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[The Conversation Africa] After two postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic and later for logistical challenges, millions of Ethiopians go to the polls on Monday. Held in the midst of historic domestic challenges - not least a war in Tigray region and instability in Western Oromia region - this election will be significant for several reasons. Here is why.
He replaces Debretsion Gebremichael, whose immunity from prosecution was removed Thursday.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International said Thursday that scores of civilians were killed in a \"massacre\" in the Tigray region, that witnesses blamed on forces backing the local ruling party.
The \"massacre\" is the first reported incident of large-scale civilian fatalities in a week-old conflict between the regional ruling party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), and the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize.
\"Amnesty International can today confirm... that scores, and likely hundreds, of people were stabbed or hacked to death in Mai-Kadra (May Cadera) town in the southwest of Ethiopia's Tigray Region on the night of 9 November,\" the rights group said in a report.
Amnesty said it had \"digitally verified gruesome photographs and videos of bodies strewn across the town or being carried away on stretchers.\"
The dead \"had gaping wounds that appear to have been inflicted by sharp weapons such as knives and machetes,\" Amnesty said, citing witness accounts.
Witnesses said the attack was carried out by TPLF-aligned forces after a defeat at the hands of the Ethiopian military, though Amnesty said it \"has not been able to confirm who was responsible for the killings\".
It nonetheless called on TPLF commanders and officials to \"make clear to their forces and their supporters that deliberate attacks on civilians are absolutely prohibited and constitute war crimes\".
Abiy ordered military operations in Tigray on November 4, saying they were prompted by a TPLF attack on federal military camps -- a claim the party denies.
The region has been under a communications blackout ever since, making it difficult to verify competing claims on the ground.
Abiy said Thursday his army had made major gains in western Tigray.
Thousands of Ethiopians have fled across the border into neighboring Sudan, and the UN is sounding the alarm about a humanitarian crisis in Tigray.
The incumbent administration led by President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed 'Farmajo's has taken a bold move to register a new political party that will enable the team to run for re-election.
An application regarding details of the new political party, which insiders say might be named after the President Farmajo's government main slogan 'Nabad iyo Nolol' or 'Peace and Life', is now with the office of the Chairperson of the National Independent Elections Commission (NIEC), Ms Halima Ismail Ibrahim for registration consideration.
While it is not yet clear if President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and his Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khaire are on the same page pertaining to the country's electoral model as well as the formation of a political party representing the government, Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Mohamed Gulaid is anticipated to be selected as the party's interim chairman.
Political analyst and a university lecturer in Mogadishu, Hassan Sheikh Ali said that it is unlikely for the two top leaders of the country to unite under one political party and forward one runner for the presidential seat, citing Prime Minister's 'huge spirits'.
However, Harbi Ahmed, a Mogadishu youth activist believe that if the two leaders unite under one political party and present one aspirant for the country's top seat, chances are high that they might secure re-election considering their ability to achieve something big in unison.
In a historic civil rights case, a federal judge late Sunday ruled against Florida’s Republican governor and Legislature and dramatically expanded the number of eligible voters in the state to include former felons unable to pay their court fines and fees.
In his decision, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle said efforts by Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers were unconstitutional and restricted the voting rights of nearly 1 million citizens who would otherwise be eligible to vote only if they pay those court-imposed fines, fees and restitution to their criminal victims.
The judge said Florida was allowed to require felons to pay fines and fees before they would be allowed to vote – but his ruling allows them to vote if they represent they are unable to pay.
The judge said Florida’s current system was so convoluted that even some eligible citizens
might be discouraged from voting for fear of criminal prosecution.
Florida voters in 2018 approved restoring voting rights to felons, but DeSantis signed a
Republican bill last year requiring felons to pay all their court fines and fees before they would be allowed to vote.
Global NGO Save the Children says more than 1.7 million children and adults are displaced as a result of Ethiopia's Tigray conflict.
[Namibian] HUMAN rights activist Nicodemus 'Mama Africa' Aoxamub says a political party for sex workers and LGBTQI communities in the country is on the cards.
