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Ivory Coast's government on Tuesday accused the opposition of "plotting" against the state after it vowed to set up a rival government following bruising presidential elections won in a landslide by the incumbent, Alassane Ouattara.
The standoff pitched the West African nation deeper into a three-month-old crisis that has claimed several dozen lives, triggering EU appeals for calm and dialogue.
Hours after 78-year-old Ouattara was declared victor with more than 94 percent of the vote, Justice Minister Sansan Kambile accused the opposition of "acts of assault and plotting against the authority of the state."
The Abidjan public prosecutor has been asked to investigate, Kambile said, warning that "all options are on the table."
Opposition leader Pascal Affi N'Guessan had told reporters late Monday that opposition parties and groups were forming a "council of national transition."
"This council's mission will be to... create a transitional government within the next few hours," N'Guessan said.
The goal, he said, was to "prepare the framework for a fair, transparent and inclusive presidential election."
Ouattara's landslide in Saturday's vote had been widely expected -- two opposition leaders had called for a boycott of the ballot and a civil disobedience campaign.
But the protests and bloody clashes have also stirred traumatic memories of a crisis a decade ago that tore the country apart and dealt it lasting economic damage.
Around 3,000 people died after then-president Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept defeat by Ouattara.
N'Guessan late Monday said the "transitional council" would be led by opposition veteran Henri Konan Bedie, 86, a former president and long-term adversary of Ouattara.
"Keeping Mr Ouattara as head of state could lead to civil war," he warned.
- Confrontation -
In Abidjan, the economic capital, security forces blocked off roads close to Bedie's villa.
They fired teargas to disperse small groups of supporters and journalists outside, preventing the staging of a press conference called to follow up Monday night's announcement.
In Daoukro, an opposition stronghold 235 kilometres (146 miles) north of Abidjan, anti-Ouattara protesters were manning barricades.
"These results are a farce, " said one, who gave his name as Firmin. "We are going to carry on with civil disobedience until Ouattara steps down."
In contrast, Ouattara supporters sang his praises, saying he had strived to end instability in the world's top cocoa producer and revive its battered economy.
"He has worked hard for the country. He has to carry on, not just for us, but for our children," said Hamed Dioma, a scrap-metal worker in a rundown district of Abidjan.
"We are going to party."
Anger sparked by Ouattara's quest for a third term has revived memories of past feuds left mostly unreconciled after a 2002 civil war split the country in two.
Thirty people died in clashes before Saturday's vote, often between local ethnic groups allied to the opposition and Dioula communities seen as close to Oua
\t On Friday, internet and international calls were cut off across the West African nation in anticipation of the election results, according to locals and international observers in the capital, Conakry.
\t This was the third time that Conde matched-up against Diallo. Before the election, observers raised concerns that an electoral dispute could reignite ethnic tensions between Guinea's largest ethnic groups.
A series of military coups followed, and on June 4, 1979, Flight Lt. Jerry Rawlings overthrew Lt. Gen. Frederick Akuffos military rule. Rawlings permitted the election of a civilian president to go ahead as scheduled the following month, and Hilla Limann, candidate of the Peoples National Party, took office. Rawlingss three-month rule was one of Ghanas bloodiest periods, with executions of numerous government officials and business leaders. Two years later Rawlings staged another coup, charging the civilian government with corruption. As chairman of the Provisional National Defense Council, Rawlings scrapped the constitution, instituted an austerity program, and reduced budget deficits over the next decade. He then returned the country to civilian rule and won the presidency in multiparty elections in 1992 and again in 1996. Since then, Ghana has been widely viewed as one of Africas most stable democracies. In Jan. 2001, John Agyekum Kufuor was elected president. In 2002, he set up a National Reconciliation Commission to review human rights abuses during the countrys military rule. He was reelected in Dec. 2004.
In presidential elections in December 2008, Nana Akufo-Addo, of the governing New Patriotic Party, won just over 49% of the vote, and John Atta Mills, of the main opposition party, National Democratic Congress, took almost 48%. In the runoff election, necessary because neither candidate received 50% of the vote, Atta Mills eked out victory, with 50.23%. It was the closest election in Ghanas history.
President Atta died in July 2012. His four years in office were marked by stability and an increase in oil production. Vice President John Dramani Mahama was sworn in shortly after Attas death. Mahama won the presidential election held in December, taking 50.7% of the vote. He prevailed over Nana Akufo-Addo of the New Patriotic Party.
See also Encyclopedia: Ghana .
