opposition leader - The African Mirror

Nov

2023

Nigeria opposition’s Obi slams court ruling confirming Tinubu election win

NIGERIA'S opposition Labour Party leader Peter Obi criticised the Supreme Court's ruling affirming President Bola Tinubu's victory in February's elections and vowed to continue to fight for a "New Nigeria". The country's top court on October 26 rejected an attempt to overturn the election result by the main opposition leader Atiku Abubakar and Obi, who came second and third in the vote, slamming the door on any legal challenge against Tinubu, who says he won fairly. The Supreme Court judgment followed a pattern seen in previous presidential elections that have been challenged in court. None of the attempts to overturn results through…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

Nigeria’s Atiku says court ruling will erode trust in elections

NEWS

NIGERIA'S main opposition leader Atiku Abubakar said last week's Supreme Court decision affirming President Bola Tinubu's election win would erode trust in elections and called for changes to the electoral laws to improve transparency. The country's top court rejected a challenge by Atiku and Peter Obi, who came second and third in the vote, slamming the door on any legal challenge against Tinubu, who says he won fairly. Reacting to the judgment for the first time, Atiku told reporters the court's decision would lead to "the erosion of trust in the electoral system and our democracy". He criticised the judges for refusing…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

Liberia presidential election heads for November run-off vote

NEWS

LIBERIA'S electoral commission on Tuesday scheduled a presidential election run-off for November after results showed that the two frontrunners, President George Weah and opposition leader Joseph Boakai, had failed to secure enough votes. Weah holds a slim lead at 43.83% of the vote, while Boakai has 43.44%, according to tallied results from 100% of polling places, the West African nation's election commission said. Commission chairperson Davidetta Browne Lansanah said the run-off vote would be held on November 14. She said there was a record turnout of 78.86% of around 2.4 million registered voters. The October 10 election has been widely…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

President Weah, opposition leader Boakai nearly tied in Liberia presidential race

NEWS

LIBERIA'S President George Weah and opposition leader Joseph Boakai are nearly tied in the race for the presidency following an October 10 election, provisional results published by the West African nation's election commission showed on Sunday. Weah holds a slim lead at 43.80% of the vote, while Boakai has 43.54%, according to tallied results from 72.92% of polling places, the commission said. To avoid a runoff, the winner must secure more than 50% of the votes cast. Liberia's opposition Unity Party leader Joseph Boakai casts his vote during the presidential elections in Monrovia, Liberia October 10, 2023. REUTERS/Stringer

Oct

2023

By ELIAS BIRYABAREMA

Uganda arrests 40 opposition supporters as their leader arrives

NEWS

UGANDAN security forces have arrested 40 people during an operation against supporters of opposition leader Bobi Wine whose detention under house arrest the United States said demonstrated eroding democracy in the East African country. The 40 were held in the capital Kampala and elsewhere as authorities thwarted plans to hold what the opposition had described as a million-strong march on Thursday. The march was supposed to have begun at Entebbe International Airport, south of the capital, where Robert Kyagulanyi, popularly known as Bobi Wine, arrived from abroad. Wine was instead bundled into a vehicle and driven home where he has…

Oct

2023

By The African Mirror

Congolese opposition leader Fayulu confirms he will run for the presidency

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo opposition leader Martin Fayulu confirmed he will submit his candidacy for the December presidential election, where he is expected to be one of the main challengers to President Felix Tshisekedi. The 66-year-old former Exxon Mobil executive came second to Tshisekedi in the contentious 2018 election. His party, the Engagement for Citizenship and Development party, the African Union and Congo's influential Catholic Church questioned the outcome and Fayulu challenged the results in court. Since then he has remained a vocal critic of Tshisekedi's presidency, threatening to boycott the Dec. 20 ballot in protest at alleged fraud linked…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Kenya’s Ruto says further tax-hike protests will not be allowed

NEWS

KENYAN President William Ruto vowed that protests planned next week would not be allowed following two rounds of demonstrations that have left at least 15 people dead. Opposition leader Raila Odinga's party called earlier in the day for three more days of protests from next Wednesday against tax hikes that Ruto signed into law last month. Ruto beat Odinga in last August's election. He pledged to be a champion for the poor, but his critics say the tax rises will hurt Kenyans already struggling to afford basic commodities such as maize flour. "Elections ended August 9 last year. You cannot look for…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Tax-hike protesters clash with Kenyan police, two shot dead

NEWS

STONE-THROWING demonstrators clashed with police and two were shot dead, officers on the scene said, in anti-tax protests in cities and towns around Kenya called by opposition leader Raila Odinga. Police fired tear gas to disperse protests in the capital Nairobi, the port city of Mombasa and several other towns, according to Reuters reporters and footage aired on Kenyan television stations. Some of the most intense clashes took place on the expressway linking Nairobi to its international airport, where protesters lit fires and pulled down the flower boxes that usually line the road to use as barricades. Police officers patrolling…

Jul

2023

By The African Mirror

Senegal opposition leader hints at election disruption if he can’t run

NEWS

SENEGALESE opposition leader Ousmane Sonko has no plans to make peace with President Macky Sall and suggested he may try to disrupt next year's elections if he is not allowed to run, he said in an interview with France 24 television. "There will be no elections in this country if President Macky Sall wishes to counter my candidacy," Sonko said from his home in the capital Dakar, where he has been under effective house arrest since he was sentenced to two years in jail in June on charges stemming from an alleged rape. Sonko denies wrongdoing and says the charges are meant…

Jun

2023

By AYENAT MERSIE

Kenya’s opposition leader rallies supporters to boycott new taxes

NEWS

KENYA'S opposition leader Raila Odinga asked his supporters to boycott a raft of new taxes on items including fuel and housing, stoking a potential confrontation with the government of his rival President William Ruto. The levies were contained in a finance bill that was signed into law by Ruto on Monday. "Through civil disobedience, we will deny Ruto the taxes he thinks he can extort from us by force," Odinga told thousands of cheering and dancing supporters at a rally in the capital Nairobi. Under the new revenue measures, the fuel tax will double to 16% and workers will also…