Login to BlackFacts.com using your favorite Social Media Login. Click the appropriate button below and you will be redirected to your Social Media Website for confirmation and then back to Blackfacts.com once successful.
Enter the email address and password you used to join BlackFacts.com. If you cannot remember your login information, click the “Forgot Password” link to reset your password.
Editorial - The new plan by the electoral commission to streamline vetting of qualifications of candidates seeking political seats is remarkable. In this respect, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has entered into a partnership with the Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) to verify the academic certificates of candidates seeking seats in Parliament and county assemblies in a bid to weed out those with fake credentials.
\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.
Vice-President Saulos Chilima has returned to court Tuesday to press President Peter Mutharika to sack Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) chairperson, Jane Ansah and her fellow commissioners after Parliament, the Constitutional Court and Supreme Court of Appeal found them incompetent and their positions untenable.
Chilima has been accusing the head of the electoral body of misconduct and is backed by electoral stakeholders that Ansah should not preside over the fresh presidential elections.
But Ansah, a judge of the Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal, has defiantly refused to step down.
This month Malawi Supreme Court of Appeal upheld the ruling of the High Court sitting as the Constitutional Court which found Ansah and MEC incompetent.
On April 1 2020 MEC chief elections officer Sam Alfandika told Parliament's Legal Affairs Committee that the commission wrote President Peter Mutharika to consider hiring new commissioners as the current ones' tenure is expiring on June 5.
The Detroit Pistons announced today that the club is partnering with the Michigan Secretary of State’s office on a series of initiatives to drive voter awareness and participation in the upcoming August and November elections.
The organization also announced it will be declaring August 4 and November 3, 2020 company-wide paid days off to ensure all staff members can vote, volunteer as election workers and rally others to do the same.
“We are pleased to partner with the Department of State on its efforts to register and enroll eligible voters for this year’s elections, and to provide our employees with the day off on election day to ensure they are able to get to the polls and make their voices heard.”
In partnership with Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson and Detroit City Clerk Janice Winfrey, the Detroit Pistons will act on the following initiatives to grow civic engagement and inspire voter participation in the coming elections:
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson lauded the Pistons efforts to assist with voter participation and awareness for the upcoming elections and stressed the importance every individual has in making their voice heard.
“The Detroit Piston organization has deep roots in our community, supporting programs and initiatives that fundamentally make a difference in the lives our residents,” said Clerk Winfrey.
Ugandan opposition leader and popular singer Bobi Wine has been freed after a brief arrest by the police. WIne had been taken away just after he was confirmed as a candidate in next year’s presidential election.
The local NBS Television, reporting from the scene, said the singer was put into a police van amid violent scuffles between police and his supporters.
Wine on Monday had gone to the nomination centre in Kyambogo in the capital, Kampala as Uganda’s electoral body started the nomination process for presidential candidates in the upcoming 2021 general elections.
Police fired tear gas to disperse his supporters who turned up to support him on nomination day.
Bobi Wine presented his nomination papers to the electoral commission to be cleared to challenge President Yoweri Museveni in next year's election.
Joel Senyonyi, spokesman for Wine’s NUP party, said “they [police] used a hammer and broke the windows of his vehicle and forcefully dragged him out … they bundled him into their own vehicle and took off”.
So far, 10 aspirants are vying for the top job. Others include former army commander General Mugisha Muntu and former Security Minister General Henry Tumukunde.
President Yoweri Museveni, who has ruled the country for 34 years, was the first to be nominated. He warned that any opponents who destabilize the country will be dealt with.
One presidential candidate Patrick Amuriat was arrested at the headquarters of his Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party.
Soldiers and police officers have been heavily deployed at the party's offices, the Daily Monitor newspaper reports.
Mr Amuriat is reported to have vowed to defy restrictions on the number of supporters accompanying him to the electoral commission where he is scheduled to submit his nomination papers at midday. The newspaper has tweeted a video of his arrest.
These are some of the events analysts say makes the outlook of the politics tense as Uganda braces up for elections February next year.
Wine, 38, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, aims to end President Yoweri Museveni’s 34 years in power.
Malawi's parliament has endorsed June 23 as the date for the presidential election re-run after a court annulled last year's vote over irregularities, a lawmaker says.