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Ghana
In March 2012, President Touré was overthrown in a coup by mutineering soldiers who said they were acting in response to the governments response to the rebellion by the Tuaregs, nomadic insurgents of Berber and Arab descent who live in the north. The troops said they did not received adequate support from the government. Many of the Tuaregs had fought for Libyan leader Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi and returned to Mali after his downfall, emboldened and armed with weapons. The rebels scored a number of victories, taking over towns and demoralizing the countrys military. The soldiers looted the presidential palace, suspended the constitution, and implemented a curfew. The coup did not impede the rebels. In fact, days after the coup, the rebels seized the city of Timbuktu, and thus gained control over much of the northern part of the country. They declared a cease-fire on April 5. The next day, however, the rebels said they had seceded from Mali and formed an independent state, called Azawad.
The Economic Community of West African States, a regional trade organization, imposed sanctions on the country, froze the assets Mali held in its bank, and sealed their borders with Mali. Mali had been considered one of the most stable democracies in Africa, and presidential elections had been set for April. President Touré said he planned to honor the countrys term limits and not seek reelection.
In a deal negotiated by ECOWAS in April, coup leader Capt. Amadou Sanogo agreed to step down, ousted president Touré resigned, and former parliament speaker Dioncounda Traoré was sworn in as interim president. Cheick Modibo Diarra, an astrophysicist who had worked at NASA, was named interim prime minister. Traoré vowed to confront the rebels and hold elections, but did not give a timetable for the vote. Days later, however, several members of the opposition were arrested by the military, which suggested the junta was still clinging to power. Concern about Sanogos refusal to relinquish power played out on May 21 when pro-military
South Sudan Assistant Minister for Interior Garang M. De Mabior, who resigned from the Transitional Government on June 3, after only four months in office, spoke with Fred Oluoch.
If you follow the implementation matrix of the Revitalised Agreement on Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), no other provision has been implemented, apart from formation of the Revitalised Transitional Government of National Unity (R-TGoNU) which circumvented these provisions.
In the absence of security arrangements, including demilitarisation of Juba, all major towns, civilian centres, disarmament of civilians, and unification of forces, inter-communal violence and general insecurity will continue hurting the already fragile economy.
They have used their privilege of incumbency to mobilise international diplomatic pressure against the SPLM-IO, so that we were persuaded to go to Juba and form a government in violation of the provisions of the Agreement.
I hope I am wrong in bringing our partners’ intransigence to public attention and that the unscientific way we are implementing the Agreement bears fruit, because my being wrong would mean the people of South Sudan will finally have achieved peace.
When former Vice President Joe Biden’s team presented their electoral strategy in mid-May, Georgia was one of three states, along with Arizona and Texas, that they believed they could compete in, even though those places haven’t voted for a Democratic presidential nominee in at least 20 years.
If Clinton lost Georgia by 5 and Biden’s doing 5 points better than her nationally, any movement to the left in Georgia compared to the nation means a very competitive race.
In November 2000, the Georgia secretary of state reported that black voters made up 25% of all registered voters for whom race and ethnicity was known.
Georgia is in the top half in the nation for the percentage that whites with a college degree make up of both eligible white voters and likely 2020 white voters, according to the Census Bureau and a projection by The New York Times’ Nate Cohn using government data.
Further, non-college whites make up a smaller portion of the likely 2020 Georgia electorate than any other deep southern state or state that switched from Obama in 2012 to Trump in 2016.
The Angolan Civil War, beginning at the time of the countrys independence from Portugal in 1975, was a 27-year struggle involving the deaths of over 500,000 soldiers and civilians. Initiated at the height of the Cold War, pro- and anti-communist forces in Angola set the stage for a proxy fight between the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Though the fighting officially ended in 2002, Angola remains in economic and social turmoil with a massive refugee crisis and millions of landmines impeding farming practices.
Rich in diamonds and oil, Angola was one of the last African nations to receive independence from a European power. On April 25, 1974, a Portuguese military coup d’état protesting the country’s colonial practices successfully overthrew the regime. The combined forces of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), the National Front for the Liberation of Angola (FNLA), and the National Union for Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) created a transitional government with the Alvor Accord of 1974.
Within a year the government had disintegrated, and with aid from the USSR and the Cuban military, the Marxist-oriented MPLA under the leadership of José dos Santos had wrested control of most of Angola. Indirectly and through proxies, governments from the United States, Brazil and South Africa funded UNITA, providing munitions, intelligence reports, and mercenaries.
