Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A large portrait of a bright-eyed young woman draped in a black graduation robe looms over a spotless, tiled lounge in Protea Glen, a suburb of Johannesburg’s Soweto township. It is a constant and gnawing reminder of potential that has gone unrealised for 10 …
Read More »Loyal but fed up: South Africans’ patience with ANC running low
Alexandra/Welkom, South Africa | AFP | “In 1994 we voted for Nelson Mandela, then for Thabo Mbeki, then again for Jacob Zuma. But nothing has changed,” sighed Aubrey Kutlawano after attending an election rally by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Aged 42, Kutlawano has no job and lives in a …
Read More »Cows come home to haunt India’s Modi
Pilani, India | AFP | One of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s signature policies has been protecting cows, but for Raghuvir Singh Meena — a Hindu farmer struggling to protect his crop of chickpeas from roaming cattle — it has gone too far. Farmers overwhelmingly supported Modi’s nationalist party when …
Read More »‘Son of the soil’ Modi becomes India’s nationalist powerhouse
New Delhi, India | AFP | Stern, sharp and shrewd, Narendra Modi fought his way off the streets to become one of India’s most popular and polarising prime ministers. There is no middle ground between admirers and adversaries of the man — now running for a second term as leader …
Read More »The winding road to power in Israel: How elections work
Jerusalem, Undefined | AFP | Israel will hold general elections on April 9. Here are some facts about the process: Dozens of parties Israel’s system of proportional representation allows small parties a chance of getting a seat in the 120-member Knesset, Israel’s parliament. There is however a barrier to the …
Read More »Comedian heads to run-off against incumbent for Ukraine presidency
Kiev, Ukraine | AFP | Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky topped the first round of Ukraine’s presidential election Sunday, exit polls showed, setting him up for a run-off with the incumbent after voters expressed frustration over corruption and a stalling economy. When he announced his long-shot candidacy at the start of the …
Read More »Modi or Gandhi? Indian mystics split over poll outcome
Mumbai, India | AFP | Transgender mystic Zoya Lobo turns over three oracle cards, studies them for a minute and looks up. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will definitely win India’s general election this summer, she proclaims. Clairvoyant Larra Shah also predicts a victory for Modi owing to his “extremely powerful …
Read More »In face of protests, Algeria leader vows to quit early if re-elected
Algiers, Algeria | AFP | Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika pledged Sunday not to serve a full term if re-elected at April polls after huge protests against the bid to extend his 20 years in power. The ailing leader, who suffered a stroke in 2013, vowed in a letter read out …
Read More »Muhammadu Buhari: Nigeria’s anti-corruption president
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was elected in 2015 on a wave of hope that he could defeat Boko Haram Islamists and turn around a country blighted by decades of corruption and poor governance. But while he will go down in history as Nigeria’s first opposition …
Read More »Nigeria’s Buhari wins another term
Abuja, Nigeria | AFP | Muhammadu Buhari was on Tuesday re-elected Nigeria’s president, after a delayed poll that angered voters and raised political temperatures, leading to claims of rigging and collusion. Buhari, 76, took an unassailable lead of more than four million votes with the last states yet to be …
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