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Elections & governance
RSS FeedAlgeria: 50 years of independence marked
2012-07-08, Issue 592
Algerians celebrated with unprecedented enthusiasm on Wednesday (July 4th) the eve of the nation's 50th independence day. The country's 48 wilayas joined together with concerts, parades and processions that punctuated a long, emotionally-charged evening that remembered the 1962 break from 132 years of French rule.
Sudan: Opposition politician Kamel Omar arrested
2012-07-09, Issue 592
A prominent Sudanese opposition politician has been arrested, amid growing unrest over economic hardship. Kamel Omar was taken from his home by unknown men who showed no warrant, a spokesman of his party said. A government official said he was held for alleged links to Darfur rebels, as well as to the recent protests.
Sudan: Tear gas fired at university demo
2012-07-09, Issue 592
Sudanese security forces fired tear gas on Sunday after demonstrations broke out at the University of Khartoum, where nationwide protests against high prices began last month, a witness said. The university is where an unprecedented three weeks of national protests began on June 16, when students first voiced their opposition to high food prices.
Egypt: President reverses parliament dissolution
2012-07-09, Issue 592
Egypt's President Mohammed Morsy has ordered parliament to reconvene, a month after it was dissolved. Mr Morsy, whose Muslim Brotherhood won most seats, said the chamber should reconvene until a new election is held. The military had enforced a court order last month dissolving parliament because party members had contested seats reserved for independents.
Algeria: Elite at loggerheads over next president
2012-06-20, Issue 590
Algeria's government has been paralysed by arguments over who should be anointed as favourite to be the next president, exposing divisions within the ruling elite that could shatter the country's fragile stability. The cohesion and control with which Algeria's establishment runs the energy exporting former French colony has kept it steady even as its neighbours were buffeted by the 'Arab Spring' upheavals over the past 18 months.
Angola: Rhythms of resistance, past and present
2012-06-20, Issue 590
Global Voices reports on the crackdown on political activists in Angola. On 11 June, Luaty Beirão, also known as Ikonoklasta or Brigadeiro Mata Frakuxz, was arrested at the airport of Lisbon, for allegedly carrying cocaine in his luggage. 'On social media, many people commented that the real reason behind #Ikonoklasta's detention was political. In recent times, the rapper's voice of dissent has become more and more visible, as he openly lent support to the frequent street protests in Luanda.'
Togo: Violent police clash with ‘Save Togo' protesters
2012-06-20, Issue 590
A peaceful march by the ‘Save Togo‘ collective on 12 June 2012, degenerated into a stand off with security forces. Around 120 injured were recorded during clashes over 12-13 June. The ‘Save Togo' collective brings together several political and human rights organisations. It was created on 4 April in Lomé and totals 17 groups, including seven organisations dedicated to the defense of human rights.
Libya: Campaigning kicks off for Libya elections
2012-06-21, Issue 590
Campaigning for Libya's first national election in a generation has kicked off ahead of July 7 polls to choose an national assembly which will re-draw the autocratic system of rule put in place by ousted leader Muammar Gaddafi. In a statement published on its website, Libya's electoral commission said that candidates will have 18 days to campaign, from June 18 until July 5, with 2,501 independents and 1,206 political association candidates eligible to stand.
Angola: Parties present candidates' lists
2012-06-21, Issue 590
The Angolan Constitutional Court has received lists of candidates from 27 political formations for the parliamentary elections scheduled for 31 August. Making the announcement, court boss Onofre dos Santos said the 19 parties and eight coalitions now had 10 days to correct their nomination irregularities or inadequacies. Mr Santos said the irregularities or inadequacies would include replacement of candidates.
Swaziland: Opposition to elections grows
2012-06-12, Issue 589
Opposition to next year’s national election in Swaziland is growing. Elections are held every five years and the next is due in 2013. But prodemocracy activists in Swaziland have been calling for a boycott. All political parties are banned and many opposition voices are silenced in the kingdom, ruled by King Mswati III, sub-Saharan Africa’s last absolute monarch. The latest call came from participants at a ‘People’s Parliament’ organised by the Swaziland Coalition of Concerned Civic Organisations held in Manzini at the weekend.