Heavy fighting continued until 1991 when a temporary agreement known as the Bicesse Accords was reached. Calling for an immediate ceasefire and the removal of both Cuban and South African troops, the agreement mandated a new national government and army, along with Angola’s first multi-party elections. A year later, MPLA candidate José dos Santos won 49% of the popular vote in the election compared to 40% for UNITA candidate Dr. Jonas Savimbi. When Savimbi disputed the outcome, UNITA resumed guerilla war against the MPLA.
In 1993 the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 864 placing
April 2007 national elections—the country’s first transition from one democratically elected president to another—were marred by widespread allegations of fraud, ballot stuffing, violence, and chaos. Just days before the election, the Supreme Court ruled that the election commission’s decision to remove from the ballot Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a leading candidate and a bitter rival of President Olusegun Obsanjo, was illegal. Ballots were reprinted, but they only showed party symbols rather than the names of candidates. Umaru Yar’Adua, the candidate of the governing party, won the election in a landslide, taking more than 24.6 million votes. Second-place candidate Muhammadu Buhari tallied only about 6 million votes. International observers called the vote flawed and illegitimate. The chief observer for the European Union said the results “cannot be considered to have been credible.” An election tribunal ruled in Feb. 2008 that although the election was indeed flawed, the evidence of rigging was not substantial enough to overturn the election results.
The rebel group in Nigerias oil-producing region, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, declared a cease-fire in September. Since the insurgency broke out in 2004, Nigerias oil production has been significantly reduced, from about 2.5 million barrels a day to 1.5 million.
Deadly violence broke out in July 2009 in northeastern Nigeria between government troops and an obscure fundamentalist sect, Boko Haram, which is opposed to Western education and seeks to have Sharia law implemented throughout the country. The groups name translates to Western education is sinful. As many as 1,000 civilians died in the battles. The fighting began after militants attacked police stations and seemed to be preparing for a pitched religious war against the government. The police, followed by the army, retaliated and unleashed a five-day assault against the sect. The groups leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was killed in the campaign and the group was nearly decimated.
This West African country with the Atlantic as its western border is also bounded by Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, and the Congo. Its area is slightly less than Colorados. Most of the country is covered by a dense tropical forest.
Republic.
The earliest humans in Gabon were believed to be the Babinga, or Pygmies, dating back to 7000 B.C., who were later followed by Bantu groups from southern and eastern Africa. Now there are many tribal groups in the country, the largest being the Fang peoples, who constitute 25% of the population.
Gabon was first explored by the Portuguese navigator Diego Cam in the 15th century. In 1472, the Portuguese explorers encountered the mouth of the Como River and named it “Rio de Gabao,” river of Gabon, which later became the name of the country. The Dutch began arriving in 1593, and the French in 1630. In 1839, the French founded their first settlement on the left bank of the Gabon estuary and gradually occupied the hinterland during the second half of the 19th century. The land became a French territory in 1888, an autonomous republic within the French Union after World War II, and an independent republic on Aug. 17, 1960.
Albert-Bernard Bongo became Gabons second president after Leon Mba in 1967. He changed his name to Omar in 1973, upon converting to Islam. Strikes and riots led to a transitional constitution in May 1990, legalizing political parties and calling for free elections. In Gabons first multiparty election in Dec. 1993, Bongo received just over 51% of the vote, while the opposition candidate alleged fraud and tried to establish a rival government.
In Dec. 1998, President Bongo, who had by then ruled the country for 31 years, was elected for an additional seven. Gabon lacks roads, schools, and adequate health care, yet income from the oil-rich country has lined the pockets of its ruler, who, according to the French weekly LAutre Afrique, is said to own more real estate in Paris than any other foreign leader. Despite his reputation for corruption and
In presidential elections in early 2011, incumbent François Bozizé (National Convergence Kwa Na Kwa) won reelection with 64.4% of the vote. In March 2013, Bozizé was ousted by rebels from the northern part of the country. The rebels, who are mostly Muslim and collectively known as Seleka, have been engaged in battles with government troops and said they overthrew Bozizé because he failed to follow through on earlier peace deals. Bozizés presidency was marred by allegations of corruption and cronyism—hardly a surprise in one of the worlds poorest and most unstable countries. Michel Djotodia, the coup leader, assumed power, suspended the constitution, and dissolved parliament. In mid-April he created a transitional national council that named him interim president. He was sworn in as head of state in August and promised to hold free and fair elections within 18 months. The African Union suspended the country in response to the coup, and refused to recognize Djotodia as president.
