Strasbourg, France | AFP | Was an intense two-week political operation to woo European lawmakers long enough to win German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen the top job in Brussels? The 60-year-old conservative will replace Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the European Commission if she secures a majority in …
Read More »Spain’s acting PM struggles to win backing for second term
Madrid, Spain | AFP | With less than two weeks before a parliamentary vote on his investiture, Spain’s acting Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is struggling to win support from other parties to form a new government and avoid fresh elections. His Socialist party won 123 seats in early polls in April, …
Read More »Algeria interim leader makes new call for dialogue
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s interim president Abdelkader Bensalah has called for a national dialogue to prepare for delayed presidential elections, vowing that the state and the military would remain neutral in the process. What does the proposal mean in a country wracked by months of anti-government protests that led …
Read More »The legacy of Tsipras’s four-year tenure in Greece
Athens, Greece | AFP | As the longest-serving prime minister of the Greek bailout era, and also the youngest in 150 years, Alexis Tsipras found himself applying unpopular austerity cuts dictated by the country’s creditors after a stunning policy U-turn in 2015. But over four years, his government also sought …
Read More »Five things to know about Greece’s July 7 vote
Athens, Greece | AFP | Greeks head to the polls on Sunday in a snap ballot that could bring an end to Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s leftist government. Here are five things to know about the vote, the third in Greece since May following European and local elections. – Greeks …
Read More »UGX 200bn allocated for 2021 elections
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Government has allocated 223 billion shillings for the implementation of the Electoral Roadmap for the 2021 General Elections. This was revealed by the Minister for Finance, Planning and Economic Development Matia Kasaija on Thursday during the presentation of the budget for financial year 2019/2020. …
Read More »Elections of gospel artists leadership flop
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Elections of a National Executive body of the Federation of Gospel Artists of Uganda have flopped due to lack of quorum. The elections had been slated for Saturday by the outgoing committee at the Uganda National Cultural Center also known as the National Theatre. However, …
Read More »Malawi suspends updates of election results after disputes
Blantyre, Malawi | AFP | Malawi’s electoral board on Friday said it was suspending updates of results from this week’s elections in order to resolve complaints raised by some of the parties. A count of votes tallied in three-quarters of the country’s polling stations, released Thursday, found incumbent president Peter Mutharika …
Read More »Independent MPs reject IPOD proposals
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Independent Members of Parliament have rejected a proposal calling for independents to resign from political parties 12 months before elections. The IPOD Summit on Monday adopted the proposal which is intended to help political parties to block supporters from running as independent candidates immediately …
Read More »Political parties draft proposal to restrict Independents
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Political parties through Inter-Party Organisation for Dialogue (IPOD) have drafted a proposal which calls for individuals seeking to contest as independents to resign from political parties 12 months before elections. Candidates who contest and lose in political parties will thus be blocked from …
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