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Violence rocked Guinea's capital Conakry on Friday as supporters of opposition leader Cellou Diallo clashed with security forces who tried to disperse them.
They threw stones and blocked roads. Police responded with teargas and bullets. The clashes erupted as soon as provisional results released by the electoral commission showed president Alpha Conde winning with a big margin.
Conde, 82, won twice as many votes as his nearest rival, opposition candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo, with 37 of 38 districts counted, according to preliminary results from the commission.
Opposition supporters accuse the electoral authorities of rigging the vote for incumbent president Alpha Conde.
Sekou Koundouno, head of mobilisation for the opposition coalition FNDC said Conde had committed 'high treason'.
"He is an illegal and illegitimate candidate who is stubbornly pursuing his obsession to turn Guin ea into a monarchy in which, by the way, he will dictate orders to his subjects," said Kounduno.
Diallo maintains that he won with a landslide despite irregularities, according to his own tally. He remains barricaded in his home which security forces have besieged since Monday.
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
Many people have been killed since clashes began on Monday. Scores too had been killed in the run up to the vote as protestors marched against Conde's bid for a third term.
Emotions ran high Friday as two black suspects appeared in a South African court over the murder of a white farmer which has sparked racial tensions.
A barbed wire fence ringed the court house in the central town of Senekal and police and a water cannon were deployed as opposing groups of white farmers and black activists gathered near the site.
Around 2,000 supporters of the radical leftist Economic Freedom Fighters gathered for eight hours under scorching heat for a protest.
Crime in this sleepy but rich farming area, 300 kilometres (180 miles) south of Johannesburg, is centred mainly around stock theft, which farmers say is rampant. Murders are relatively rare.
But on October 2, the body of 22-year-old farm manager Brendin Horner was found. He had been strangled and tied to a fence at a farm in Paul Roux near Senekal.
A silver cross with his name engraved on it has been erected at the spot where the body was discovered.
- Unrest -
The killing of white farmers is a highly emotive issue in South Africa. Some conservative groups claim that farmers are victims of a genocide and the government is not doing enough to protect them.
\"This young man is paying with his life, he is going to help us solve the (crime) problem,\" Horner's employer Gilly Scheeper, 58, said in reference to the attention brought to the case.
Scheeper has hired private investigators to run a parallel probe into the death \"because police here are corrupt\".
The motive for the murder has not been established, but a police officer who is investigating the case said the farmer's wallet went missing after the attack.
A dozen policemen guarded the court house on Friday, dressed in bulletproof jackets and armed with assault rifles. Elsewhere around the court's precincts, police patrolled in cars and from a helicopter.
The two suspects -- Sekwetja Mahlamba, 32 and Sekolo Mlatlaletsa, 44 -- wore grey jerseys as they appeared for their bail hearing.
One of them has previously been arrested 16 times and convicted four times for stock theft and housebreaking.
\"I don't think that they should get bail because of the seriousness of the offence,\" investigating police officer Gerhard Peter Myburgh told the court.
\"This incident has also caused unrest in Senekal to such an extent that there were people who tried to remove the suspects from court,\" said Myburgh.
- 'Acts of criminality' -
Whites, mainly farmers, stormed the court house and torched a police van when the suspects first appeared in court last week.
The alleged instigator of last week's court rioting, businessman Andre Pienaar, is in custody facing charges of public violence, attempted murder and incitement.
The suspected killers' bail hearing will continue on October 20.
Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has been cleared to play in this Sunday's game against AFC rival the Pittsburgh Steelers after receiving a second a negative COVID-19 test. This news comes after Beckham was sent home from Thursday (Oct.15) practice with an unspecified illness.
By AAMER MADHANI and ZEKE MILLER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — Gone are the days when President Donald Trump held forth daily at the White House podium flanked by members of his coronavirus task force. And the days when Vice President Mike Pence and other task force officials would head to Trump's office to brief him immediately after their meetings. The White House won't say when Trump last met with the task force. In the week since he emerged from coronavirus isolation, Trump has demonstrated new determination to minimize the threat of the virus that has killed more than 215,000 […]
The post Trump plays down virus as he steps up pitch for second term appeared first on Black News Channel.
(Barbados Nation) Canada was placed in the category of high risk in the latest update of Barbados travel protocols effective yesterday.