Tunisia: Military court hands Ben Ali 20 years in jail
2012-06-13, Issue 589
Tunisia's ousted president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in absentia for inciting violence and murder. The charges relate to an incident in the town of Ouardanine last January, when four men were shot trying to stop the president's nephew fleeing Tunisia.
South Africa: Cabinet reshuffle
2012-06-13, Issue 589
South African President Jacob Zuma has fired his police chief, who is implicated in suspect property deals, and replaced him with first woman head of the scandal-tarnished service. Zuma removed controversial police commissioner Bheki Cele from the post after a commission of enquiry found him 'unfit for office' over leases for police offices at far above market rates. Ms Mangwashi Phiyega was appointed the new national police commissioner with immediate effect. A technocrat with considerable management experience, she has been a trustee of Nelson Mandela's foundation and an executive at Barclays-owned banking group Absa.
Togo: Security forces break up big Togo opposition demonstration
2012-06-13, Issue 589
Togolese security forces on Tuesday 12 June used teargas to disperse a huge demonstration staged by civil society organizations and some opposition political parties in the capital, Lomé. Tens of thousands of people led by opposition and civil society figures defied a heavy downpour to heed the call by the umbrella 'Let's Save Togo' to denounce actions by the government they claimed were intended to manipulate the electoral process.
South Africa: Zuma should beware the No.10 jersey
2012-06-13, Issue 589
Isaac Mangena, in this http://www.thoughtleader.co.za opinion piece, assesses the political in and outs of Toyko Sexwale and his apparent bid to take the top spot of the ruling ANC from Jacob Zuma. 'Sexwale is not tainted much, and perhaps that’s why he is hated and not trusted so much inside the ANC than he is outside it. Unlike our current president, Sexwale is not exposed and his wealth make him less susceptible to corruption.'
Liberia: Reconciliation and reform
2012-06-17, Issue 589
Despite marked improvements, numerous grievances that plunged Liberia into bloody wars from 1989 until President Charles Taylor left in August 2003 (originally for exile in Nigeria) remain evident, says this briefing from the International Crisis Group. These include a polarised society and political system; corruption, nepotism and impunity.
Mauritania: Differences rock salafist current
2012-06-17, Issue 589
Mauritanian salafists cannot agree on whether to follow their Maghreb neighbours into the political arena or reject democracy as an invention of infidels. The issue has led to cracks in the movement, with extreme adherents of the salafist current vowing to mobilise against the proposal from their more moderate peers.
Mali: Touareg rebels begin Mali talks
2012-06-17, Issue 589
Touareg rebels in northern Mali entered into talks with regional mediators for the first time last week, expressing a willingness to engage in dialogue with the international community. A delegation from the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA) led by Ibrahim Ag Mohamed Assaleh met Burkinabe President and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) mediator Blaise Compaoré for the first time on Saturday (9 June) in Ouagadougou.
Ivory Coast: Thousands of Ivorians flee to Liberia after aborted coup claim
2012-06-18, Issue 589
Thousands of Ivorians are are fleeing into neighbouring Liberia following claims of a failed coup attempt announced by the Ivorian authorities. The Ivorian government said it had foiled a plot to overthrow President Alassane Ouattara by a group of exiled army officers loyal to his ousted predecessor Laurent Gbagbo. In an interview on public television station RTI, Interior Minister Hamed Bakayoko accused pro-Gbagbo officers and former members of his administration of plotting to install a transitional military council.
Egypt: New military declaration causes anger
2012-06-18, Issue 589
Anger and rejection in Egypt followed the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) new constitutional declaration. The declaration grants back power to head of SCAF Hussein Tantawi, who is also the Minister of Defense. Egyptian activists are calling the moves a 'military coup' and the deceleration 'another step in cementing a lingering presence [of the military] and a hold over public life by the military'.
Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood candidate claims victory
2012-06-18, Issue 589
Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohamed Morsi has claimed victory in the country’s first post-uprising presidential election. Morsi’s victory will see Egypt have its first civilian president in more than 60 years, since a 1952 military coup ousted the King. Official results are to be announced later this week.