According to Michael McDonald, a political scientist at the University of Florida, “The real outstanding question is whether or not we’re going to have an election system that can deliver for the voters and whether or not we’re going to be able to manage everybody being able to vote in November.”
Voting rights have recently been heavily politicized as most states (as of May 2020) cannot accurately distribute mail-in or absentee ballots to an extensive amount of residents and some believe that this form of voting favors one political party over another.
Also, this form of voting tends to be more popular with older citizens because they may not be able to get to the polling centers and currently they are the most “at-risk” age group for COVID-19.
The upcoming Georgia party primary elections are being conducted by mail, and registered voters have been sent absentee ballot applications by their counties, but we don’t know yet whether the general election in November will be conducted the same way.
The current President of the United States recently threatened to withhold federal funds from Michigan and Nevada, two battleground states, if they go through with plans to encourage voting by mail in the general election.
The U.N. humanitarian chief warned Thursday that the grave humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia's embattled Tigray region is deteriorating, with no sign of Eritrean troops withdrawing and alarmingly widespread reports of systematic rape and other sexual violence mainly by men in uniform.
The post UN: Tigray's Humanitarian Crisis Worsens, No Eritrean Exit appeared first on Los Angeles Sentinel.
Controversial Georgia House Rep. Vernon Jones wants to add political party to a proposed hate crime bill.
Jones made headlines in April when he endorsed the reelection of President Donald Trump against his party’s wishes.
As Georgia’s legislators try to figure out how to get a hate crime policy on the books, Jones wants to add political affiliation to the list of protected parties.
I have personally been subjected to hate speech and threats because of my support for President Trump’s reelection,” Jones said in a statement.
HB 426 could be amended to include Jones’ provision is if the Senate alters the bill and sends it back to the House for approval.
As running battles between Israeli forces and Palestinian citizens continue on Monday, the situation could have some serious repercussions in South Africa
[Dalsan Radio] Somalia's new foreign minister, Mohamed Abdirqzak, has for the first time responded to the ongoing war in Ethiopia.
[VOA] Geneva -- The Internal Displacement Monitoring Center reports the number of people displaced inside their own countries because of conflict, violence and weather-related disasters reached an all-time high of 55 million by the end of 2020.
Prime Minister Buthelezi addressed the media in Durban, saying he fully supports Prince Misuzulu Zulu as the successor to the throne.
[DW] Hundreds have died in the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region and thousands more have fled. As the TPLF and Ahmed trade jabs, thousands of refugees are in dire need of humanitarian assistance in Sudanese camps.
The opposition will have an input on electoral reform both in and out of Parliament, according to the ruling PPP.
The article PPP rejects criticism of electoral reform project appeared first on Stabroek News.
Stephanus Jacobus du Toit , (born 1847, Paarl, Cape Colony [now in South Africa]—died May 29, 1911, Cape Province, South Africa), South African pastor and political leader who, as the founder of the Afrikaner Bond (“Afrikaner League”) political party, was an early leader of Boer/Afrikaner cultural nationalism and helped foment the political antagonism between the British and the Boers in Southern Africa, which prior to the 1870s had been relatively muted. He was also instrumental in laying the groundwork for the establishment of Afrikaans (the South African dialect of Dutch) as an official language in South Africa.
Du Toit was a pastor of the Dutch Reformed Church in the Cape Colony and his political career began in 1875 when he founded an organization, the Die Genootskap van Regte Afrikaners (“Society of True South Africans”). Soon after, du Toit and other Afrikaner intellectuals living in Paarl established the first Afrikaans newspaper, Die Afrikaanse Patriot, first published on Jan. 15, 1876. The newspaper propagated the idea of the Afrikaners as a separate nation whose destiny was to rule over a united South Africa. In 1879–80 du Toit founded the Afrikaner Bond, an anti-British political party of Boer (Dutch) Cape colonists to pursue these objectives. He also began publishing books in Afrikaans and translated the Bible into that language. His actions had the simultaneous effects of establishing Afrikaans as a literary language and of rallying Boer political consciousness around a common Afrikaner culture.
