presidential election - The African Mirror

Feb

2024

Senegal cuts internet again amid widening crackdown on dissent

SENEGAL cut mobile internet access ahead of a banned march against the postponement of a presidential election, and rights groups accused the authorities of using overly repressive tactics to stifle widespread opposition to the delay. The abrupt postponement of the February 25 vote to December has plunged Senegal into crisis and intensified a backlash against what many see as an attempt to extend President Macky Sall's mandate and a threat to one of the remaining democracies in coup-hit West Africa. After deadly clashes between protesters and police late last week, the government refused to permit a silent march planned by activist groups…

Feb

2024

By NGOUDA DIONE and COOPER INVEEN

Senegal battles first major wave of unrest over vote delay

NEWS

CLASHES between security forces and protesters gripped Senegal's capital and other cities, the first widespread unrest over the delay of a presidential election that many fear could lead to protracted instability. Less than three weeks before the February 25 vote, parliament voted to push it back to December, sealing an extension of President Macky Sall's mandate that has raised concerns that one of the remaining democracies in coup-hit West Africa is under threat. In the capital Dakar, police in riot gear fired tear gas, stun grenades and what appeared to be rubber bullets at large crowds of protesters who were burning tyres…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

What is happening in Senegal and could tensions escalate?

NEWS

SENEGAL'S parliament voted to postpone a presidential election from February 25 to December 15, extending President Macky Sall's mandate in an unprecedented break with the West African country's democratic tradition. Amid widespread public outcry to the postponement, some opposition lawmakers tried to block proceedings in the National Assembly building until security forces intervened and forced them off the central dais, allowing the vote to proceed. The contested bill was eventually passed by 105 members of parliament (MPs) in the 165-seat Assembly. WHY DID PRESIDENT SALL CALL FOR A POSTPONEMENT? Sall, who is not standing for re-election and has reached the constitutional limit…

Feb

2024

By DIADIE BA, NGOUDA DIONE and ZOHRA BENSEMRA

Senegal opposition candidates file legal challenges to election postponement

NEWS

THREE opposition candidates in Senegal's presidential election filed legal challenges to the president's abrupt postponement of the election, as riot police fired tear gas to break up a protest outside parliament. While protesters shouted slogans on the streets, lawmakers inside the National Assembly building debated into the evening a bill that would reschedule the February 25 vote to August 25 and extend President Macky Sall's mandate until his successor is installed. Sall's unprecedented announcement on Saturday pitched the West African nation into uncharted constitutional waters that threaten to tarnish its reputation as a bastion of democratic stability in a region swept by…

Feb

2024

By DIADIE BA and NGOUDA DIONE

Senegalese President Sall postpones presidential vote

NEWS

PRESIDENT Macky Sall postponed Senegal's planned February 25 presidential election, announcing in a televised address to the nation on Saturday that he had cancelled the relevant law due to electoral issues he warned would fuel disputes. With little more than three weeks to go before the vote, the unprecedented step of delaying the poll, to an unspecified date, pitches Senegal into uncharted constitutional waters that some opposition and civil society groups said amounted to an "institutional coup." One opposition coalition has already vowed to challenge the move in the courts, raising the prospect of a protracted legal battle that could…

Feb

2024

By The African Mirror

Main candidates in Senegal’s presidential election

NEWS

SENEGAL heads to the polls on February 25 to choose a successor to President Macky Sall who is not seeking a third term. For the first time in the West African nation's history, the incumbent is not on the ballot. His handpicked successor, Prime Minister Amadou Ba, is among 20 candidates cleared by Senegal's constitutional council to run. To avoid a runoff, a candidate must secure over 50% of the vote. Campaigning starts on February 4. Following are profiles of the main contenders: PRIME MINISTER AMADOU BA A former economy and foreign minister, Ba, 62, was named prime minister in September 2022. He ran…

Jan

2024

By The African Mirror

Congo opposition leaders call for protest on inauguration day

NEWS

TWO of the main opposition candidates in the Democratic Republic of Congo's December presidential election have called for a protest this Saturday when President Felix Tshisekedi is due to be sworn in for a second term. Tshisekedi and his party won the December 20-24 general election by a landslide, but the vote was marred by widespread allegations of fraud, logistical shortcomings and disruptions. The fallout threatens to further destabilise Congo, the world's third-largest copper producer and the top producer of cobalt, a key component in electric car batteries. The two opposition leaders, Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, as well as others, have…

Jan

2024

By ABDOU MOUSTOIFA

Comoros holds presidential election, opposition say vote had irregularities

NEWS

VOTING took place in Comoros in an election widely expected to hand a fourth five-year term to President Azali Assoumani, while his five opponents said the vote was tainted by accusations of pre-marked ballots in favour of the incumbent. The polls opened across the Indian Ocean archipelago at 8 a.m. (0500 GMT) for the 338,940 registered voters out of its 800,000 population. Voting ended at 6 p.m. Comoros has experienced around 20 coups or attempted coups since winning independence from France in 1975 and is a major source of irregular migration to the nearby French island of Mayotte. Some opposition…

Jan

2024

By ANGE ADIHE KASONGO

Congo President Tshisekedi re-elected, election commission says

NEWS

DEMOCRATIC Republic of Congo's President Felix Tshisekedi has been re-elected for a second term after getting more than 73% of the vote in this month's presidential election, the country's election commission said. Announcing the results on Sunday in the capital Kinshasa, Denis Kadima, the head of Congo's national election commission known as the CENI, said Tshisekedi was elected with 73.34% of the vote having obtained over 13 million votes out of over 18 million valid votes. Turnout in the disputed election was at over 43%, Kadima said. Earlier on Sunday a group of Congo's main opposition presidential candidates asked supporters…

Dec

2023

By The African Mirror

Algerian President Tebboune urged to run for a second term

NEWS

ALGERIAN parliament members urged President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to run for a second term, they said. "If Allah gives me enough health," he told them, stopping short of a formal announcement about the presidential election due at the end of 2024. Tebboune was elected in December 2019 for a five-year term and can run for a second and final term, according to the Algerian constitution.