[Monitor] The newly revised roadmap for 2021 General Election that authorised virtual campaigning has been challenged in the High Court for violating various fundamental constitutional rights and freedom.
Supporters of Malawi’s new president Lazarus Chakwera gathered for a fireworks display in the capital Lilongwe, celebrating his victory in a keen presidential election re-run.
With loud cheers and applause they waved Malawi’s red, black and green flag in celebration. Chakwera won with 58.57 percent of the vote, the electoral commission said Saturday.
It was a dramatic reversal of fortune for incumbent, Peter Mutharika, whose victory in the May 2019 election was overturned by the Constitutional Court, citing widespread fraud.
Some 6.8 million voters in the southern African country had returned to the polls on Tuesday. And on Saturday, electoral commission announced that Chakwera has been duly elected as the president of Malawi.
Mutharika came second with over 1.7 million votes, while a thiurd candidate Peter Dominico Kuwani received 32,456.
Mutharika did not wish to comment on his defeat. But earlier on Saturday, he argued that the election re-run had been flawed, citing violence and intimidation against his party monitors.
In office since 2014, Mutharika had won 38.5 percent of the discredited vote in which Chakwera garnered a close 35.4 percent.
On the morning of November 3, opposition presidential candidate Patrick Oboi Amuriat left his home to go to his party’s headquarters in the south of Kampala, Uganda’s capital. ¨
From there, he planned to join his supporters and party officials in a procession to a venue where the electoral commission was conducting nominations for presidential contenders.
But before he could, the police pounced and violently arrested him. They then whisked him off to the nomination venue in the east of Kampala.
When he emerged from the police car, a visibly traumatized Amuriat was without his shoes.
‘Rich in symbolism’
Since November 3, the candidate for the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) has never been seen in public with shoes. At campaign events, he shows up barefooted.
Hi @Johnlaban256 atleast this time ask for retweets so that the police brings back POA's shoes.Please laban have mercy. pic.twitter.com/uPTtJNSyDk
— MUZZUKULU WA KISOLO 🐺 (@DoniJohn3) November 3, 2020
Critics have called it a stunt to invite sympathy. Yet Amuriat says campaigning without shoes is a protest and that those who do not get its symbolism are missing a point.
Uganda is due to hold a general election on January 14. Amuriat and another opposition candidate, Bobi Wine have had their rallies violently dispersed by security forces or been arrested.
In mid-November, scores of people were killed as security forces attempted to quell protests against the arrest and detention of Bobi Wine.
Police has accused the candidates of addressing huge gatherings in contravention of regulations on COVID-19 prevention.
Swollen feet
In an interview with one of the dailies in Uganda, Amuriat said his feet hurt a lot and has to pour cold water on them in between campaign stops for some relief.
Doctors have cautioned him on the potential danger of contracting tetanus from cuts to his feet.
Yet Amuriat remains adamant. He says by refusing to wear shoes, he’s standing in solidarity with people whose wealth and opportunities have been stolen by the country’s longtime ruler Yoweri Museveni.
JUST IN: FDC presidential candidate Patrick Amuriat has been arrested at the border of Rubirizi and Bushenyi districts. The reason for his arrest is yet to be known📹 @MukhayeD#MonitorUpdates#UGDecides2021 pic.twitter.com/xopK4FMoD0
— Daily Monitor (@DailyMonitor) December 4, 2020
Museveni, in power since 1986 is seeking a new term. In 2017, he changed the constitution to remove age limits that would have stopped him from seeking re-election.
FDC is Uganda’s largest opposition party. In 3 previous elections, the party fronted veteran activist and retired army colonel Kizza Besigye for president.
Somalia has ordered the expulsion of Kenya's ambassador after accusing neighbouring Kenya of interfering in the electoral process in Jubbaland, one of Somalia's five semi-autonomous states, in the latest dispute between the two countries.
[Monitor] Ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) party presidential candidate, Yoweri Kaguta Museveni Saturday brushed off ten other candidates to extend his presidency to 40 years after Electoral Commission (EC) chairman Simon Byabakama credited him 5,851,037 votes, representing 58.64% of the 9,978,093 valid votes.
[Monitor] Kampala -- The Electoral Commission (EC) has rolled out nominations for the local government councils.
