All presidential and parliamentary elections held during the independence era have been deemed flawed by independent western monitoring groups.
Western observers have never deemed any Uzbek presidential or parliamentary election in the post-Soviet era to be free and fair.
With this legislation pending, as well as a presidential campaign and an ongoing battle to reform the NSA, it doesn't seem likely that Paul is ready to follow in Gravel's footsteps.
Intent on offering his condolences and meeting Abdullah's successor in person, Obama led an exceptionally high-powered delegation to Riyadh that included former secretaries of state, past presidential candidates and senior military commanders.
It also raised his stock as a potential 2016 presidential candidate.
It's only the first couple of weeks of 2015, but the year may as well be over: with the 2016 presidential and congressional elections looming, Republicans are pushing full steam ahead on economy and jobs in an attempt to improve their chances at capturing the White House next year.
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"I can talk for a long time," Paul told a cheering crowd in South Carolina, home to an important presidential primary.
The broadcaster RTÉ said 500,000 viewers watched its coverage of the Queen planting a tree at the presidential residence on Tuesday, and other channels also covered the occasion.
Mugabe, Africa's oldest leader, won with 61% of the presidential vote, trouncing MDC leader Morgan Tsvangirai on 34%.
And then there were the prospective 2016 Republican presidential candidates: Sens. Marco Rubio, Rand Paul and Ted Cruz and Rep. Paul Ryan all voted No – a thousand times no.