Djotodia was not able to stem the violence in the country, and CAR spiralled into chaos. Seleka rebels terrorized civilians, and Christian opponents formed their own militias to retaliate and defend themselves and were equally as brutal to Muslims. About 1 million people, in a country of 5 million, fled their homes. Many of those fleeing were farmers and herders, and officials feared that their absence would lead to famine. In October, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the country had experienced total breakdown of law and order, and he authorized the deployment of a peacekeeping force. In December, the African Union said it would increase the size of its force there from 3,500 troops to 6,000. France deployed 1,600 soldiers to CAR, a former colony of France. Many feared that CAR was on the brink of experiencing a genocide. In April 2014, the UN authorized a force of 12,000 peace-keeping troops. They were deployed to CAR in September.
At the urging of regional leaders, Djotodia resigned in January 2014 for his failure to stem the
Sierra Leone Telegraph: 28 June 2020: Speculations are growing across the political divide in Sierra Leone, after a leading pro SLPP government newspaper – Global Times, published a story recently stating that the next general and presidential elections will be held in 2024 – not 2023 as expected. According to [Read More]
Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen, more commonly known as Al-Shabaab (meaning youth), is a clan-based jihadist terrorist group in East Africa. Originating as the militant youth wing of the Somali Council of Islamic Courts (ICU), which took over southern Somalia in June 2006, the group splintered off following the defeat of the Council in December 2006 to continue violent insurgency against the Somali Transitional Government and its allies in Ethiopia and Kenya.
It is the largest militant group, numbering around 7,000, fighting to overthrow the Somalian government and aims to control territory within Somalia in order to establish a society based upon rigid interpretations of Sharia Law. Al-Shabaab’s unity, however, has been affected by numerous internal conflicts due to the fractured nature of the organization, competing clan loyalties, and debates between nationalist goals and the goals of Gulf-based transnational terror.
Al-Shabaab’s goals include promoting local insurrection, establishment of a fundamentalist Muslim society, and eventual regional and global jihad under Wahhabism and Salafi Jihadism, extreme Sunni ideologies that count among its adherents other jihadist groups such as Al-Qaeda. To highlight this relationship, Al-Shabaab was founded by Somali extremists educated in the Middle East with tutelage and support from Osama Bin Laden. In fact, many members of Al-Shabaab’s leadership got their start fighting along Bin Laden in Afghanistan during the 1990s.
Returning home to a Somalia which had no effective government, Al-Shabaab’s leaders such as Ahmed Abdi Godane, who held the top post of the terrorist organization until his death by U.S. drone strike in September 2014, sought to establish a local political and religious system in accordance with their Salafist beliefs.
The ICU briefly gained control of Mogadishu, the Somali capital, in December 2006 until they were driven out by a coalition of Somalian and Ethiopian troops. Following that defeat Al-Shabaab initiated guerilla assaults, suicide
Senegal is easing some restrictions that had been imposed to aid curb the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic.
In a televised address, president Macky Sall said the country’s state of emergency and curfew which were imposed on March 23 will be lifted as of Tuesday 11pm local time.
The president further added that as of July 15, air borders will be reopened to the world and international flights will resume. Nevertheless, land and sea borders will remain closed. These restrictions are being eased to avert an economic fallout.
President Sall said of the country’s death stats: “The case fatality rate in Senegal is 1.5%, compared to an African average of 2.5% and a global average of 5.2%. Senegal has a recovery rate of 64.8%, compared to an African average of 48% and a global average of 50%.”
The West African nation has 6,793 confirmed cases of coronavirus as of June 30 with 108 deaths, 4,431 recoveries.
Meanwhile, the Senegalese government continues to take other precautions to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Face masks remain mandatory in public.
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In April 2004 presidential elections, praised by international monitors for their fairness, incumbent Bouteflika won 85% of the vote. Bouteflika stated that his second term would be devoted to solving the three-year-old crisis in the Berber region of Kabylia, freeing women from restrictive family codes, and bringing about “true national reconciliation” caused by the civil war. The countrys dire economic situation has improved slightly, but Algeria still faces a high unemployment rate.
In Oct. 2005, Algerians approved a controversial referendum sponsored by Bouteflika, the Charter on Peace and National Reconciliation, which grants amnesty to all Islamists and military officials involved in the countrys bloody civil war. There is considerable doubt whether reconciliation is possible without holding anyone accountable, and the presidents plan has been referred to as one of amnesia rather than amnesty.
