to meet the
growing population's needs, reliable enough to provide continuous energy throughout
the year, and affordable to address the dire needs of Africans. The combination of
natural gas and renewables appears to be the key to meeting Africa's future energy
demand.
Again, the link between African gas usage and the current climate change drive is completely not related. This is based on IEA’s insights during the African Energy Outlook launch in 2022: “If we make a list of the top 500 things we need to do to be in line with our climate targets, what Africa does with its natural gas does not make that list”. This has been said for all Africa’s future, heavily relying on natural gas without significant climate concern while generating adequate economic revenue to fund its just energy transition. Globally, the changing narrative in favour of natural gas investments
is continuing across all regions.
The role of natural gas in powering Africa’s future
This can also be seen with the new EU parliament’s recent vote in favour of natural gas acceptability as a “green” tag. Gradual investment opportunities are sailing through, with the current 17 projects identified for investment partnerships in Africa, including Italy’s Eni’s agreement in Algeria, Egypt, and Congo, while Norway’s Golar signed MoU with
Nigeria’s NNPC for floating LNG in April 2023. Despite timely and encouraging decisions, more such investments are needed to meet the future energy needs of both on the global scale and in Africa.
Prospects for natural gas demand growth in Africa
Given the young, burgeoning, and rapidly urbanising African population and strong
projected economic growth, the energy sector has a vital role to play in Africa’s future.
According to the GECF GGO, the continent’s primary energy demand is expected to
increase by 82% from 860 Mtoe in 2021 to 1,565.
Sub-Saharan Africa is expected to account for 84% of this growth amid higher living standards, signaling better access to energy and improvements in the energy poverty problems.
Natural gas will be responsible for around 30% of Africa’s total energy demand increase – the most significant gain of any fuel. Natural gas endowment confirmed by a series of
significant discoveries fits well with Africa’s push for industrial and social development.
Africa will enjoy an LNG export expansion while resulting revenues will help to drive
economic growth and structural transformation.
Enhancement and expansion of infrastructure could be a potential stumbling block, but a number of countries, both established gas producers and emerging ones with significant resource potential (to name a few, Mozambique, Tanzania, Senegal and Mauritania), have plans for pipeline construction and network development to stimulate domestic gas demand, despite the strong export orientation of the projects.
Simultaneously, in addition to long-distance pipeline development (e.g. the Trans- Saharan Gas Pipeline and the Mozambique to South Africa Pipeline), options such as gas-by-wire within the same regional power pool or small-scale LNG solutions will create new sources of demand allowing African nations to monetise locally produced gas and intensify intra-region integration.
With targets to ensure universal access to electricity and the need to meet the substantial power deficit, especially in sub-Saharan countries, power generation will provide the lion’s share of gas demand increase in the region. From an economic and environmental view, there is significant scope for gas to displace oil-fired generation, to constrain the expansion of coal-fired capacity in South Africa and its neighbours (where coal is a dominant source), and to enable accelerated electrification. Natural gas will also play an increasingly important role in sub-Saharan countries that continue to depend on hydropower, ensuring a backup during dry spells.
According to GECF estimations, electricity generation in Africa will surge from 890 TWh
in 2021 to 3,025 TWh in 2050 l. Natural gas is forecast to cover more than 40% of the total growth and account for 42% of the regional power generation mix by 2050. In this regard, natural gas, in tandem with renewables (which will grow rapidly
Rising gas availability will also encourage demand in gas-based industries such as
petrochemicals, methanol, and fertilisers. Many industrial projects proposed for several
sub-Saharan countries provide strong commercial cases for domestic gas market
development. Simultaneously, natural gas as a key fertiliser input will contribute to
agricultural sector productivity and play a role in ensuring food security. In addition,
there is potential for gas to penetrate the residential segment while helping to move
away from the use of traditional biomass, thereby alleviating air pollution and preventing
deforestation.
Overall, natural gas is assumed to be Africa’s greatest opportunity as a long-term energy solution to help alleviate energy poverty, enhance the quality of life and meet the
expected economic growth. Investments and capacity building are the main prominent
steps to take moving forward.
At the same time, while investments by both international and regional funders are
eminent, there has been a skill gap in Africa that will continue to enable domestic
technology and skills transfer among Africans.
