Moscou, Russia | AFP | The Russian opposition vowed to stage another mass rally Saturday despite increasing pressure from authorities, who arrested nearly 1,400 people at a protest last week and have launched a criminal probe into the movement. The march along Moscow’s leafy boulevards will be the latest in a …
Read More »Electoral reforms: Gov’t seeks to delay polls in new districts
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Government wants elections in newly created districts and constituencies halted until the next round of general elections. This is one of the proposals in the Parliamentary Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2019 tabled by the Attorney General before parliament on Thursday last week. The Bill seeks to …
Read More »AG Byaruhanga delivers copies of Electoral Bills, blasts critics
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Uganda’s Attorney General William Byaruhanga says critics have largely misrepresented the provisions of the five electoral reform bills he presented last week. Byaruhanga addressed the press today and charged that some critics have distorted the contents of the Bills both in mainstream and social …
Read More »Rwampara Interim LCV Chairperson Elections Flop Again
Rwampara, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The elections of the interim LCV Chairperson for Rwampara has flopped again. The elections which were supposed to be held last week on Wednesday flopped after only four out of the seven councillors turned up. The election flopped again on Monday after the same councillors …
Read More »MPs not happy with delay to access electoral bills
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Members of Parliament and some journalists have failed to access the recently tabled Electoral reforms, copies of which have not reached them due to what officials said was an email glitch. Government on Thursday tabled the long-awaited proposed electoral reforms which had generated a …
Read More »State funeral for Tunisia’s Essebsi as new polls loom
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Thousands of Tunisians on Saturday attended the funeral of president Beji Caid Essebsi as the North African nation gears up for snap elections as early as September to defend the democratic gains of the Arab Spring. Essebsi, the country’s first head of state elected in …
Read More »Uganda’s popstar lawmaker to contest 2021 presidential vote
Kampala, Uganda | AFP | Ugandan pop star turned leading opposition figure Bobi Wine on Wednesday officially announced he would take on veteran President Yoweri Museveni in 2021 national elections, vowing to fight corruption and create jobs. Wine has long hinted he would throw his hat into the ring and …
Read More »EU nominee von der Leyen faces sceptical parliament
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 …
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