Analysis - Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara must tread carefully to keep preelection tensions at bay. Much will depend on his choice of a presidential candidate. Experts hope he will not step forward himself.
President Vieira was shot to death by army troops in March 2009. The assassination was said to be in retaliation for an earlier bomb attack that killed the army chief of staff, Gen. Batista Tagme Na Wai, which troops blamed on the president. The military denied a coup attempt.
In June presidential elections, former acting president Malam Bacai Sanha took 39.6% of the vote, former president Kumba Iala 29.4%, former interim president Henrique Rosa 24%, and Iaya Djalo 3.1%. Sanha prevailed over Iala in the July run-off election, winning 63% of the vote.
In Jan. 2012, Sanha died unexpectedly, leaving Guinea-Bissau leaderless. Acting president Raimundo Pereira and acting prime minister Adiato Diallo Nandigna were removed in a coup on April 12. A transition president, who may rule up to 2 years, was announced on April 20: Manuel Serifo Nhamadjo, who came in third place in the first round of the presidential election in March. He named Rui Duarte de Barros to be transitional prime minister. The National Transition Council, which will oversee the transition, will be headed by Braima Sori Djalo. Six weeks after the coup, the military junta returned power to the civilian government.
Garnet moved to the West African nation but died on February 13, 1882, barely two months after his arrival .
Sudan’s transitional government announced a major cabinet reshuffle on Thursday, hoping to defuse public discontent over economic collapse and other crises that have tested the country’s path toward democracy.
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok accepted the resignation of six ministers, including the finance minister criticized for failing to rescue the plunging economy. He also dismissed the health minister in the wake of a coronavirus outbreak that has hit the country hard.
A government statement named the acting replacements for the seven posts, which also include foreign, energy, agriculture and transportation ministers.
“The trust that the people have given the transitional government obliges us to listen to the voice of the street,” said Hamdok, referring to the sweeping protest movement that toppled longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir in April last year.
He added that the changes were aimed at meeting “accelerated economic and social changes.”
Following al-Bashir’s ouster, Sudan’s military and pro-democracy protesters reached a power-sharing agreement to form the Sovereign Council, made up of army generals and civilians, to rule the country until elections can be held in 2022. Still, the military has retained the upper hand in many ways.
The Cabinet shake-up was widely expected after hundreds of thousands rallied in Sudan’s major cities again on June 30 to pressure the government for reform.
Protesters demanded the speedy appointment of civilian provincial governors, the formation of a legislative council and the completion of peace deals with rebels in the country’s restive provinces. At the time, Hamdok pledged to take “decisive steps” within two weeks.
Reshuffling gives the government room to appoint several ministers from rebel groups, as a condition of peace negotiations expected to conclude in the coming week.
The Sudanese Revolutionary Front, an alliance of rebel groups, visited the capital of Khartoum this week to discuss a few outstanding points in the deal, such as rebels’ participation in the yet-to-be-formed legislative council.
Sudan has for decades been convulsed by insurgencies in the west and south, and last year’s power-sharing deal required the government reach a peace agreement within six months. Although the deadline has expired, Khartoum wants to ink a settlement and reduce military spending, which takes up 80% of the budget.
Heba Ali, a key official in the finance ministry, was appointed to replace Finance Minister Ibrahim Elbadawi, who inherited a collapsed economy after decades of mismanagement under al-Bashir.
Elbadawi was spearheading ambitious economic reform plans sought by foreign donors and the International Monetary Fund, which included painful steps like the slashing of fuel and other subsidies.
Earlier this week, in a move toward restructuring Sudan’s unwieldy security apparatus, Hamdok fired the police chief and his deputy, apparently over ties to al-Bashir.
The reshuffle seems unlikely to satisfy demonstrators, said Osman Mirghani, a Sudanese analyst an
Jayasekara, also known as Chokka Malli, was found guilty by the High Court of Ratnapura on July 31 of murdering activist Sunil Perera, popularly known as Shantha Dodamgoda, ahead of presidential elections in 2015. He was sentenced to death along with two others convicted of the same crime. Nonetheless, he took the oath as a […]
The post Murderer on Death Row Sworn In as Member of Sri Lanka’s Parliament appeared first on L.A. Focus Newspaper.
Zambia, a landlocked country in south-central Africa, is about one-tenth larger than Texas. It is surrounded by Angola, Zaire, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia. The country is mostly a plateau that rises to 8,000 ft (2,434 m) in the east.
