Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerians on Saturday voted for a second time in a fortnight in governorship and state assembly elections, with heightened concerns from observers of violence and an increased military presence. Elections for governors are being held in 29 of Nigeria’s 36 states, for all state assemblies, plus …
Read More »Outcry in Nigeria over election ‘militarisation’ ahead of next ballot
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Rights groups have gone on the offensive over the deployment of the military in Nigerian elections as a new polling day looms. With elections due on Saturday for governors in 29 states and local assemblies, campaigners say the military cast a dark shadow over last month’s …
Read More »‘Museveni’s sole candidature not a surprise’
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Betty Nambooze, the Mukono North County MP has said that the decision by NRM’s Central Executive Committee-CEC endorsing President Yoweri Museveni as sole candidate in the 2021 elections should not surprise Ugandans. Museveni’s sole candidature resolution was reached Tuesday after a 5-day CEC retreat in …
Read More »CEC endorses Museveni as sole NRM candidate for 2021
Chobe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Central Executive Committee, the supreme organ of the National Resistance Movement-NRM party has endorsed President Yoweri Museveni as the party candidate for the 2021 elections. The resolution was reached on Tuesday afternoon during the five day retreat of the NRM Central Executive Committee …
Read More »Nigerian president warns vote-riggers of ‘ruthless’ response
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari said Monday he had ordered the police and military to be “ruthless” with vote-riggers, as preparations were made for rescheduled elections. Presidential and parliamentary elections were put off just over five hours before polls were due to open on Saturday, causing widespread anger. New polls have …
Read More »Proposal on lining up in NRM polls draws mixed reactions
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | There are mixed reactions amongst members of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party on a proposal by the party’s top organ-the Central Executive Committee (CEC), endorsing lining up as a mode of holding internal elections. The proposal that was sanctioned at the opening …
Read More »Nigeria counts cost of postponed presidential poll
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerians on Sunday counted the cost of the last-minute postponement of presidential elections, with predictions the delay could lose the country billions of dollars. The streets of Lagos, the country’s sprawling commercial hub of more than 20 million people, were empty following disappointment and anger …
Read More »NRM CEC recommends lining up in internal elections
Chobe, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The Central Executive Committee (CEC), of the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party, has zeroed on lining-up as the mode for holding internal elections in the party. The decision will now be introduced to members and other NRM organs for the amendment of …
Read More »Cameroon opposition leader charged with ‘rebellion’
Douala, Cameroon | AFP | Cameroon opposition leader Maurice Kamto, who says he was cheated out of the presidency in elections last year, has been charged with “rebellion” and “insurrection”, one of his lawyers said Wednesday. The former government minister was arrested in the economic capital Douala on January 28 after his MRC party organised …
Read More »Opposition threatens to table own electoral reforms
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The opposition in parliament has revealed plans to table proposed amendments to different electoral laws amidst accusations that government is unwilling to do so. It follows a statement, that they say is incomplete, by the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister, Kahinda Otafiire to parliament …
Read More »