Africa has relied on other continents to meet its skilled labour in the energy sphere and moving forward will require a comprehensive policy approach to meet the critical needs of Africa for the future. This isbin addition to waving a new prospect of Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) initiatives,bparticularly Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) in designing the African
The role of natural gas in powering Africa’s future
pathway for a low-carbon future. In this context, adoption of natural gas, proven
technologies, such as CCUS, and renewables will ensure accelerated economic growth,
climate targets and the attainment of the UN’s SDGs.
Conclusion
Meeting the UN SDGs targets while simultaneously growing the African economy
requires an affordable and abundant energy source that can fulfil the expanding
population needs of Africa, calling for all energy sources to be adopted in a different mix. Despite its immense potential, renewable energy alone is unsustainable for this purpose. Therefore, abundant natural gas reserves and their low-carbon credentials play a crucial role in meeting the competing trends of population growth and energy poverty needs in Africa. To achieve this, the projected demand growth of 82% by 2050 must be met by a set of energy sources with natural gas in the lead to fulfil the urgent urbanisation and industrialisation in Africa.
Africa can utilise its abundant gas reserves to meet its growing energy needs and fund
its just and inclusive energy transition, which requires a combination of natural gas and
renewables with CCUS technology in hard-to-abate sectors. Achieving this implies a
purposeful capacity-building policy that facilitates in-house technological transformation, rapid skills transfer, and provides an enabling environment for higher education and research centres.
Furthermore, Africa being home to many Member Countries of the GECF, the gas
export potential via pipelines, integrated African market for gas, and regional
monetisation could benefit policy drive, maximising both the LNG and pipeline exports
while providing much-needed within-continent growth. It is undeniable that Africa needs
more affordable energy to achieve economic prosperity.
AK-Iran Border, May 18 (APP): Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Iran’s President Seyed Ebrahim Raisi on Thursday jointly inaugurated the Mand-Pishin border sustenance market aimed at boosting the bilateral trade.
This is one of the six border markets which will be constructed along tPak-Iran common border.
The Mand-Pishin border sustenance marketplace will provide a thriving platform for increasing cross-border trade, fostering economic growth, and opening up new avenues of opportunity for local businesses.
The two leaders also planted a sapling in the premises of the border market as a gesture to stride forward in the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Power Minister Khurram Dastagir, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb and senior officials of Pakistan and Iran were present.
The prime minister and the Iranian president also inaugurated the Polan-Gabd electricity transmission line at the Mand-Pishin border crossing point. The line will play a pivotal role in meeting the energy needs of the region, including households and businesses, by bringing-in an additional 100 MW of electricity from Iran.
The Foreign Office in a statement said, “The joint inauguration is a manifestation of the strong commitment of Pakistan and Iran to uplift the welfare of residents of the neighboring provinces of Balochistan and Sistan-o-Baluchestan, respectively.”
Doha, 18 May 2023 (QT)
By Ashraf Siddiqui
This day today, May 18, marks an important milestone in the history of the Republic of Haiti: first, this day commemorates the 220th anniversary of the creation of the national flag of Haiti, and on May 20, Haitian community members will be celebrating the life of Revolutionary Leader Gen. Toussaint Louverture, who was born on
that same day 280 years ago.
Talking to Qatar Tribune, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Haiti to the State of Qatar, HE Francois Guillaume said, “This day has the utmost importance to us all at the Embassy of Haiti in Qatar to not only share this milestone celebration with the people of Qatar but to also highlight the significance of Gen. Toussaint Louverture’s accomplishments as well as the creation of the Haitian Flag. For, not only are they important occurrences of our history, but are also a part of our World Heritage.”
The envoy said that taking the time to learn more about these historical facts, considered to be some of history’s Great Untold Stories, would reveal their significance “and how they relate to us all. That is also why we are honoured to have the support and contribution of the Embassy of the Republic of Benin, which too, is celebrating the life of Gen. ToussaintLouverture and his prowess, as he is a direct descendant of the Kingdom of Allada in Benin”.
Guillaume said this commemoration is a celebration of life and of victory, the celebration of an event, the creation of the Haitian Flag, and of an individual, Gen. Toussaint Louverture that transcend geographical borders and racial identities as they are both celebrated from the Caribbean region to North and Latin
America, to Europe in France and Greece particularly and to the African continent.
Haiti’s envoy said the celebration process this week has two objectives: firstly, Haiti is currently undergoing an extremely harsh crisis that warrants genuine international cooperation. The people of Haiti will undoubtedly surmount this crisis, but indigenous initiatives and international cooperation to support these
initiatives is the only sustainable way forward. “The celebration of our flag and of Gen. Toussaint Louverture is a symbol of strength, resolve and ingenuity of the Haitian People and their ability to overcome any challenge including this one.
