Sudanese loosen religious laws Voting underway in N. Macedonia

Sudanese loosen

religious laws

The New York Times

Sudan will allow non-Muslims to consume alcohol, scrap its apostasy law and abolish the use of public flogging as a punishment as its transitional government eases decades of strict Islamist policies.

The moves, announced late Saturday by Justice Minister Nasredeen Abdulbari, are part of a slew of changes introduced under the transitional government as it seeks to break with the rule of Omar al-Bashir, who was deposed last year after more than three decades in power. The government had already moved to ban the genital cutting of women, a measure that is coming into effect now.

The latest announcement came a week after tens of thousands of people took to the streets despite a coronavirus lockdown demanding faster reform and greater civilian rule as the nation takes baby steps toward democracy.

"As a government, our work is to protect all Sudanese citizens based on the constitution and based on laws that should be consistent with the constitution," Abdulbari told state television.

The laws being scrapped are legacies of both al-Bashir and Gaafar al-Nimeiry, an army colonel who led Sudan from 1969-85. In 1983, he imposed Islamic law throughout the nation, precipitating the conflict between the Muslim majority north and the mainly Christian and animist south that led to South Sudan's secession in 2011.

After taking power in 1989, al-Bashir extended Islamic rule and introduced public order laws that criminalized a wide array of activities and behaviors, including drinking alcohol and wearing revealing clothes for women. Those who contravened the rules faced prison sentences, fines and public lashing. Rights organizations said the laws were "oppressive" and gave authorities extensive powers to make arbitrary arrests, particularly of women.

When al-Bashir was toppled in April 2019 after months of protests, his government was replaced by an 11-member sovereign council consisting of six civilians and five military leaders that was tasked with preparing the country for elections after a three-year transition period.

Voting underway

in N. Macedonia

The Associated Press

SKOPJE, North Macedonia -- Election officials in North Macedonia carried ballot boxes to the homes of voters suffering from covid-19 or in quarantine Monday at the start of three days of voting in a general election that was delayed for months by the pandemic.

Wearing white coveralls and other protective gear, the officials were visiting the homes of some 700 people who registered to vote in the pandemic but were unable to travel to polling stations. It is the first time elections have been held on a weekday, with the date set after the original April 12 vote was postponed because of the pandemic.

After the delays, special provisions were made for those quarantined as a result of the virus. Of the roughly 5,000 people quarantined, just over 700 have registered to vote. Prison inmates, the elderly and the ill vote today before the polls open Wednesday.

North Macedonia is holding its first parliamentary election under its new country name, with voters heading to the polls during an alarming spike of coronavirus cases in this small Balkan nation.

The country has been run by a caretaker government since January after the resignation of Prime Minister Zoran Zaev when the European Union failed to set a date for North Macedonia to begin accession talks. Parliament elected a temporary government consisting of members of both main parties, with the sole aim of organizing the election.

Opinion polls in the run-up to Wednesday's vote indicate a close race between coalitions led by the former governing Social Democrats and the center-right opposition VMRO-DPMNE party. The opposition is eager to return to power after losing the last election in 2016 following a decade running the country.

The caretaker government handled the coronavirus outbreak relatively well until May, imposing a lockdown that kept the number of infections and deaths low. But after authorities eased restrictions and opened the borders, North Macedonia saw an increase in new cases and deaths that have placed it among the most badly affected European nations in terms of the number of deaths and confirmed cases per capita.

Upcoming Events