Domestic Politics

It always looked wobbly, and with little chance that it would succeed in resolving Georgia's deep political crisis. But on Wednesday (28 July), the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party finally sunk the so called "Michel Agreement" signed with much fanfare on 19 April. The Georgian opposition is outraged, and things are back to square one, if not worse.

Tunisia's largest political party has called for the holding of simultaneous legislative and presidential elections to guarantee the protection of the democratic process. On its part the European Union said in a statement that "the country’s commitment to democracy, and respect for the rule of law, for the Constitution and for the legislative framework must be maintained".

Lebanon has a new prime minister-designate tasked with forming a government. Najib Mikati, who is a business tycoon, has started consultations with the country's political forces ahead of forming a new government.

The crisis began late on Sunday when president Saïed invoked the constitution to dismiss the prime minister, Hichem Mechichi, suspend parliament for 30 days, and remove immunity from members of parliament, saying he would govern alongside a new premier.

Tunisia is in deep political crisis after the president dismissed the prime minister and suspended parliament in a move his opponents are describing as a coup. President Kais Saied said he would assume executive authority with the assistance of a new prime minister, in the biggest challenge yet to the democratic system Tunisia introduced following the 2011 revolution. The crisis also poses a challenge to the European Union which has previously strongly backed Tunisia's transition to democracy and its reform process.

Thousands of Ethiopians gathered at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa as the government announced the completion of the second filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). While Egypt is relieved by the quick ending of the filling, joined by Sudan, it still calls to reach a final trilateral agreement with Ethiopia on the operation of the dam.