Login to BlackFacts.com using your favorite Social Media Login. Click the appropriate button below and you will be redirected to your Social Media Website for confirmation and then back to Blackfacts.com once successful.
Enter the email address and password you used to join BlackFacts.com. If you cannot remember your login information, click the “Forgot Password” link to reset your password.
This weekend marks the first round of elections for 568 seats in the lower house of parliament.
\t On Friday, internet and international calls were cut off across the West African nation in anticipation of the election results, according to locals and international observers in the capital, Conakry.
\t This was the third time that Conde matched-up against Diallo. Before the election, observers raised concerns that an electoral dispute could reignite ethnic tensions between Guinea's largest ethnic groups.
After numerous delays, Haiti held elections on Feb. 7, 2006. The elections, backed by 9,000 United Nations troops, were seen as a crucial step in returning Haiti to some semblance of stability. Former prime minister and Aristide protegé René Préval, very popular among the poor, was seen as the favorite. But when the election count indicated that Prévals lead over the other candidate was dropping and that he would not win an outright majority, Préval contested the election and charged that “massive fraud and gross errors had stained the process.” On Feb. 14, the interim government halted the election count, and the following day, after the votes were retabulated, Préval was declared the winner.
In April 2008, Prime Minister Jacques-Édouard Alexis was removed from office by the Senate, which held him responsible for the poor economy. President René Preval designated Ericq Pierre as the new prime minister, but the lower house of Parliament rejected Pierre. In July, Parliament approved the nomination of Michèle Pierre-Louis for prime minister and she became the second woman prime minister of Haiti.
The Senate voted in November 2009 to oust Prime Minister Michele Pierre-Louis, who was considered by international donors as a competent leader who could efficiently and effectively use aid to improve the infrastructure of Haiti and boost the economy. The Senate, however, claimed that she had not done enough to lift Haiti out of its near constant state of misery. She was replaced by Jean-Max Bellerive.
The growing disdain for Biden among young Democratic voters has been predicted to dwindle with the promise of a Black woman as vice president, but for many, this is not the case.
This sentiment is shared amongst many young Black voters who are weary of the Democratic Party’s unfulfilled promises as a whole.
Still, other young Black voters aren’t impressed with the pool of choices, and the disdain for Biden is so much that they would risk another four years of Trump.
“I hate to say it, but between Biden and Trump, I’d still vote Trump,” says one young Black woman.
There seems to be no guarantee that the Democratic party will achieve its intended end if Biden chooses a Black woman to run alongside him.
Republicans say budget balanced ‘only on a wing and a prayer’
The Senate on early Sunday morning passed a budget package authorizing $42.8 billion in general revenue spending next year, although much of that remains tentative depending on the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic and potential congressional action that could send more financial aid to states.
During debate in both chambers, Republicans urged delaying any action on a budget until the state has a better estimate of how much revenue it will receive in the coming year, as well as how much federal aid will be available, but Democrats did not entertain that suggestion
The 68-44 vote in the House to pass the budget bill appeared to fall largely along party lines, with Republicans arguing it relied too heavily on borrowing and not enough on fiscal restraint.
The budget package actually consists of two bills – an appropriations bill, Senate Bill 264, which authorizes spending by various state agencies; and a “budget implementation” bill, or “BIMP,” in legislative lingo, House Bill 64, that enables various agencies to carry out the budget.
The implementation bill sets up a number of new funds within state government that can receive and distribute money from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, a $2.2 trillion federal relief program that Congress approved earlier this year.
But the implementation bill also gives the governor additional discretionary authority over the spending of state funds throughout the budget.
Mayor Van R. Johnson, II, will serve on the Georgia Municipal Association (GMA) Board of Directors as one of the Directors at-Large. In this role, Mayor Johnson will provide oversight of GMA’s affairs, participate in adopting necessary governance policies, promote participation in GMA among the membership and serve as an advocate of Georgia’s cities. Members elected Johnson during the association’s … Continue reading \"Mayor Johnson Elected To Georgia Municipal Association Board, Legislative Policy Council\"
In a historic move, yesterday Joe Biden named California Senator Kamala Harris as his running mate on Tuesday, making history by selecting the first Black woman to compete on a major party’s presidential ticket.
[Nyasa Times] On Thursday, April 16 2020, thousands of disgruntled Malawians in strategic townships and cities took to the streets to protest against President Peter Mutharika's decision to declare on a lockdown without cushioning underprivileged and poor families.
He’s using his most marketable skill to save democracy.
XXL has officially released the 2020 lineup for its coveted Freshmen cover.
Although the issue was pushed back later than usual due to the pandemic, the publication unveiled both the annual freshmen class list and this year's theme, officially dubbing the new class “Believe In The Future.”
“With his Club Quarantine parties, Derrick has created a space where folks can come together from living rooms and basements all over the world to let off some steam, dance it out and just enjoy each other’s company,” Obama, who referred to Jones as her friend, said.