“Secondly, showcasing these parts of history is not meant to be a self-gratifying endeavour but rather an effort meant to create bonds by sharing a piece of our history that people may be able to relate to, as we aim to quell preconceived and false perceptions, which are often at the root of any type of ailment in relationships and that also is the case within the international realm of relations,” he added.
Referring to the present disturbances back home, he said that reducing 220 years of a people’s rich identity into a few sensational news bytes or lines, framed in a commercially motivated context rather than an informatively motivated context, just does not serve anyone. Paying his gratitude to the State of Qatar for its support to his country,
Francois Guillaume, said that this is one of the reasons why the Republic of Haiti has placed great value on its bilateral relationship with the State of Qatar: “Qatar is among those partners that not only takes the time to understand the true nature of certain global predicaments that affect us but an also often relate to and empathise with crucial elements to building strong and lasting partnerships.” He said that the embassy of Haiti in Qatar has opened a commemorative book at the embassy for all those who feel inclined to mark this important milestone together with the people of Haiti, especially in the midst of its current challenges.
The book will be open today, Thursday from 2pm to 5pm.
Doha, 16 May 2023
QatarEnergy announces the award of the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the North Field South (NFS) project, which comprises two LNG mega trains with a combined capacity of 16 million tons per annum (MTPA).
NFS, together with the North Field East (NFE) project, will increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity from the current 77 MTPA to 126 MTPA. QatarEnergy holds a 75% interest in the NFS project and has already signed partnership agreements with TotalEnergies, Shell, and ConocoPhillips for the remaining 25%.
The announcement was made during a ceremony held to mark the award of the EPC contract for the two LNG trains and associated facilities with a joint venture of Technip Energies and Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC).
The contract was signed by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, Arnaud Pieton, the President of Technip Energies, and Oussama El Jerbi, CCC Managing Director – Qatar.
Present on the occasion were Sheikh Khalid bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Chief Executive Officer of Qatargas, and senior executives from QatarEnergy, Qatargas, Technip Energies and CCC.
Commenting on the award of the EPC contract, Al-Kaabi said: “QatarEnergy is proud to announce yet another significant milestone in the world’s largest LNG project, reinforcing our commitment to meeting the global demand for Natural Gas.”
He saud that “The NFS project is a unique development that minimizes its environmental footprint by design. It includes one of the largest CO2 capture and sequestration facilities and constitutes an important step towards achieving QatarEnergy’s target of more than 11 MTPA of CO2 capture and sequestration by 2035."
Al-Kaabi thanked the management and working teams of QatarEnergy and Qatargas for their sincere and dedicated efforts in implementing the North Field expansion projects. He also extended his thanks and appreciation to the management and staff of Technip Energies and CCC for their contributions and voiced warm gratitude to HH Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, The Amir of the State of Qatar, for HH invaluable guidance and unwavering support to QatarEnergy and Qatar’s energy sector.
The EPC contract’s value is around $10 billion, and its scope covers the construction of two mega LNG trains with a capacity of 8 MTPA each, with associated facilities for gas treatment, natural gas liquids recovery, as well as helium extraction and refining within Ras Laffan Industrial City.
In addition to the carbon capture and sequestration facilities, the environmental attributes of the NFS project also include importing a significant portion of the project’s electrical power requirements from the grid in the form of renewable solar power, which will be generated at QatarEnergy’s solar power facilities currently under construction in Ras Laffan Industrial City. It also includes a 'jetty boil-off gas' recovery system, which will help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The project will also conserve five million cubic meters of water per year by recovering 75% of the plant's tertiary water. Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions will also be minimized through the application of enhanced Dry Low NOx.
Ankara, 13 May 2023 (Anadolu )
61m Turkish from 87 electoral districts across Turkiye are registered and eligible to use their right of vote to elect president and 600 members On Sunday, 14 th May.
About 8.9 million voters are registered in the earthquake zone. 1.7 m overseas Turkish registered voters, which are 53% of total registered voters living abroad have already cast their votes in their respective host countries.
Supreme Election Council (YSK) Chairman, Ahmet Yener on Friday told Anadolu, Turkiye Official News Agency that preparations are complete to hold presidential and parliamentary polls on Sunday, with "all measures" taken to ensure security throughout the election process.
