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As the 2013 Zimbabwean elections are rapidly approaching, Zimbabwean feminist Rutendo Hadebe contemplates about issues of identity and how to create a Zimbabwe that is inclusive of all.

In July a three-year process of the reform of the Hungarian electoral procedure law has come to an end. With the changes in the voting system the leading Fidesz-KDNP party foremost seeks to convert its relative popular majority into an absolute majority in Parliament. An analysis of the reform's effects.  

A few months after Miloš Zeman first took office as president, we are now seeing the logical outcome of introducing a semi-presidential system. The current clash between the president and the Czech Parliament is a direct result of the political redistribution of power and could significantly influence the future form of the relationships between the government, the parliament, and the president.

On Wednesday, the 7th August, the Czech government loses the confidence vote in parliament. True victor of the battle for power is President Miloš Zeman because he has created a very strong power center and is now dominating the political space.

On the 31st of July 2013, Zimbabwe held its seventh presidential election. Robert Mugabe leading the Zimbabwe African National Unity (Patriotic Front), ZANU PF, has contested every one of them in his 33 years in power.

On 3 July, the European Parliament adopted the resolution “on the situation of fundamental rights: standards and practices in Hungary”, which criticises the state of fundamental rights and the rule of law in Hungary. MEP Rui Tavares, the rapporteur in charge of wording the report, discusses the resolution’s afterlife and its implications.

Lebanon is facing a complete paralysis of all state institutions, accompanied by a deteriorating security situation and a fragmentation of Lebanon into zones of sectarian conflict. The conflict in Syria is worsening the division within the country.

In reaction to the Arab Spring the Foundation decided to expand its programmes to North Africa and, in the summer of 2012, began to establish a new office in Tunis which opened in May 2013.

Our Israel office in Tel Aviv, established in 1998, is a continuation of programmes that began in 1992. The office aims to promote Israeli democracy, debates about the Middle East conflict, and exchanges and dialogue between Israel and Germany.

Article seven of the Lebanese Constitution guarantees equality of rights, obligations and duties to all citizens. But women in Lebanon are still far away from having the same rights. This article explains how family, sect, and the government conspiring against the participation of women in the public sphere.