International Democrat Union
IDU Update, 18 January 2013
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IDU Young Leaders’ Forum, London, 10 – 13 March 2013
IDU Executive in Helsinki, Finland, 17 – 19 April 2013
Czech Republic – Presidential runoff to be held on 25 – 26 January
Maldives – Parliament censors unelected acting President
Georgia – New government continues campaign of selective justice
International Young Democrat Union under evaluation
1.
IDU Young Leaders’ Forum, London, 10 – 13 March 2013
Registrations are now open for the IDU‟s prestigious Young Leaders‟ Forum which will take
place in London from 10 to 13 March 2013. Members can find further information about the
event, including the registration form, posted on the IDU intranet.
Member parties are requested to make every effort to nominate their participants to the IDU
Secretariat by Friday 25 January 2013 as we cannot guarantee that accommodation will be
available after this date.
In cooperation with the British Conservative Party a high level programme is being prepared
that will include senior government ministers, leading centre-right thinkers and campaign
experts. The IDU‟s Young Leaders‟ Forum brings together future leaders of IDU parties,
aimed at young members of Parliament or other young participants holding an elected or
appointed office.
Each IDU member party is invited to nominate up to three participants. There is no
participation fee, but the participants are responsible for their own travel and accommodation
costs. The IDU will cover conference costs and most meals will be included in the program.
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IDU Executive in Helsinki, Finland, 17 – 19 April 2013
The IDU Executive Committee will hold its next meeting in Helsinki, Finland from 17 – 19
April at the invitation of Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen and the National Coalition Party
(Kansallinen Kokoomus.) All IDU member parties are invited, along with the IDU officers.
Participants should plan to arrive during the day on Wednesday 17th April and depart after
lunch on Friday 19th April. The meeting of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs is
scheduled to start on the morning of Thursday 18th April and the Executive on the morning of
Friday 19th April.
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Technical details, including details regarding hotel booking and registration, will be made
available in the log-in area at www.idu.org in due course, but kindly note the dates already
now.
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Czech Republic – Presidential runoff to be held on 25 – 26 January
None of the nine contenders for Czech President received a majority of the votes in the first
round of voting for elections held on 12 – 13 January. The presidential race will now move to
runoff vote on 25 – 26 January.
Czechs will choose between their country‟s foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg of the EPP
Member Party TOP 09, and Miloš Zeman of the social democratic Party of Civic Rights –
Zemanovci. In the first round of voting Zeman, came in first, with 24.2% closely followed by
Schwarzenberg with 23.4%. Voter turnout was just over 61%. With the Czech Republic mired
in its second recession since 2009 the campaign has focussed on the economy.
The next Czech President will be the first who is directly elected by voters, not parliament,
though Presidential powers will remain limited. The incoming President will replace Václav
Klaus, the successor to Václav Havel.
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Maldives – Parliament censors unelected acting President
On 10 January the parliament criticised Maldives‟ unelected President, Dr. Waheed, for
failing to provide documents to a Parliamentary committee investigating the events behind the
February 7 2012 „transfer of power.‟ The Maldives‟ only democratically elected President,
Mohamed Nasheed of IDU Member Party MDP, was removed from power by rogue elements
in the Maldives Police and Army working in conjunction with supporters of the former
regime.
The committee‟s establishment has been welcomed by the MDP who have stated “It is crucial
we are able to have a credible investigation by the elected Parliament on the transfer of
power. Following information provided in Uza Dhiyana Saeed‟s report and other information
available, we must have clarity on transfer of power”.
In November of last year, the Inter-Parliamentary Union undertook a visit to the Maldives.
During a press conference reporting on its findings, it stated that the targeting and arrest of
opposition MPs as "very worrying" and stated that it found it “difficult” to believe that such
incidents were not politically-motivated.
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Georgia – New government continues campaign of selective justice
Following the victory for Bidzina Ivanishvili‟s Georgian Dream coalition in October serious
concerns have been raised by senior representatives from both the US and the EU over the
politically motivated prosecution of officials from the former government of IDU Member
Party United National Movement (UNM).
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The Deputy Mayor of Tbilisi, the former Minister of Defence and Interior, the acting Chief of
Staff of the Army as well as director of the largest private TV station are included in those
who have been arrested. Civil servants report they have been targeted through unwarranted
house searches and long interrogations; both of which are unconstitutional. Current and
former members of the parliament UNM report being summoned by police and interrogated
about their work in parliament.
On December 5, 2012 the ruling Georgian Dream coalition introduced a draft bill on an
amnesty that declared 190 individuals as “political prisoners” and 25 as “political refugees”.
The amnesty would free some 3500 prisoners, and cut the prison terms of more than 8,000
convicted criminals in a move which has sparked fears that Georgia could descend into the
lawlessness and organised crime of the 1990s.
The bill was vetoed by President Saakashvili who remains in office until the Presidential
elections in October 2013. However, the veto has been overridden by the Georgian Dream
coalition in the parliament and the bill came into effect on January 12, 2013.
6. International Young Democrat Union under evaluation
IDU Member parties should be aware that the advertised IYDU Council Meeting, in Tirana
from 6 to 9 February, is not taking place with the support of IDU. A Working Group
appointed by the IDU Executive Committee has requested to the IYDU board that this
meeting be postponed pending a review of the IYDU, but this request has been ignored by the
IYDU board.
The IDU Working Group on IYDU, chaired by IDU Assistant Chairman Shane Stone, will
report its findings to the next meeting of the IDU Executive.
Best wishes
Eirik Moen
IDU Secretary General
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NEWS: You can submit news to be included in the UPDATE and information about events to
be included in the calendar by sending it to the IDU secretariat. Documents may be edited.
Articles and viewpoints printed in the UPDATE do not necessarily mean the endorsement by
the International Democrat Union of a particular policy, unless the Executive or the Party
Leaders meeting has already supported it expressly.
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