June 27: Chakwera declared winner
\tMalawi Electoral Commission (MEC) late Saturday declared opposition alliance leader Lazarus Chakwera as the winner of Tuesday’s presidential re-run election.
June 25: Opposition celebrates unofficial Chakwera victory
\tOpposition chief Lazarus Chakwera has ‘taken the lead’ in Malawi’s poll count, according to unofficial results being projected by multiple local media outlets.
The third candidate in the rerun, MMD’s Peter Kuwani has also appealed to the elections body to disqualify incumbent Mutharika and opposition coalition chief Chakwera.
Read more – Malawi election commission appeals for calm as it tallies votes
June 23: Voting ends, ballot counting begins
\tPolls have closed in most parts of Malawi privately-run newspaper The Nation reports.
June 23: Malawians vote in crucial presidential poll rerun despite virus
\tVoters in Malawi have already started casting their ballots today in crucial presidential election rerun pitting incumbent Peter Mutharika and opposition coalition leader Lazarus Chakwera.
Malawi's parliament has endorsed June 23 as the date for the presidential election re-run after a court annulled last year's vote over irregularities, a lawmaker said.
The election had handed President Peter Mutharika a second term, but with just 38.5% of the vote.
Legally parliament had to validate the new polling date.
He said the court ruling \"clearly states that parliament must set a date for the elections\".
Meantime, a new electoral commission was sworn-in on Tuesday to organise the new vote, after the top court also ordered an investigation into the conduct of the previous one.
The Electoral Commission (EC) yesterday announced the 2021 revised electoral roadmap and told all those interested in elective offices in the next election to use the media for campaigns.
Mr Henry Muguzi, the national coordinator for Alliance for Campaign Financing Monitoring (ACFIM), a loose coalition of civil society activists advocating for transparency in financing political parties and election campaigns, said the decision to do virtual campaigns may double the cost of campaigns.
Media houses will also aim to make a killing out of the campaigns with high costs of talk-shows,\" Mr Muguzi said.
Also to suffer the blunt of high costs to get media space will be the new comers, women and youth who may not have the financial muscle to manage such expensive campaigns.
Mr Muguzi also warned that Opposition politicians are likely not to have equal access to the radios and TVs because most media houses are either owned by the NRM party members or its sympathisers.
Malawi’s electoral commission appealed for “peace and calm” on Wednesday as it counted ballots following a historic poll to re-elect a president after Peter Mutharika’s victory was overturned.
Voters in Malawi went to the polls on Tuesday for the second time in just over a year after the Constitutional Court dramatically ruled that last year’s polls were fraught with “grave and widespread” irregularities.
Results from the May 2019 election sparked countrywide protest that lasted months, a rare occurrence in the impoverished southern African country.
It took the top court six months to sift through the evidence before concluding that Mutharika was not duly elected and ordered fresh elections.
The chairman of the Malawi Electoral Commission, Chifundo Kachale, said tallying of the votes from 5,002 polling stations was underway.
“We appeal to Malawians to maintain peace and calm as the vote-counting continues,” Kachale told a news conference in Blantyre.
Mutharika has accused the opposition of inciting violence following isolated incidents which the police and electoral commission said had not affected the election.
“It’s obvious that the opposition is doing this,” he told reporters after voting in Blantyre, claiming some of his party monitors were “chased away, some were beaten”.
“It’s obviously people that are afraid of the will of the people that are engaging in these barbaric acts,” he alleged.
Mutharika, 79, did not take the decision of the constitutional court lightly when it overturned last year’s poll.
He accused judges of working with the opposition to steal the election through what he dubbed a “judicial coup d’etat”.
He had narrowly won the now-discredited election with 38.5 percent of the ballots, beating his closest rival Lazarus Chakwera, 65, by just 159,000 votes .
Victory in the rerun will be determined by whoever garners more than 50 percent of the votes — a new threshold set by the top court.
Some 6.8 million people were asked to vote between Mutharika, Chakwera and an underdog candidate, Peter Dominico Kuwani.
The electoral commission has until July 3 to unveil the results, although the announcement is widely thought likely to come this week.
Kachale says the commission will only announce results after dealing with all the complaints.
AFP
There will be no extension of the presidential mandate under the cover of coronavirus in the Central African Republic.