“Partying with a purpose…his turntables have provided a soundtrack for so many of our volunteers, helping us reach more than 400,000 eligible voters throughout our recent couch parties,\" she added.
In late March, Club Quarantine partnered with Obama's organization When We All Vote to encourage those tuning in to register to vote, as Blavity previously reported.
African government officials and public figures have called out Western investors for keeping borrowing unfairly high due to prejudice.
A new parliament will soon be called back to work and newly elected and appointed legislators will have to attend on the cramped quarters of Gordon House at Duke Street in Kingston in the throes of a pandemic which requires physical distancing if...
Electoral authorities in Guinea on Saturday declared President Alpha Conde winner of Sunday's election with 59.49% of the vote, defeating his main rival Cellou Diallo.
\t Some people went to the streets to protest immediately after the announcement. Such demonstrations have occurred for months after the government changed the constitution through a national referendum, allowing Conde to extend his decade in power.
\t Opposition candidate Cellou Diallo received 33.50% of the vote, the electoral commission said. Voter turnout was almost 80%.
\t Political tensions in the West African nation turned violent in recent days after Diallo claimed victory ahead of the official results. Celebrations by his supporters were suppressed when security forces fired tear gas to disperse them.
They accuse the electoral authorities of rigging the vote for incumbent president Alpha Conde.
\t At least nine people have been killed since the election, according to the government. The violence sparked international condemnation by the U.S. and others.
\t ``Today is a sad day for African democracy,'' said Sally Bilaly Sow, a Guinean blogger and activist living abroad. The government should take into account the will of the people who have a desire for change, he said.
ICC warning
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor warned on Friday that warring factions in Guinea could be prosecuted after fighting erupted.
“I wish to repeat this important reminder: anyone who commits, orders, incites, encourages and contributes in any other way to crimes … is liable to prosecution either by the Guinean courts or the ICC,” she said.
#ICC Prosecutor #FatouBensouda: "I wish to repeat this important reminder: anyone who commits, orders, incites, encourages or contributes, in any other way, to the commission of #RomeStatute crimes, is liable to prosecution either by #Guinean courts or by the #ICC."
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) October 23, 2020
Presidents from Somalia’s Federal Member States, FMS, are meeting today in the central town of Dhusamareb in the Galmudug region.
Reports indicate that key issues to be discussed with the federal representatives are the electoral process and relations with federal government. There has been reports of tensions between the regional leaders and the Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo led federal government in Mogadishu.
The host president, Ahmed Abdi Karie, posted on Twitter that the Consultative Meeting is for the leaders to have a unified position on national elections.
Late last month, elections commission head, Halima Ismail Ibrahim, told federal lawmakers that prevailing conditions made it impossible to hold polls. She said the earliest an election could hold in the country was in March 2021.
In her address to the lower house of parliament, she presented two options – an election based on biometric registration which would be possible in August 2021 or a manual-based registration that can be held in March 2021.
A mandate extension for the current government has been strictly rejected by the opposition with the President and his Prime Minister also recently stating their disagreement with an extension.
Somalia currently is divided into six regional states. Puntland, Galmudug, Jubaland, South West State, Hirshabelle and Somaliland. The later continues to hold itself out as an independent state, though officially it is a semi-autonomous part of Somalia.
BREAKING: Five Somali regional leaders’ meeting opens in the central town of Dhusamareb. Among the key agendas to be discussed is electoral process and relations with federal leaders as some of the regional figures expressed serious differences with pres M_Farmaajo and his govt. pic.twitter.com/tn9t1yJvEk— Harun Maruf (HarunMaruf) July 11, 2020
Local organizers hope to increase voter turn turnout from Forester Athletic Complex to various voting locations including the Skyline Branch Library, the Martin Luther King Center and the Oak Cliff Sub-Courthouse Building on the success of its recent “Pack the Polls” car parade during the July primary election, local community groups and leaders are hosting a caravan designed to […]
Somalia joins the league of country’s that cannot hold elections – not because of the coronavirus as in the case of Ethiopia but because of preparatory challenges, the elections chief has disclosed.
She told lawmakers that the earliest an election could hold in the country was in March 2021.
The issue of upcoming elections has been a big issue in the Horn of Africa country with incumbent Mohammed Abdullahi Farmaajo certain to seek re-election.
The last poll was in February 2017 when after months of delays, some 275 MPs and 54 senators met in a fortified airport in the capital Mogadishu to choose between then incumbent Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for a second term, or one of his 21 other rivals.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the Chicago Public Library (CPL), and the CPL Foundation have partnered to bring “Live from the Library” to the children of Chicago.
Every week, CPL enlists select librarians from the institution’s 81 branches, along with some notable Chicago public figures, to bring the communities together through the love of storytelling.
The virtual program features many of Chicago’s most beloved public figures, including President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, who just recently read The Word Collector by Peter Reynolds on Thursday, May 14.
