Introducing the 41st edition of The PEP Weekly Digest, where we present to you the most recent updates and news on the global political stage.

Recent and upcoming elections influence the worldwide political landscape in eight nations, slated between March 01, 2024 and April 10, 2024. These elections hold significant importance, as they will determine the direction and governance of each respective country’s future.

One noteworthy event has occurred in Ghana, Ghana’s Deputy Finance Minister John Kumah has died. Sources close to the family of the 45-year-old lawmaker confirmed the news to private media house TV3 on Thursday, March 7. He is reported to have died in the early hours of Thursday in Germany where he had been receiving medical treatment for some time now. There was no additional information on the circumstances of his death. Kumah was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Ejisu constituency in the 2020 general election in Ghana under the New Patriotic Party (NPP). He was then appointed Deputy Minister of Finance in April 2021.   

Shifting our focus to Guinea, Mourana Soumah is a distinguished manager, an experienced technocrat with a solid and edifying career who has just been promoted to the position of Minister of Economy and Finance. Always prompt and enthusiastic, overflowing with energy and vivacity in action, inspired and inspiring in the search for effective and innovative solutions to the issues, challenges and problems that arise, Minister Mourana Soumah is part of the rare category and precious, from these young enlightened managers to the assertive leadership of the new generation of senior Guinean and African executives. These character traits perfectly illustrate the personality of the New Minister of Economy and Finance, until now, former Director General of the Treasury and Public Accounting, known and recognized for his intellectual and professional qualities, his technical expertise and his proven skills in the elite of actors and decision-makers in charge of public finances and the economy in Guinea.

In Pakistan, lawmakers have elected Asif Ali Zardari as the country’s president for the second time. Zardari is the widower of the assassinated former premier Benazir Bhutto and the father of the former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari. Zardari secured 411 votes from national and provincial lawmakers. His opponent, Mehmood Khan Achakzai, who is backed by the party of imprisoned former prime minister Imran Khan, received 181 votes. The Pakistani presidency is a largely ceremonial role. Zardari was previously in the job between 2008 and 2013. Zardari was the joint candidate of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League, or PML-N, the party of the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, and his other political allies. He was the favourite to win on Saturday because of his alliance with Pakistan’s other political dynasty, the Sharifs, and his key role in talks to form a coalition government after the disputed national parliamentary election on 8 February. Sharif congratulated Zardari on becoming the country’s new president with a majority vote, saying that Zardari would be “a symbol of the strength of the federation”. He said he hoped that Zardari would fulfil his constitutional responsibilities in an efficient manner. Zardari’s rival Achakzai also congratulated him on his victory, saying the vote was held in a free and fair manner. Zardari is known for handling complicated political and other issues in a cool manner.

In the realm of regulatory affairs, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is taking action in coordination with the Kingdom of Bahrain against key Iran-based operatives and a financial facilitator for the designated terrorist group Al-Ashtar Brigades. The Department of State designated Al-Ashtar Brigades as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist in 2018. “Action, taken in coordination with the Kingdom of Bahrain, underscores our collective commitment to disrupting Iran’s destabilizing forces and threats, particularly those which threaten our partners in the region and around the world,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. Today’s designations highlight the critical role that the Iranian regime plays in providing support to Al-Ashtar Brigades. In 2018, the government of Bahrain charged numerous individuals due to terrorism-related activities. A number of these individuals fled Bahrain to evade prison sentences and settled in Iran, which has long supported and continues to serve as a safe haven for terrorist groups. These individuals are being designated pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, which targets terrorist groups and their supporters.

Shifting our attention to legal advancements, in China, court sentenced Wang Dengfeng, a former senior official of the Ministry of Education, to 17 years in prison for embezzlement and bribery. Wang was also fined 5 million yuan (around 705,000 U.S. dollars) and had the funds he embezzled returned, while his illegal gains from bribery were recovered and turned over to the state treasury, according to the verdict of the Intermediate People’s Court of Dezhou in east China’s Shandong Province. Wang was convicted of embezzling public funds and property worth 46.7 million yuan, both personally and with others, between 2016 and 2022, according to the court. The court also found that Wang took advantage of his positions between 2006 and 2022 to help others in matters related to project contracting and hosting sports games. He was convicted of accepting money and valuables worth over 9.66 million yuan, the court said.