The article Barbados deems Guyana high-risk COVID country appeared first on Stabroek News.
Prime Minister Antoine Gizenga resigned in September 2008, citing health reasons. He was succeeded by Adolphe Muzito.
Presidential elections were held in November 2011. Incumbent Kabila faced opposition leader and former prime minister Étienne Tshisekedi. The International Crisis Group deemed the election unruly and chaotic and other international observers said the vote was irregular and flawed. Nearly 20 people were killed in election-related violence. Nevertheless, Congos election commission ruled in December that Kabila prevailed, 49% to 32%. In the run-up to the election, Kabila—perhaps sensing a threat from the opposition and popular dissatisfaction with his rule—amended the constitution to do away with a second round of voting and stacked the electoral commission.
In March 2012, Prime Minister Adolphe Muzito resigned. His resignation came a little over three months after the violent presidential elections. Deputy Prime Minister Louis Koyagialo was appointed to temporarily replace Muzito. On April 18, 2012, former Minister of Finance Augustin Matata Ponyo Mapon was named prime minister.
Many times, people mistakenly interchange deliverance and exorcism to mean the same thing. But far be from it that light and darkness go together. John 3:19 says that men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. Also, John 1:11...
And now just emerging from no contact with voters, there are concerns about whether the election calendar and roadmap as set by the National Electoral Commission in December 2018 is still viable considering the time \"lost.\"
\"The Commission has to fulfil Section 8 of the Presidential Elections Act and Section 9 of the Parliamentary Elections Act that provide appointment of nomination days and time,\" reads the commission document, \"for campaigns for presidential elections to commence latest by first week of September 2020 nomination of presidential candidates must have been completed latest third week of August.\"
The first round of nominations must have been completed latest third week of July 2020, while nominations and campaigns for parliamentary elections \"should commence latest by second week August 2020.\"
Sam Rwakoojo, the Secretary to the Electoral Commission told The EastAfrican that the roadmap has been disrupted and some special interest group elections that should have been held around this time (end of May to beginning of June) can't take place, yet they contribute to the national elections and the consequences of those delays are not clear at the moment.
Mr Rwankoojo said no concrete proposals can be generated on specific dates for certain activities because, \"we don't know yet how this disease and lockdown will go,\" he said, adding that while the Constitution is clear on when to hold certain processes, the only available leg room is to determine which activities or elections can be held together to remain within the confines of the law.
… Barack Obama “the first mainstream African American who is articulate and bright …
Polling station closed across Burundi on Wednesday in a largely incident free process in keenly watched general elections.
Burundians stood in long lines outside polling stations, which opened shortly after six am, most centers had hand washing points for people arriving to vote and election officials had some protective equipments in some instances.
Meanwhile, main opposition candidate, Agathon Rwasa, has protested what he says is fraud in Wednesday’s general election.
He said his party’s election observers were chased away from some polling stations.
In the presidential vote, 5.1 million registered voters are to choose between Nkurunziza’s handpicked heir and frontrunner, 52-year-old general Evariste Ndayishimiye, main opposition competitor Agathon Rwasa, and five other candidates.
The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Jane Frances Abodo has said her office was reluctant to sanction charges of being a nuisance against former Makerere University Research Fellow, Dr Stella Nyanzi last recently.
Counsel Walubiri had argued that it was high time the office of the DPP withdrew cases that have over stayed in the justice system like the treason case against Dr Kizza Besigye.
\"Perhaps, this is the time for the office of the DPP to weed out some files that have been pending in the criminal justice system for long as the same are clogging the system for no good reason,\" Mr Walubiri said.
DPP Abodo said she is determined to weed out undeserving cases from the justice system starting with those arrested during the ongoing lockdown.
Ms Winfred Adukule, the executive director of Freechild Uganda, urged the office of the DPP and the Judiciary not to forget about the juvenile justice in this Covid-19 lockdown.
Benin was the seat of one of the great medieval African kingdoms called Dahomey. Europeans began arriving in the area in the 18th century, as the kingdom of Dahomey was expanding its territory. The Portuguese, the French, and the Dutch established trading posts along the coast (Porto-Novo, Ouidah, Cotonou), and traded weapons for slaves. Slave trade ended in 1848. Then, the French signed treaties with Kings of Abomey (Guézo, Toffa, Glèlè) to establish French protectorates in the main cities and ports.
