Election
Myanmar police fire rubber bullets, wounding three, as hundreds of thousands protest
Supporters of ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi clashed with police on Friday as hundreds of thousands joined nationwide pro-democracy demonstrations in defiance of the military junta’s call to halt mass gatherings. The United Nations human rights office said more than 350 people, including officials, activists and monks, have been arrested in Myanmar since the Feb. 1 coup, including some who face criminal charges on “dubious grounds”. The U.N. rights investigator for Myanmar told a special session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva that there were “growing reports, photographic evidence” that security forces have used live ammunition against protesters, in violation of international law. Special Rapporteur Thomas Andrews urged the U.N. Security Council to consider imposing sanctio...
Anambra election: We’ve not disqualified any aspirant – PDP
File Photo The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said none of the gubernatorial aspirants on its platform has been disqualified, ahead of the November 6, Anambra State governorship election. The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, told newsmen in a telephone interview that the interest of the opposition party was to have a credible, free and fair gubernatorial primary to produce a candidate, who would win the governorship contest. Ologbondiyan, who was responding to question on the purported “technical” disqualification of some persons aspiring to contest the next Anambra governorship poll on the PDP, through alleged zoning of the party’s gubernatorial ticket, said the party is not aware of any disqualification. “Which party? Nobody is talking about disqualification. In f...
Somali opposition leaders ‘no longer recognise president’
Jack Hill/Reuters Somalia’s opposition leaders have announced that they no longer recognise President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, after his term expired without a political agreement on a path toward elections to replace him. The Horn of Africa nation was supposed to hold indirect elections before February 8 but the deadline was missed as the central government and federal states failed to break a deadlock over how to proceed with a vote. It now confronts a political crisis alongside a violent Islamist insurgency, a locust invasion and serious food shortages. A coalition of opposition candidates urged the president, better known by his nickname Farmajo, to “respect the constitution” and ensure a peaceful transfer of power in the fragile country. “Starting from 8th February 2021, the council...
China joins calls for IWF to publish list of election candidates
Nations from around the world have written to the International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) to express their dismay at the governing body’s failure to publish the list of candidates for forthcoming elections. There have been complaints of poor governance, a lack of transparency, and giving an unfair advantage to certain candidates on the current IWF Executive Board who have the information that is denied to others. For the last elections in 2017 the list was published five days after the nominations deadline. This year, eight days have passed already and there is no sign of the IWF naming the candidates for President, first vice-president, vice-president, and a place on the Executive Board. The IWF is entitled, under current regulations, to wait until 30 days before the elections – Febr...
Nigerian government berates Amnesty International over call for service chiefs’ prosecution
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has berated the Amnesty International (AI) over its call for the arrest and prosecution of former Service Chiefs AI had in its recent report, called for the arrest and prosecution of the service chiefs at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged human rights violation in the prosecution of war against terror in the North-East region. Speaking on “Politics Nationwide,” a Radio Nigeria programme monitored by newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja, Mohammed said the global human rights protection organisation should “shut up because it had no proof of crimes committed by the Nigerian military’’. He said the country was fighting an unconventional war with insurgency that had no rule of engagement, adding that this was a double jeopard...
Anti-coup protests ring out in Myanmar’s main city
The din of banging pots and honking car horns reverberated through Myanmar’s biggest city of Yangon late on Tuesday in the first widespread protest against the military coup that overthrew elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The party of the detained Nobel Peace laureate called for her release by the junta that seized power on Monday and is keeping her at an undisclosed location. It also demanded recognition of her victory in a November election. A senior official from her National League for Democracy (NLD) said he had learned she was in good health a day after her arrest in a military takeover that derailed Myanmar’s tentative progress towards full democracy. The U.N. Security Council was due to meet later on Tuesday amid calls for a strong global response to the military’s latest seizure o...
