Washington, United States | AFP | US President Donald Trump blamed what he called “fake news” Friday for a wave of politically-linked violence in the runup to next week’s midterm congressional elections. “The fake news is creating violence,” Trump told journalists at the White House. A fanatical Trump supporter was …
Read More »DR Congo vote watchdogs ‘weak’, study warns
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo presidency has undue influence over two bodies tasked with overseeing elections, a research group said Thursday, warning the country risked “a new cycle of conflict”. The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) and Constitutional Court have been subject to “politicisation”, …
Read More »DR Congo rulers denounce ‘cheating’ in pre-vote poll
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Supporters of President Joseph Kabila on Thursday denounced alleged cheating in an opinion poll that placed two opposition leaders well ahead before a presidential election due on December 23. Results of the national poll, released on Tuesday, tipped Felix Tshisekedi, president of the main, …
Read More »Presidential poll embitters poor Madagascans
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | “If I was to vote, I would definitely vote for the rubbish bins because at least they feed us,” scoffed Claudine Rajaonarison. She had been scouring the streets of Antananarivo since 4:00 am for plastic to sell. Rajaonarison, a 35-year-old mother of three, said she …
Read More »Merkel on the spot after painful regional vote
Frankfurt am Main, Germany | AFP | German Chancellor Angela Merkel faces a bitter political reality on Monday after the parties in her fragile coalition suffered heavy losses in a key regional election and a junior partner made threats to quit. Sunday’s blow for Merkel’s conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) …
Read More »‘Tropical Trump’ Bolsonaro elected Brazil president
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | AFP | Former army captain Jair Bolsonaro was elected president of Brazil on Sunday, promising a fundamental change in direction for the giant Latin American country, the latest to take a turn to the far-right. Despite repulsing many with his open support of the torture …
Read More »Tens of thousands support Kabila favourite in DRCongo rally
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | More than 50,000 supporters of DR Congo’s President Joseph Kabila turned out on Saturday to hear a speech by his favoured candidate in a long-delayed presidential election in December, AFP reporters said. Although campaigning has not started officially, the appearance of Emmanuel Ramazani Shadary …
Read More »Thousands rally in DR Congo against use of electronic machines in key polls
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Police on Friday fanned out across the DR Congo capital Kinshasa and other main cities as thousands of opposition supporters marched seeking the withdrawal of electronic voting machines in a long-delayed election due at the end of December. The regime of President Joseph Kabila …
Read More »DR Congo opposition parties agree to name unity candidate by mid-November
Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The Democratic Republic of Congo’s opposition parties agreed on Thursday to name a single unity candidate by mid-November to run against President Joseph Kabila’s choice in December elections. Tensions are running high before the long-delayed December 23 vote to chose a successor to Kabila, …
Read More »Security tight as Cameroon’s Biya wins seventh presidential term
Yaoundé, Cameroon | AFP | Paul Biya, who has ruled Cameroon with an iron fist since 1982, on Monday won a landslide victory in a controversial presidential election, as the government tightened security in the capital and gunfire erupted in the volatile Anglophone region. The Constitutional Council, dominated by Biya …
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