He said that "All measures and precautions with regards to our technological infrastructure and against possible power cuts and cyberattacks have been taken, and necessary trial tests have been carried out," Supreme Election Council (YSK) Chairman Ahmet Yener said on Frida.
On the presidential ballot, voters will choose between President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is seeking reelection, main opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and Sinan Ogan. Muharrem Ince, another presidential contender, withdrew from the race on Thursday.
24 political parties and 151 independent candidates are vying for seats in the 600-member Turkish parliament.
He said that "all measures have been taken by the YSK, our provincial and district election boards" to ensure a healthy and safe environment during the polls, Yener said preparations were complete and everything going according to schedule.
He said that for the first time, fold-over templates will be available for visually impaired voters to help them mark their desired presidential candidate and political party, Yener said.
Describing the May 14 elections as a "festival of democracy," he urged "all citizens with the right to vote to safely go to the polls and cast their ballots."
Yener advised the voters to carry identification with them when they go to vote and said unofficial results will be announced by the YSK on election day.
Parties' officials to approve tally reports
As one measure ensuring the integrity of the elections, Yener said every member of committees serving at each ballot box across the country will have to sign off on the tally for their ballot box.
Each of these committees will include representatives of the political parties competing in the polls, he said, with the parties also to receive scanned copies of the official ballot box tallies sent to their headquarters.
Under Turkish law, parties can file objections and complaints against the tallies, Yener added. "All these mechanisms will be in operation throughout the election and our elections will being concluded securely."
Earthquake zone ready for election
Yener told that container areas have been set up in yards of schools in the Southern Turkiye's earthquake affected areas, and all necessary measures have been taken for our voters to cast their votes safely.
For uprooted quake survivors currently living in other provinces, Yener said they were allowed to register their addresses at their current place of residence so they could cast their votes.
"Currently, about 8.9 million voters are registered in the earthquake zone. Everything is ready. All measure have been taken to ensure that the voters can vote safely," he said.
Overseas votes safe and secure
Yener also touched on overseas voting, which ended on Tuesday. Noting an increase in the number of voters casting their ballots outside the country, he said turnout was at 53%.
After the polls at overseas voting stations were closed, these ballots were transported safely to the capital Ankara under the protection of five separate locks, said the YSK chief.
One of the keys is held by the chairman of the Foreign District Election Board, while the other four are in the hands of political parties, he added.
The votes will start being counted at 5.00 p.m. local time (1400GMT) on Sunday, as the voting process comes to an end across Türkiye.
Islamabad, 11 May 2023 (Updated Saturday 1145 PM)
Pakistan's judiciary ranks 129 among 140 world's judiciary index. Verdict on Thursday evening, and earlier verdicts in presence of country's Chief Judge, Justice Umar Ata Bandial in regards to hearings against former deposed prime minister Imran Khan is expected that Pakistan's judiciary may demote to further rank in World's judiciary index.
Late Thursday evening, a three member bench of Supreme Court of Pakistan headed by Chief Justice, Justice Umar Atta Bandial over ruled Islamabad High Court verdict of Monday in regards to the handing over former deposed prime minister Imran Khan for eight days on a mega corruption charge to the National Accountability Authority (NAB).
On Friday, Islamabad High Court which on last Monday gave verdict on legal arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan in a surprised verdict issued bail orders (Licence to Kill to Imran Khan) NOT TO ARREST deposed prime minister Imran Khan till 17th of May 2023 in any kind of known, unknown and on any future charge. Imran Khan is alleged on attacks, burning and ransacking of military and government installations on 9th of May, military named the day as Black Day.
Imran Khan on Saturday charged Pakistan's Army Chief Gen Asif Nadeem's direct involvement of his 'abduction' from the premises of Islamabad High Court on Monday.
Imran Khan was issued atleast 15 times notice on AlQadir Trust case, but as usual have taken refuge under 'COURTS' bails like on other number of cases including receiving of illegal funds in charity name; mis-appropriation in donations received in name of cancer hospital; not declaration of a number of bank accounts; donations received in various personal accounts; deeply involvement of him, his wife Bushra Bibi and friends in mega corruption cases; selling of government gift items taken out from the treasury and money using for personal means and keeping funds in personal accounts; etc.
Today, Chief Justice Bandial issued production order of Imran Khan and to bring before his court by 0430 PM, Pakistan local time. However, Imran Khan appeared in Supreme court around 0600 PM under tight security. Alleged criminal in a mega corruption case , former cricketer turned politician, ex-Prime Minister came to the rostrum, he was greeted by the Chief Judge who welcomed him saying “Good to see you”.