Du Toit, who had been strongly opposed to the British seizure of the Transvaal in 1877, supported the Transvaalers in their war against Britain in 1880–81. He migrated to the Transvaal and became superintendent general of education there in 1881. In 1883 the Afrikaner Bond absorbed Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr’s Boeren Beschermings Vereeniging (“Farmer’s Protection Association”). Under Hofmeyr’s leadership, it was the most important Boer party in Britain’s Cape Colony by 1884. Du Toit’s attempts to establish
The interview also covered what Biden referred to as “institutional racism” that America has witnessed “more clearly now” because of the coronavirus, pointing to the disproportionate effect COVID-19 has had on Black people, who he recognized as making up the bulk of the nation’s essential workers.
When the topic moved to Black voters and whether Democrats have been taking hem for granted, Biden openly admitted that Black people are owed from his political party.
Biden insisted the crime bill “did bring down violent crime in Black communities” and that the incarceration data wasn’t completely accurate because it was being measured on a state level when the crime bill was a federal law.
When Charlamagne pushed him to admit the crime bill disproportionately hurt Blacks, Biden wouldn’t budge.
VIDEO
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Crusader Staff Report President-elect Joe Biden campaigned in Georgia Tuesday, December 15, one day after being officially declared president by the Electoral College, winning 306 electoral votes to President Donald Trump’s 232. The campaign continues for Biden, who after the Electoral College’s decision, turned to Georgia, where early voting started December 14 for two critical […]
Thousands were killed and hundreds of thousands have been displaced after a government-led military campaign against regional forces in November last year.
While Lesotho outgoing Prime Minister, Tom Thabane still ponders when exactly to vacate office, it will be imperative for incoming leader of the Mountain Kingdom, Prime Minister-designate Dr Moeketsi Majoro to prepare for office in earnest.
Against this fleeting background, it will be incumbent upon Dr Majoro to consider the following six action points as his immediate priorities in order to save the US$2.73 billion landlocked economy:
With at least one positive case of coronavirus having been confirmed, Lesotho may not afford to rely on South Africa to test cases for far too long.
Besides political sectarianism in government departments, the morale among Basotho public servants is very low, and it is understandable.
The new Prime Minister should now ensure that the security cluster is permanently kept out of politics and into the service of protecting Basotho.
Re-arrange foreign missions and explore more into Basotho in the diaspora
Lack of diplomatic presence in South America and the Oceania means Lesotho has no direct representation in a market of almost half a billion people.
By Watipaso Mzungu TheCentre for Democracy and Economic Development Initiatives (CDEDI) has written the Registrar of Political Parties, demanding disclosure of information on source of financing for major political parties in Malawi. In the letter to the registrar on Tuesday and signed by CDEDI executive director Sylvester Namiwa, the organization demands that thedeclaration should be […]
By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY and ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE Associated Press Election officials in key battleground states pushed back on claims by the Trump campaign that Republican poll watchers were being improperly denied access to observe the counting of ballots, saying Thursday that rules were being followed and they were committed to transparency. Tasked this year with monitoring a record number of mail ballots, partisan poll watchers are designated by a political party or campaign to report any concerns they may have. With a few reports of overly aggressive poll watchers, election officials said they were carefully balancing access with the need […]
The post Poll watchers emerge as a flashpoint in battle over ballots appeared first on Black News Channel.
In his decision, U.S. District Judge Robert Hinkle said efforts by Gov. Ron DeSantis and state lawmakers were unconstitutional and restricted t
he voting rights of nearly 1 million citizens who would otherwise be eligible to vote only if they pay those court-imposed fines, fees and restitution to their criminal victims.
The ANC has reacted to the arrest warrant issued against its secretary-general Ace Magashule, stating that it will monitor developments.
Ugly, ugly scenes have erupted on Monday: Protesting EFF members and apoplectic parents got into a huge fight outside of Brackenfell High School.
