South African Elections, US-China trade war, Istanbul and Iran

Posted by by United World International May 13, 2019 5 Min Read

Elections in South Africa

The ruling African National Congress Party (ANC) won the parliamentary elections in South Africa with 57.51% of the vote, the election commission reported.

General elections, during which the country’s parliament and national government headed by the president are elected, were held in South Africa on Wednesday. According to the data of the electoral commission, the opposition Democratic Alliance received 20.76% of the vote, and the far-left Fighters for Economic Freedom received 10.79%.

Trade war between US and China

On Friday, Trump’s decision to raise duties on goods from China in the amount of $ 200 billion came into force, heightening tensions between Washington and Beijing.

Meanwhile, both countries are trying to save a trade agreement that was on the verge of collapse.

Donald Trump noted that the United States plans to impose similar duties on the “remaining” categories of imports at around $ 325 billion. He stressed that now the total amount of US exports to China is about $ 100 billion. The federal budget will receive another 100 billion due to the introduction of new duties.

Istanbul elections

The High Election Commission of Turkey decided to cancel the results of the elections in Istanbul, in which former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, the candidate of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), was defeated. Thus, the repeated municipal elections in Istanbul will be held again on June 23.

The party submitted documents to the High Electoral Commission indicating violations during the March 31 elections in Istanbul and demanded that the results be canceled and that the elections be held again.

7 members of the Higher Election Commission voted to repeat the voting process, while 4 members of the PEC opposed the decision.

The High Election Commission also canceled the certificate of recognition recognizing Ekrem Imamoglu as mayor. Imamoglu, who initially declared victory in the March 31 election, ran with the opposition Republican People’s Party.

Iranian nuclear deal – Rouhani’s ultimatum for the EU and Trump’s new sanctions

On May 8, on the anniversary of the US withdrawal from a nuclear deal with Iran, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), President Donald Trump signed a decree imposing new sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The executive order issued by Trump targets Iran’s iron, steel, aluminum, and copper sectors, which are the government’s largest non-petroleum-related sources of export revenue and 10 percent of its export economy, a White House statement said.

“Today’s action targets Iran’s revenue from the export of industrial metals — 10 percent of its export economy — and puts other nations on notice that allowing Iranian steel and other metals into your ports will no longer be tolerated,” Trump said in a statement about the sanctions.

According to the decree, the US may also impose sanctions against the individuals for buying, selling and transporting metals produced in Iran.

Simultaneously, Iran announced it would stop complying with some of the commitments agreed to in the 2015 nuclear deal. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani set a 60-day deadline for the European signatories of the nuclear deal to negotiate the implementation of the JCPOA. Rouhani promised to resume enriching uranium to a higher level than now allowed under the treaty if his demand goes unmet.

“If the five countries join negotiations and help Iran to reach its benefits in the field of oil and banking, Iran will return to its commitments according to the nuclear deal,” Rouhani said.

The European Union has rejected Iran’s 60-day “ultimatum”, referring to Tehran’s decision to quit parts of the 2015 nuclear agreement a year after the US withdrew from the landmark accord signed with major world powers.

In a joint statement with the foreign ministries of France, the United Kingdom, and Germany, the EU urged Iran to respect the nuclear deal and said it regretted new US sanctions imposed on Tehran.

It’s important to note that EU countries have not taken concrete measures to push the US to resume negotiations with Iran nor to promote the full and effective implementation of the JCPOA.