Egypt: Rally against Mubarak verdict continues
2012-06-06, Issue 588
Egyptians continue their million-man march in Cairo, Alexandria and Suez to voice their anger at the lenient sentence handed to ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak. The protesters gathered in the capital's iconic Liberation Square and other cities to urge the retrial of Mubarak and his two sons, demanding the death penalty for the octogenarian dictator. The demonstrators also called for unity among all political parties to prevent the re-emergence of the Mubarak-era dictatorship.
Egypt: Call for presidential vote to be cancelled
2012-06-06, Issue 588
Egypt’s popular political leader and former presidential hopeful Mohamed ElBaradei has said the upcoming presidential runoff in the country should be canceled. He argued that the real battle in Egypt was 'writing Egypt’s new constitution and canceling the presidential elections, because the legitimacy of one of the candidates is highly doubtful', referring to presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq, who was Mubarak’s last prime minister.
Guinea: President warned to keep off Sierra Leone politics
2012-06-06, Issue 588
Guinea President Alpha Conde has ignited anger among a section of Sierra Leone’s opposition for a statement seen as interference in the latter’s politics. President Conde Saturday openly declared support for his Sierra Leonean counterpart in the forthcoming elections. The Guinean leader made the pronouncement as the two leaders inaugurated a new highway linking Conakry and Freetown, the respective capitals of the two states.
Ghana: Rawlings wants wife to 'rescue' Ghana from crisis
2012-06-07, Issue 588
Ghana’s former President Jerry John Rawlings has given the first hint that his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings, might enter the presidential race in December. It is not clear whether the former First Lady would do so as an independent candidate or form a new party. Not too long ago, Nana Agyeman was rejected by delegates of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC) when she took on party leader President John Evans Mills.
Angola: Parties to get state funding
2012-06-07, Issue 588
All political parties in Angola will benefit from government financial support, it has been announced. Parliamentary Affairs minister Norberto dos Santos said every party and recognised coalition would be allocated at least $90,000 (9.6 million Kwanzas). The money is meant to help the parties prepare for parliamentary elections scheduled for August 31. Dos Santos said 77 parties and seven coalitions recognised by the constitutional would be funded.
Libya: Assembly election postponed
2012-06-11, Issue 588
Libya has postponed its landmark election for a constitutional assembly to July 7 because of technical and logistical issues, the head of the electoral commission said. The first elections since the fall of the country's longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi were due to be held on June 19. Two hundred representatives are to be elected and tasked with drafting the country's constitution, but authorities say they need more time to vet candidates.
Egypt: Liberals quit constitutional meeting
2012-06-11, Issue 588
Egyptian liberals have walked out of a meeting to select members of a panel to write the country's new constitution, charging Islamists of trying to take seats allocated for secular parties. The walkout could throw the writing of the constitution, which would lay out the powers of the presidency, into further disarray at a time when uncertainties mar both the course of the presidential runoff election on June 16 and 17 and the legality of parliament.
Gambia: Guinea Bissau refugees detained
2012-05-29, Issue 587
Gambia's immigration ministry said on Tuesday 29 May Guinea-Bissau's former army chief, elections chief and ousted interior minister were being detained 'for security reasons' after fleeing to Banjul. Former army chief Jose Zamora Induta, elections commission chief Desejado Da Costa and Fernando Gomes, who was interior minister in the government overthrown in the country's latest coup last month, fled Guinea-Bissau over the weekend.
Libya: First post-Gaddafi vote may face delay
2012-05-29, Issue 587
Libya's former deputy election commissioner says he quit his post because he does not believe the country is ready for next month's elections. Sghair Majeri has told Al Jazeera that 'holding elections by June 19 is a mission impossible' as it is a time-consuming process. However, Libya's Election Commission insists everything is still on track for holding the vote on June 19.
Algeria: New parliament sworn in
2012-05-30, Issue 587
Algeria swore in newly elected MPs on 26 May amidst protests from Islamists alleging electoral fraud. Mohamed Larbi Ould Khelifa presided over the first plenary session of the new People's National Assembly (APN), assisted by two younger MPs, Assia Kenane and Hocine Maaloume. Islamist protesters disrupted the proceedings when 49 Green Algeria Alliance members held up placards and called the May 10th election a fraud, followed by a similar act by the 28 MPs representing the Front for the Protection of Democracy.
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