“Public libraries are essential institutions, and that’s why we’re bringing a new branch of the Chicago Public Library to the Obama Presidential Center on the South Side.
“Live from the Library” was launched with a reading by CPL Commissioner Andrea Telli; other notable Chicagoans like former Chicago Bear Israel Idonije, actress Jane Lynch, and Mayor Lightfoot have participated since.
Today (Sept. 17), Foot Locker, Inc. announced that it is partnering with Rock The Vote. If you can work a sneaker app, you can certainly figure out if you're registered to vote, right?
By Cash Michaels and Peter Grear, Greater Diversity News If preliminary data estimates on the recent 2020 primaries in North Carolina are accurate, student voters on HBCU campuses must raise their turnout game come the general election this November. So says Dr. William Busa, founder of EQV Analytics, a ‘North Carolina-focused campaign consulting firm serving
By Tali Arbel Associated Press Several civil rights and other advocacy groups are calling on large advertisers to stop Facebook ad campaigns during July because they say the social network isn’t doing enough to curtail racist and violent content on its platform. The groups in the “#StopHateforProfit” campaign launch, include Anti-Defamation League, the NAACP, Sleeping []
Korean store owner shoots and kills teenager Latasha Harlins in the back of the head. Despite widespread protests, the store owner is only convicted of 10 years of probation. Her store was firebombed weeks later.
Dr. Viviene Kerr was identified as the best person to take the institution to the next level as its new president, and was recently officially appointed as the first female president of CGST.
She had just assumed responsibility as campus registrar at the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology (CGST) when she was called to take over from Dr. David Corbin who had been at the helm of the St. Andrew institution since 2017.
Goals for the Institution
Among the many objectives that she is working towards is for CGST to be the “school of choice”, not just for Jamaicans but for students from the rest of the Caribbean and other parts of the world.
Other programs currently being worked on include a continuous education scheme for graduates from the counseling psychology program and a course to help pastors and other church members navigate the online space.
“As an institution, we have the best counseling psychology program in Jamaica, and, possibly, the Caribbean.
met with Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) and paid a visit to the site where the mayor had “Black Lives Matter” painted on a road that leads to the White House.
“It was very moving to see hundreds of thousands of people from all over America and around the world take to the streets to speak up, to speak out, to get into what I call ‘good trouble,’ or to get in the way,” Lewis said of the recent protests this week.
Earlier this weekend, the words “Black Lives Matter” were painted in yellow on 16th Street NW on Friday.
The same day, Bowser also announced on Twitter that a section of the street, which she added was “in front of the White House,” had also been officially named “Black Lives Matter Plaza.”
Since its unveiling Friday, the two-block span has been the site of several demonstrations over the weekend as protesters continue to take to the streets against police brutality in racism following the police killing of George Floyd.
“To the polls” was presented as the answer this week as members of Keepers of 306, a National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) initiative that engages civic-minded young leaders moved to answer the question being asked by many: “Where do we go from here?” The no-wavering answer came on Tuesday (June 30) evening during a virtual []
2. Citizen’s Review Board (Police Review)
MOSCOW, Russia (AP) Russian voters approved changes to the constitution that will allow President Vladimir Putin to potentially hold power until 2036, but the weeklong plebiscite that concluded yesterday was tarnished by widespread reports of pressure on voters and other irregularities.With three-fourths of all precincts counted, 77.6 per cent voted for the constitutional amendments, according to election officials.
New Findings Reveal Stark Racial Disparities and Barriers to the Ballot
WASHINGTON, DC –Leading civil rights organizations today released a new analysis that reveals stark racial disparities and troubling patterns in voter turnout during Wisconsin’s April 7, 2020 primary, held during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The analysis, “COVID-19 Silence Voters of Color in Wisconsin,” was conducted by data experts from Demos and All Voting Is Local, a project of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.
Reviewing voter data from last month’s Wisconsin primary, the groups found significant gaps in voter participation across the state – exposing existing flaws in our election system and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black and brown voters who already face significant structural barriers at the ballot box.
“Our analysis shows how COVID-19 has exaggerated problems in our election system,” said Dr. Megan A. Gall, All Voting is Local’s national data director, “We know African Americans and Latinos have long faced barriers to the ballot.
The analysis further highlights that for wards with higher Black and Hispanic populations in Milwaukee, average voter turnout was 30 percent lower than the average voter turnout in white wards.
No one who has listened to hip hop since its origins in the 1970s should be surprised that rap music has become the soundtrack to protests.
Source
… campaign to spur African-American residents to register … board to oversee the African-American voter registration campaign.
… enlighten and motivate the African-American community on the importance … get involved. The African-American community is diversified …
On Friday, October 9, 2020, the Milwaukee Health Services, Inc., hosted a voter registration event at their Isaac Coggs Heritage Health Center, 8200 W. Silver Spring Dr. Attendees could safely register to vote for the upcoming presidential election as well as receive a free COVID-19 safety kit containing hand sanitizer, facial tissues, masks and more.... [Read More]