After a short hearing from the parties, Chief Judge Bandial ordered police to keep 'guest' of the Supreme Court in three room apartment at the Police Officers Complex until reporting at 1100 AM, next day to the Islamabad High Court . Khan was also facilitated to stay with 10 his choice of people.
Pakistan's prestigious English daily DAWN reported that the Supreme Court extended ‘extraordinary’ relief to PTI chief Imran Khan as a three-member bench termed his arrest on the premises of the Islamabad High Court “invalid and unlawful”.
The court directed that NAB and police would ensure “foolproof” security to Mr Khan until his production before the high court in connection with his petition against NAB in the Al Qadir Trust case.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial, made it clear to Imran Khan, who was produced on the apex court’s directions, that this was an extraordinary relief, never extended to other political leaders though they also suffered ordeal worse than this.
The court added it took up the case since the right to access to justice was denied and the sanctity and safety of the court were violated. The court observed that the arrest was illegal and said the entire process needed to be backtracked since a citizen enjoyed certain guarantees, particularly access to justice, on the court premises.
Strange and surprising thing was no action and orders were taken by Superior Court on ransacking and burning of sensitive installations in various parts of the country by the supporters of Imran Khan led by party leaders. Chief Judge asked Imran Khan to send message to his supporters to calm down and being a senior leader he should consider opening up a dialogue channel with his political opponents “whom he may not like but they are a reality” as this would restore confidence among people.
Imran Khan said that it was a reaction by his supporters on retaliation of his arrest. However, sine he was under arrest, he had no idea what had happened in the country.
Later in a three-page order, the detailed reasons of which will come later, the apex court said the manner of execution of the arrest warrant issued by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) chairman in the Al Qadir Trust case on the IHC premises against Imran Khan was invalid and unlawful.
The execution of the warrant violated Khan’s right of access to justice and the sanctity and safety of the court as he had already surrendered to the court for seeking judicial relief against the action taken by NAB in the Al Qadir Trust case.”
In this regard, the fundamental rights of the petitioner under Articles 4, 9, 10-A and 14 of the constitution have been infringed, the order said, adding the petitioner was directed to be produced before IHC on May 12 at 11am for hearing of his case filed to challenge the NAB action in the Al Qadir Trust case.
The former premier was arrested on May 9 by the paramilitary Rangers force on orders from the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) from the Islamabad High Court (IHC), over allegations of having looted Rs. 50 billion along with a property tycoon from the national treasury and getting the Al-Qadir University Trust registered on 450-kanal of land.
Al Qadir Trust - Mega Corruption Case
It all started five years ago when the The National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom agreed to a settlement worth £190 million with the family of property tycoon Malik Riaz.
According to the statement released by the NCA, the settlement included a UK property — 1 Hyde Park Place, London, W2 2LH — valued at approximately £50 million and all of the funds landed in the frozen accounts of Malik Riaz.
The first record of the NCA’s move to probe the property and assets belonging to Riaz in the UK surfaced in December 2018, shortly after the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) came to power. The crime agency in a press release dated Aug 14, 2019 stated: “The NCA has been granted freezing orders on eight bank accounts containing a total of more than £100 million, which is suspected to have derived from bribery and corruption in an overseas nation. Approximately £20m held by a linked individual was frozen following a hearing in December 2018.”
In June 2022, the matter resurfaced after an alleged audio leak, purportedly of a telephone conversation between Malik Riaz and his daughter, wherein the two could be heard talking about the supposed demands of Farah Khan aka Gogi — a friend of Imran Khan’s wife Bushra Bibi — against some alleged favours from the previous government of Imran Khan. The woman, believed to be Riaz’s daughter, told her father that Farah had told her that the (former) first lady had asked her not to accept a three-karat diamond ring and demanded a five-karat one.
Subsequently, Riaz had denied his role in any political matters, and in a tweet claimed that the leaked audio clip attributed to him and his daughter was “fabricated”.
A week later on June 14, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah had accused Imran and his wife of accepting Rs. 5bn and hundreds of kanals of land for protecting the real estate firm in a money laundering case.
Islamabad, 10 May 2023
Power hungary deposed prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan has wage war against his own country.