Jan Hofmeyr , in full Jan Hendrik Hofmeyr (born July 4, 1845, Cape Town, Cape Colony [now in South Africa]—died Oct. 16, 1909, London, Eng.), statesman and leader of the Afrikaner Bond, a political party supporting the agrarian interests of Dutch South Africans in the Cape Colony. Hofmeyr, the son of a viticulturist, was educated at the South African College, Cape Town, and rose to prominence as a journalist. In 1878 he formed the Boeren Beschermings Vereeniging (“Farmers’ Protection Association”), whose aims were basically agricultural, and entered the Cape Colony Parliament as member for Stellenbosch. For the next 16 years, he served in Parliament as the recognized leader and spokesman for the Cape’s Dutch population.
Much of Hofmeyr’s political strength derived from his paramount position in the Afrikaner Bond, which he adroitly united with his Farmers’ Protection Association in 1883. Though only briefly a member of a ministry (1884), he wielded considerable influence as a representative of the colony on various occasions. Gradually recognizing the value of closer ties with the British, Hofmeyr played a significant role in the imperial conferences of 1887 and 1894. By the time Cecil Rhodes became prime minister (1890–95), Hofmeyr was his close friend and supported his expansionist schemes. The Jameson Raid (Dec. 29, 1895) against the Boers in the Transvaal, however, ended their collaboration. After strongly condemning the raid, Hofmeyr turned his energies to the prevention of war between the British and the Boers. He persuaded Pres. Paul Kruger of the Transvaal to make concessions, but the Cape governor, Lord Milner, refused to yield.
During the South African War (1899–1902), a sick and dispirited Hofmeyr retired to Europe. He returned after the conflict to effect a reconciliation between the British and the Boers. As South Africa moved toward union, he supported a federal rather than a unitary system and championed the use of the Dutch language. Because of his great influence with the Dutch population,
IN THE early hours of November 4, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attacked the...
The post Ethiopian National Defense Forces Base comes under attack appeared first on Voice Online.
[ENA] Addis Ababa -- Ethiopian Ambassador to Sweden and other Nordic countries, Deriba Kuma has held a virtual meeting with Head of the Horn of Africa and West Africa Department of the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Elisabeth Schwabe-Hansen.
[African Arguments] We're told the war is not with ordinary Tigrayans. Yet as thousands suffer and our compatriots remain silent, that's how it feels.
Yahya Jammeh is a Gambian politician and former military officer who was the second president of Gambia from 1994 to 2017. Jammeh ruled Gambia for twenty-three years after rising to power as a young army officer in a bloodless military coup in 1994 that ousted Dawda Jawara who had been the first president of Gambia. He was officially elected the second president of The Gambia in 1996 and reelected in 2001, 2006, and 2011. He was defeated in the 2016 Gambian presidential election by Adama Barrow and was subsequently forced to step down from power in 2017.
Jammeh was born on May 25, 1965, in Kanilai, Gambia, three months after the country gained its independence from Great Britain. Jammeh joined the Gambian National Army in 1984 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1989. In August 1992, he became commanding officer of the Military Police of Yundum Barracks. He received extensive military training from neighboring Senegal and military police training at Fort McClellan, Alabama. Jammeh’s rise to power began on July 22, 1994, when he and a group of young officers in the Gambian National Army seized power from President Sir Dawda Jawara in a military coup by taking control of key facilities in the capital city of Banjul. The coup was known to be a bloodless coup that was met with little resistance. Jammeh’s group identified itself as the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) with Jammeh acting as chairman.
Soon after seizing power, the Jammeh-led AFPRC suspended the constitution, sealed the borders, and implemented a nationwide curfew. Jammeh’s new government justified the coup by decrying corruption and the absence of democracy under the Jawara regime. Army personnel were also dissatisfied with their salaries, living conditions, and prospects for promotions.
In 1994 Jammeh founded the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction as his political party. He was narrowly elected president in September 1996 in a national election which foreign observers declared was neither free nor fair. He