U.S. threatens to take action against detainers of Myanmar’s president, others
The U.S. has threatened to take action against those responsible for the detention of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, as well as President Win Myint in Myanmar. “The United States is alarmed by reports that the Burmese military has taken steps to undermine the country’s democratic transition, including the arrest of State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi and other civilian officials in Burma (Myanmar). “President (Joe) Biden has been briefed by National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan,” White House Spokesperson Jen Psaki said in a statement. Earlier, Western media reported that Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint were detained along with other members of Myanmar’s ruling party in an early morning military raid on Monday. “We continue to affirm our strong support for Burma’s democratic ins...
Ex-President Obasanjo: I knew Umaru Yar’Adua was ill
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed he knew the late President Musa Yar’Adua was ill before he supported him to emerge the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2007. He however said he got medical advice that Yar’Adua, who had a kidney transplant, was fit to act as President. Yar’Adua, who later won the 2007 presidential election, died in office in May 2010. Obasanjo, who spoke on Sunday in a virtual interview with academic and historian, Toyin Falola, denied allegation he deliberately put up weak candidates for selfish interests. He said: “Let me tell you the story of Umaru Yar’adua. I knew he was ill and before I put him forward, I asked for his medical report which he sent to me and I sent it to one of the best doctors of our time and a good friend of mine who ...
DR Congo parliament ousts pro-Joseph Kabila premier
Lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have dismissed the Prime Minister Sylvestre Ilunga Ilunkamba on Wednesday evening during a parliament plenary session held in Kinshasa. The dismissal came after the majority of the lawmakers passed a vote of no-confidence to the Premier alleging his inability in the management of the country. The National Assembly approved a motion of censure against Ilunga Ilunkamba and his government by 367 votes to seven. Under the Democratic Republic of Congo’s constitution, parliamentary censure requires the prime minister to step down within 24 hours. The Prime Minister boycotted the session terming it illegitimate under the constitution and internal regulations of parliament. The session was also boycotted by pro-Kabila party Mps who also stressed ...
Ugandan government withdraws troops from Bobi Wine’s house
Ugandan soldiers stood down their positions around the residence of opposition leader Bobi Wine on Tuesday, a day after a court-ordered an end to the confinement of the presidential runner-up. Wine, a popstar-turned-MP whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, had been under de-facto house arrest at his home outside the capital Kampala since he returned from voting in January 14’s election. For 11 days heavily armed soldiers and police officers surrounding the property had prevented members of Wine’s household, including his wife Barbie, from leaving their compound, as well as denying access to visitors. But security forces withdrew from around Wine’s house on Tuesday, allowing the opposition leader to convene with newly-elected MPs from his National Unity Platform (NUP) for the first time sin...
Imo workers oust state NLC chairman
Workers in Imo State have kicked out the state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Austin Chilakpu, after a resolution reached on Monday at the meeting the workers held at the state secretariat in Owerri. A caretaker committee led by Ndubuisi Uchehara was set up to manage the affairs of the union pending a legitimate election. Addressing reporters shortly after his emergence as the caretaker committee chairman, Uchehara said that the past administration was dissolved for constantly waging war against the Imo State Government which he said caused an unhealthy relationship between the union and the government. ‘The past administration was recalcitrant to issues of the workers in the state, they have continued to fight the State Government instead of partnering with it, their actio...
Twitter: Donald Trump ban permanent, even if he runs for office again
Former President Donald Trump will not be returning to Twitter at any point in the future, according to the company’s chief financial officer. In an interview with CNBC’s Squawk Box program on Wednesday, Twitter CFO Ned Segal said that running for public office again would not reverse the ban the company handed out to Trump in the aftermath of the US Capitol riot on January 6th. The question is relevant considering Trump’s ongoing impeachment trial. A central question in the trial is whether Democrats can bar Trump from running for president again in 2024 or seeking other public office. Regardless of the outcome, the @realDonaldTrump will still remain suspended for good, Segal said. “The way our policies work, when you’re removed from the platform, you’re removed from the...