In 1972, Kaunda outlawed all opposition political parties. The world copper market collapsed in 1975. The Zambian economy was devastated—it had been the third-largest miner of copper in the world after the United States and Soviet Union. With a soaring debt and inflation rate in 1991, riots took place in Lusaka, resulting in a number of killings. Mounting domestic pressure forced Kaunda to move Zambia toward multiparty democracy. National elections on Oct. 31, 1991, brought a stunning defeat to Kaunda. The new president, Frederick Chiluba, called for sweeping economic reforms, including privatization and the establishment of a stock market. He was reelected in Nov. 1996. Chiluba declared martial law in 1997 and arrested Kaunda following a failed coup attempt. The 1999 slump in world copper prices again depressed the economy because copper provides 80% of Zambias export earnings.
In 2001, Chiluba contemplated changing the constitution to allow him to run for another presidential term. After protests he relented and selected Levy Mwanawasa, a former vice president with whom he had fallen out, as his successor. Mwanawasa became president in Jan. 2002; opposition parties protested over alleged fraud. In June 2002, Mwanawasa, once seen as a pawn of Chiluba, accused the former president of stealing millions from the government while in office. Chiluba was arrested and charged in Feb. 2003.
Although the country faced the threat of famine in 2002, the president refused to accept any international donations of food that had been genetically modified, which Mwanawasa considered “poison.” In Aug. 2003, impeachment proceedings against the president for corruption were rejected by parliament. In April 2005, the World Bank approved a $3.8 billion debt relief
Analysis - Can this week's peace deal between Khartoum and Sudan's armed rebel groups stick? Logic suggests not, as two previous agreements signed among essentially the same players - also with some important holdouts - failed to stop the killing.
Tunisias first free elections since independence in 1956 were held on October 23, 2011. Voter turnout was estimated at 90%, and the election was deemed fair. Voters selected an assembly that will write a draft constitution and establish the procedure for upcoming parliamentary and presidential elections. Ennahda (Renaissance), a moderate, formerly banned Islamist party, prevailed, taking about 41% of the vote. Rachid Ghannouchi, the leader of Ennahda, said the party is committed to democracy and pluralism and would not implement strict Muslim moral codes on citizens. In November, Hamadi Jbeli, secretary general of the Islamist Ennahda party, was named prime minister, and longtime dissident Moncef Marzouki became president.
Ennahda formed a coalition government with center-left secular parties and vowed to refrain from implementing Islamic law or mentioning it in the new constitution. However, unemployment has increased under the new government, the economy has tanked, and Islamic extremism has spread, fueling popular discontent. In addition, the ultraconservative Salafis, who promote Islamic law, burned down bars and have threatened to demolish shrines that they deem sacrilegious. Ennahda has been accused of condoning the violence against secularists and secularist institutions carried out by the Salafis. Popular discontent with Ennahda grew during the summer of 2013 because the government made little progress on the constitution and had not set a date for elections, and it intensified after the ouster of Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi, an Islamist member of the Muslim Brotherhood, in July 2013. Ennahda responded by working diligently on a draft constitution and establishing a committee to oversee elections. However, the opposition, made up of secular parties, thwarted Ennahdas attempts to make headway on both. In October, Ennahda agreed to step down and hand power to a caretaker government, led by technocrats, that will run the country through elections in the spring of 2014.
The violence continued through
Kanye West has announced officially, via social media that is, that hes throwing in his hat for president of the United States. This comes after []
Burundi President Pierre Nkurunziza, who died of a heart attack aged 55 according to an official statement released on Tuesday, has left behind a mixed legacy.
Viewed as a pan- Africanist by his East African Community (EAC) peers and as a ruthless dictator by his critics, Nkurunziza was a dominant figure in Burundi’s politics in the last 26 years.
\"Death has robbed East Africa of a prominent leader whose contribution to the integration and progress of the region shall be sorely missed,” President Uhuru Kenyatta said in a statement.
Libérat Mfumukeko, a Burundi national who serves as EAC’s Secretary- General, said in a statement on June 9: “President Nkurunziza’s unequivocally decided to lead Burundi into the community in 2007, having figured out that the economic, social and political homogeneity of the region provided vast opportunities for his country’s economic recovery and national reconciliation.”
Nkurunziza, a former leader of a Hutu rebel group, was elected by lawmakers after promising peace but oversaw a crackdown on political opponents and the media when he was re-elected five years later.