However, King Behanzin fought the French influence, which cost him deportation to Martinique.
From a Colony of France to Independence:
In 1892 Dahomey became a French protectorate and part of French West Africa in 1904. Expansion continued to the North (kingdoms of Parakou, Nikki, Kandi), up to the border with former Upper Volta. On 4 December 1958, it became the République du Dahomey, self-governing within the French community, and on 1 August 1960, the Republic of Dahomey gained full independence from France. T he country was renamed Benin in 1975
Between 1960 and 1972, a succession of military coups brought about many changes of government. The last of these brought to power Major Mathieu Kérékou as the head of a regime professing strict Marxist-Leninist principles. The Parti de la Révolution Populaire Béninoise (Revolutionary Party of the People of Benin, PRPB) remained in complete power until the beginning of the 1990s.
Kérékou, encouraged by France and other democratic powers, convened a national conference that introduced a new democratic constitution and held presidential and legislative elections. Kérékous principal opponent at the presidential poll, and the ultimate victor, was Prime Minister Nicéphore Dieudonné Soglo.
Supporters of Soglo also secured a majority in the National Assembly.
Benin was thus the first African country to effect successfully the transition from dictatorship to a pluralistic political system. In the second round of National Assembly elections held in March 1995, Soglos
The coronavirus pandemic has brought countries to a standstill. In many places, as countries reopen, Covid-19 cases are on the rise. Follow here for the latest.
With just over a week to go before the Primary Election, Baltimore Votes is on a mission to make sure that every voter feels ready to head to the ballot box.
Tune in live all day
Greater Baltimore Committee CEO Don Fry and WBAL NewsRadio host Bryan Nehman will co-moderate a debate of the leading Democratic candidates for Baltimore City Mayor.
22 candidates for Mayor of Baltimore City participated in the forum, which was moderated by WYPR’s Tom Hall and Lisa Snowden-McCray of the Baltimore Beat and the Real News Network.
Baltimore Votes and Black Girls Vote are both nonpartisan organizations and we do not want to influence your vote for any particular candidate or political party.
At this time, we cannot deliver boxes outside of Baltimore City.
The by-elections for Kahawa Wendani ward in Kiambu county, Dabaso ward in Kilifi county, Kisumu North ward in Kisumu county, Wundanyi Mbale ward in Taita Taveta county and Msambweni constituency in Kilifi county were postponed after the government imposed restrictions on gatherings in measures to combat the spread of COVID-19.
Chebukati noted the electoral commission was working on a program which will see the elections conducted once the current COVID-19 containment measures including the dusk-to-dawn curfew and cessation of movement in five counties are scaled down.
Chebukati said IEBC will liaise with the Ministry of Health to identify best ways to conduct the elections in a COVID-19 environment which minimizes human to human contact.
\"When curfew and other activities are scaled down, we shall embark on this program and set new dates for this by-elections,\" Chebukati added.
Dabaso Ward MCA Emmanuel Changawa's lost his seat after the Court of Appeal nullified his election in November 2019 while in Kisumu, Elisha Araro resigned his seat as Kisumu North MCA to vie for County Assembly Speaker.
The opposition has won Malawi’s historic rerun of the presidential election, the first time a court-overturned vote in Africa has led to the defeat of an incumbent leader.
President Peter Mutharika, who had sought a second five-year term, earlier Saturday called the rerun of the election “the worst in Malawi’s history.”
Malawi’s drama was just the second time in Africa that a court has overturned a presidential election, following a ruling on Kenya’s vote in 2017.
As Malawi prepared for its new vote, incumbent Vice President Saulos Chilima, who split last year’s results with Chakwera, decided instead to stand as his running mate in a bid to maximize chances of unseating Mutharika.
An attempt by Mutharika’s government to get Malawi’s chief justice to step down just days before the new election had failed amid an outcry.
By BRIAN SLODYSKO and JILL COLVIN Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is making a late reelection pitch to voters Saturday in Michigan and Wisconsin, states in the Upper Midwest that were instrumental to his 2016 victory but may now be slipping from his grasp. He's facing headwinds not only in national polling, which shows Democrat Joe Biden leading, but also in battleground surveys. The Trump campaign has largely retreated from the TV advertising in the Midwest, shifting much of its money to Sun Belt states such as Florida, North Carolina, Arizona and Georgia, as well as Pennsylvania. […]
The post Headwinds for Trump in bid to repeat Upper Midwest victories appeared first on Black News Channel.