This was the final verdict issued by the constitutional court in Bangui, ending a wrangle between the ruling party and the opposition last week.
The government had intended to continue its mandate due to the prevailing coronavirus outbreak arguing that the country will not be ready to hold an election by the end of the year.
A Bangui resident said he was shocked by the decision: “This verdict surprised us because we thought that the constitutional court should give a favorable verdict to those who initiated this project in partial modification of the constitution going in the direction of the extension of the mandate of the president of the republic and that of the MPs.”
A number of African countries are expected to hold elections later this year.
New Yorkers demand real solutions.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) on Thursday asked UK citizens to be cautious and cited \"possible clashes throughout the country\" during the November 28 inauguration.
\"Political tensions are high and demonstrations and clashes are possible throughout the country, particularly in the western region; you should exercise caution and, where possible, avoid travelling around areas where demonstrations may take place,\" the FCO said in a statement.
The office is anticipating possible demonstrations and clashes during the inauguration and Britons planning to visit Kenya during this period have been asked to exercise caution and, where possible, avoid travelling around areas where demonstrations may take place.
The areas where FCO advises against all but essential travel does not include Kenya's safari destinations.
In April, when political parties were scheduled to hold their nominations ahead of the deadline by the electoral commission, UK advised its nationals against all but essential travel to north eastern counties of Garissa, Wajir and Mandera as well as Eastleigh in Nairobi.
Dear Editor,
It is elementary legal learning the dictum espoused in the case Re Pinochet that ‘justice should be seen to be done as well as actually being done’.
The article Election petitions are an opportunity to settle the matter definitively appeared first on Stabroek News.
Citizens Action for Free and Fair Elections (CAFFE) is relieved and pleased that the conflicts relating to the general elections in Guyana have finally been resolved.
The article CARICOM should formulate Convention on Electoral Systems appeared first on Stabroek News.
President of the People’s National Party (PNP), Dr Peter Phillips, is demanding assurances that the legal and technical issues involved in staging both the local government and general elections on one ballot be ironed out before concluding on what would be a historic move.
Addressing PNP councillors and councillor caretakers at The Mico University College on Sunday, Phillips said that the Government had formally engaged the Electoral Commission of Jamaica on the cost-saving measure.
“The Electoral Commission has identified a number of technical and legal issues that they are examining, and certainly, we would need as a party to be entirely clear that all the arrangements are in place are legal and constitutional and, in fact, are practical, if we are to agree to do it, and that is being done,” Phillips said.
The PNP president told Comrades that the slate of 63 prospective parliamentary candidates was the “best” ever assembled, adding that a majority of the party’s local government standard-bearers were in place.
He said that the electorate was looking for the PNP “... to provide a set of representatives in local and central government whose only objective is to serve the people of Jamaica and not to serve themselves or to secure personal benefit for themselves.
THE Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) yesterday announced the appointment of Senator Aubyn Hill as treasurer for the party, effective June 30. According to a JLP release, Senator Hill, whose appointmnent was approved by the party's Standing Committee, brings to the table a wealth of experience in finance, both locally and abroad.
[Monitor] Most voters who turned out to vote on Thursday in several parts of Kampala City failed to heed the advice by officials of the Ministry of Health follow Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
[Shabelle] The President of Somalia Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo last night chaired a preliminary meeting of the Federal and State Consultative Meetings on Accelerating the Electoral Process in the Country and Moving on to September 17, 2020, Agreement Approved by the Federal Parliament of Somalia.
MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) - The Mexican president’s hesitation over congratulating Joe Biden on his U.S.
The article Latino Democrats tell Mexican president to get with the program and back Biden appeared first on Stabroek News.
The opposition has won Malawi’s historic rerun of the presidential election, the first time a court-overturned vote in Africa has led to the defeat of an incumbent leader.
The post Opposition wins historic rerun of Malawi’s presidential vote appeared first on Los Angeles Sentinel.
[Cameroon Tribune] Government has lauded the peaceful conduct of the election of Regional Councillors that took place on December 6, 2020.
Lawyers for Ugandan opposition leader Bobi Wine have filed a challenge in the Supreme Court against President Yoweri Museveni's victory in last month's election, claiming the poll was rigged.
