Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | Botswana voted Wednesday in a cliffhanger election set to test the decades-long dominance of the ruling party and challenge the country’s image of stability. The southern African nation’s 2,200 polling stations started closing at 1700 GMT as many were still waiting in queues to cast their …
Read More »British PM could target election as EU mulls Brexit extension
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson could pivot towards a general election as the EU mulls granting a Brexit deadline extension on Wednesday, after a fresh twist to the divorce saga cast doubt over his hopes of leaving on October 31. In tense parliamentary votes on …
Read More »Portugal’s Antonio Costa, shrewd dealmaker poised for re-election
Lisbon, Portugal | AFP | Portugal’s Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa, tipped to win a second term in an election on Sunday, is a shrewd tactician who balanced the budget without losing the support of hard-left parties that propped up his minority government. The white-haired former mayor of Lisbon, of Indian …
Read More »Anti-establishment figures claim first round wins in Tunisia polls
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Two anti-establishment candidates in Tunisia’s divisive election claimed Sunday to have won through to a runoff, hours after polling closed in the country’s second free presidential poll since the 2011 Arab Spring. In a sign of voter apathy, especially among the young, turnout was reported by …
Read More »UK Johnson’s Brexit plans in tatters after stinging defeats
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s hardline Brexit strategy stood in tatters on Thursday after a humiliating week left him without a working majority but unable to call an election. His supporters ended a night-long filibuster in the upper House of Lords when the government gave …
Read More »UK PM to call election if Brexit strategy defeated: top official
London, United Kingdom | AFP | British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will call an election for October 14 if MPs vote against his Brexit strategy, a top official said Monday on the eve of a parliamentary showdown. MPs from Johnson’s own Conservative Party are preparing to join opposition lawmakers in a …
Read More »Somali state braces for election with risks to regional stability
Mogadishu, Somalia | AFP | Somalia’s southern state of Jubaland is under lockdown ahead of a tense election Thursday which has pitted regional authorities against Mogadishu and sparked tensions with neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia. The highly contested election in the semi-autonomous state has been postponed several times as a result of …
Read More »Kato Lubwama suit: Parties refuse to receive judgment
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Parties in a case in which Rubaga South Member of Parliament Kato Lubwama is seeking to block a petition challenging his election have declined to receive a judgment by the Court of Appeal. The team comprising lawyers Samuel Muyizi, Nalukoola Luyimbazi and Isaac Ssemakadde, …
Read More »Nigeria vote tensions rise as counting suspended in volatile state
Port Harcourt, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s election authorities announced the suspension of activities in volatile opposition-held Rivers State on Sunday citing violence and threats to its staff, as tensions rise in the wake of closely-watched regional elections. Counting is continuing across the country after Saturday’s elections for governors in 29 …
Read More »‘Golden handshake’ for DR Congo’s outgoing ministers
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | In the weeks leading up to Democratic Republic of Congo’s controversial election, those leaving power quietly passed two decrees guaranteeing themselves money and benefits that would ensure their financial security for decades to come. Ministers in the outgoing government of now ex-president Joseph Kabila awarded …
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