She held a ceremony to honor those who have passed.
The Electoral Commission now has to make arrangements to include them on the voters’ register to participate in next year’s general election.
The ruling is a result of a petition filed in 2018 by lawyer Stephen Kalali seeking declarations and orders that prisoners and Ugandans in the diaspora have a fundamental and absolute right to be registered as voters.
Mr Kalali argued that their omission and exclusion from voting amounts to segregation and discrimination, demanding that all prisons in Uganda be declared registration and polling centres ahead of the 2021 election.
She added that prisoners were allowed to vote in countries like South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia, which subscribe to several international human rights instruments to which Uganda is signatory
The ruling is bound to impact the Electoral Commission’s preparations for elections due to be held between January 8, 2021 and February 10, 2021.
Commission spokesperson Jonathan Taremwa said they were yet to receive the ruling and promised to study it and take a decision.
President Donald Trump is making a late reelection pitch to voters Saturday in Michigan and Wisconsin, states in the Upper... View Article
The post Headwinds for Trump in bid to repeat Upper Midwest victories appeared first on TheGrio.
An epic political battle is cresting in South Carolina, where Senator Lindsey Graham, a presidential ally, is neck-and-neck with an African-American challenger two decades his junior, raising Democratic hopes of snatching a Senate seat in Trump country...
[Monitor] The newly revised roadmap for 2021 General Election that authorised virtual campaigning has been challenged in the High Court for violating various fundamental constitutional rights and freedom.
AFRO-POP singer and dancer Mzoe7, real name Mzobanzi Mlauzi’s fashion sense is as bold and attention-grabbing as his lyrics.Mzoe7, who choreographed for the RoilBAA and the Skyz Metro awards, believes the eye-catching fusion of bright colours in his apparel is his way of lighting up his present and future. BY SHARON SIBINDI The Asambeni hitmaker has a bubbly character as his dress sense.Mzoe7 said his fashion style started when he was in primary school and most people then didn’t understand him, but now they do. “My fashion sense started during my school days and I was one of the smartest and stylish students. I grew up with it and it's wise to dress up as a man. People love my style because I have put swag to it,” he said. “I am now a fashion consultant, stylist and I love fashion so much. I want to show creativity through it.”Mzoe7 said fashion runs in his family genes. “My father used to be a tailor, fashion designer and worked at Bhikha among other places, making designer suits and was doing this also in Malawi where we come from,” he said. Mzoe7 believes his colourful dressing makes him a winner every time and inspires him to create lyrical masterpieces from thin air. “I have praised the Fashion Maradona even in my music on Asambeni the line goes like … Fashion Maradona Diago … Then I bring the lyrics again on Qholoza where I am featured in Sandra Ndebele-Sibindi’s new track. The lyrics go like … Lingbize ngo Okocha, Fashion Maradona ngzoklimaza …” Known for also stomping yard and setting tongues wagging during his performances, Mzoe7 said he loves bright colours and has always praised “Fashion Maradona” in his music. “I am Lomwe, we are bright, we are joyful, and we love spreading love that is why you always see me in bright colours. I never had an easy upbringing, but now I light my present and future up with different colours,” he said. The singer said he is being dressed by Klobber Fusion as they understand his fashion taste and always get him unique stuff. “In my music videos I also make sure I bring out a different look always and award-nominated Puzzlemoment Pictures has also helped me establish the Fashion Maradona trademark. They have captured the best moments in high quality and it gets a lot of good feedback,” he said. The singer is the last in a family of seven and that is where he drives his moniker Mzoe.
Malawi’s electoral commission appealed for “peace and calm” on Wednesday as it counted ballots following a historic poll to re-elect a president after Peter Mutharika’s victory was overturned.
It took the top court six months to sift through the evidence before concluding that Mutharika was not duly elected and ordered fresh elections.
The chairman of the Malawi Electoral Commission, Chifundo Kachale, said tallying of the votes from 5,002 polling stations was underway.
Mutharika has accused the opposition of inciting violence following isolated incidents which the police and electoral commission said had not affected the election.
Mutharika, 79, did not take the decision of the constitutional court lightly when it overturned last year’s poll.