Upon his arrest on mega corruption charges, on his earlier call to his supporters and party leaders to protest nation wide against his arrest, the mobs attacked on country's most sensitive buildings and installations including army headquarters, ransacked official residence of top military commander of Lahore Core, once Lahore residence of founder of Pakistan Mohammad Ali Jinnah, burnt historical building of Peshawar Radio Pakistan and a number of other government and public properties.
ISPR, Pakistan army Public Relations department issued severe warning that security forces have shown patience and restraint from taking any action inspite of facing heavy damages. Anyone now onward try to involve in any kind of terrorist activity will be dealt accordingly.
Pakistan army troops have been called in Capital Islamabad, Lahore and in KPK province.
A number of senior leaders of Imran Khan's political party involved in leading the terrorist attackes have been arrested.
Imran Khan, former cricketer turned 'politician', is wanted in number of mega corruption cases, he has been escaping from his arrest since he is deposed from prime ministership in April 2022.
Imran Khan is founder Chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), a political party installed in power as a 'third' major political force through 2018 general elections, engineered with the support and manipulation between former military generals and then country's Chief Justice disgusted Justice Saqib Nisar and like minded judges.
Imran Khan was arrested on the orders of National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on first mega corruption case Monday afternoon from the premises of Islamabad High Court where he had appealed for bail before arrest.
Imran Khan is also inducted in another criminal case for allegedly misleading officials about the gifts he received and sold in the international market from foreign dignitaries during his tenure as the prime minister.
Imran Khan who has been politically admitting running his government with the support of then military generals including getting approval of resolutions in parliament being on one page.
To save himself from No-confidence motion in the parliament last year, then prime minister Imran Khan had offered then army chief, Gen. Qamar Bajwa for extension in his service if extends his support in saving him from the partliament move.
On one page relations became deteriorated with the military, which backed his rise to power in 2018 but withdrew its support ahead of a parliamentary vote of no confidence that ousted him last year.
Imran Khan failed in dissolving the National Assembly where he had lost majority. However, to derail fragile democratic process in Pakistan, he successfully but illegally dissolved provincial assemblies of major province of Punjab and of KPK destabilising the sitting government which is already struggling in severe economic bad situation in the country.
Doha, 09 May 2023 (QT-QNA)
A 3-day international conference on religious freedoms and religious responsibility will take off today organised by Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue in partnership with the Interfaith Neighbors Network in the United States of America.
The conference aims to shed light on issues related to coexistence, religious freedom and religious pluralism, from the perspective of religions, legal legislation and human rights, where different religious communities will exchange views to agree on best practices and approaches, to understand each other's perceptions, and to address existing global issues and problems of concern to all regardless of their religion.
The conference will discuss, over a period of three days, ways to move from religious freedoms decided by international religions and constitutions to religious responsibility, and this will be done by seeking to find work communities to defend this issue and take more effective measures.
Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue (DICID) Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi said that the center worked tirelessly for years to build bridges between all parties involved to engage in dialogue over the challenges facing peaceful coexistence between followers of different religions.
He said that the upcoming conference constitutes an example of this international cooperation, which is a continuation of the initiatives of the State of Qatar, which has spared no effort in calling for peace and establishing a culture of dialogue among followers of religions, openness to other civilizations, and its positive role in issues related to dialogue between civilizations and cultures, which led It earned it a prestigious global position and made it one of the world's most influential countries in such issues.
He pointed out that the State of Qatar, with its wise leadership, is proactive in all these important issues, and it is a country that is always searching for peace and harmony, and has remarkable contributions and roles in these areas.
There are four main axes of the conference that will be discussed through two main dimensions, the first religious and the second legal, in ten sessions and workshops.
He said that the first topic is concerned with discussing religious responsibility, while the second topic discusses how to build trust and mutual peace within religious communities, and between other societies to strengthen communication and interaction between religious communities and the influential decision-makers in their societies and countries.
He added that the participants will focus in the third topic on finding ways to ensure the achievement of the institutional character at the societal level through religious institutions and official and legal procedures, while the fourth axis will be devoted to discussing how to achieve the outcomes of the conference through global frameworks and international and local geographical scopes.
AlNuaimi said that the objectives of the conference are based on creating a platform for discussion and interaction between intellectuals, academics, specialized researchers, and those concerned with the subject and issues of the conference, as well as religious leaders and influential decision-makers to develop solutions and action plans for various difficult issues related to coexistence and religious freedom from the perspective of religions, human rights, and legal legislation.
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