presidential election - The African Mirror

Oct

2020

Guinea opposition candidate claims victory, violence erupts

SALIOU SAMB GUINEA opposition candidate Cellou Dalein Diallo claims he has won the first round of the October 18 presidential election, but his claim was quickly disputed by the electoral commission and the government, setting the stage for a stand-off. "Despite the serious anomalies that marred the smooth running of the ... election and in view of the results that came out of the ballot boxes, I am victorious in this election in the first round," Diallo told journalists and cheering supporters. He did not give any figures but said the tally was based on his party's count, not an…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast president’s supporters and opponents clash ahead of election

NEWS

ANGE ABOA LOCAL offices of Ivory Coast's ruling party were ransacked and the house of an opponent of President Alassane Ouattara was set on fire, as rival supporters clashed in an eastern city ahead of the presidential election, residents said on Saturday. The clashes in Bongouanou came after the opposition candidate, former premier Pascal Affi N'Guessan, and Ouattara's other main challenger, former president Henri Konan Bedie, had on Thursday called on their supporters to boycott the October 31 vote and prevent it from going ahead. More than a dozen people have been killed since August in protests against Ouattara's candidacy…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast opposition rallies against President Ouattara’s third term bid

NEWS

LOUCOUMANE COULIBALY THOUSANDS of opposition supporters rallied in the Ivory Coast’s commercial capital on Saturday to protest against President Alassane Ouattara’s plan to seek a third term in the October 31 presidential election. By early afternoon around 20,000 people had packed a 35,000 capacity stadium in Abidjan, chanting and dancing. Some held banners saying “The people say no to an illegal third term.” Ouattara announced in August that he will seek another term following the sudden death of his handpicked successor. The constitutional council has cleared him and three other candidates to run, but the opposition says Ouattara is violating…

Oct

2020

By The African Mirror

Trump to resume campaigning; second debate cancelled

WORLD

JEFF MASON and STEVE HOLLAND U.S. President Donald Trump will resume in-person campaigning on Saturday after being sidelined by a case of COVID-19, but a debate next week against his presidential election opponent Joe Biden was cancelled because Trump refused to participate. Trump will address a crowd of supporters on Saturday from a White House balcony on a "law and order" theme, an administration official said. A source familiar with the planning for the event said the crowd could be in the hundreds, and all were expected to wear masks. Then the Republican president will travel on Monday to central…

Sep

2020

By The African Mirror

Ivory Coast council approves President Ouattara for third term bid

NEWS

IVORY Coast's Constitutional Council ruled that President Alassane Ouattara is eligible to run for a third term in the October 31 presidential election, even as opponents said his candidacy jeopardises the West African country's democracy. Violent protests have rocked Ivory Coast since Ouattara, in power since 2010, announced his candidacy. Over a dozen people have died in clashes between protesters and police since August. The constitution says the president can only stay in power for two terms, but Ouattara has argued that the publication of a new constitution in 2016 reset his presidency. The unrest has political observers worried that…

Jul

2020

By The African Mirror

Uganda’s Museveni picks up papers for re-election push

NEWS

ELIAS BIRYABAREMA UGANDA'S long-serving President Yoweri Museveni has collected papers to seek nomination as the ruling party's candidate in next year's presidential election, the party said on Tuesday. Securing a new term would potentially extend the 75-year-old Museveni's rule of the east African nation to four decades. "Yes, we can confirm he has picked nomination forms for our flagbearer position," Rogers Mulindwa, spokesman for the ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM), told Reuters, adding that no-one else had yet shown up to contest him within the party. Though no date has yet been fixed for the 2021 vote, it is typically…