Politics

UN, US pressure South Sudan over elections

Published

1 year ago

March 9, 2022

The United Nations on Wednesday warned South Sudan’s leaders that the nation’s fragile peace process was under serious threat due to slow progress, calling for “fresh urgency” to revive negotiations.

The United Nations and United States urged the leaders of South Sudan to do more to prepare for elections due to be held in less than a year or risk “catastrophe.”

“As I have stated before, elections have the potential to be a nation-building moment, or a catastrophe,” the UN envoy for South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, told the Security Council.

“Much depends on the political will and leadership of the South Sudanese working together,” he said.

The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, according to France24 said that in order to “work toward a true democracy,” the South Sudanese government needed to move swiftly to implement the provisions set out in an agreement on revitalizing the peace process.

“That means an inclusive constitution drafting process, public financial management reform, transitional security arrangements, and transitional justice mechanisms” she said.

“Unfortunately, the government of South Sudan is behind in meeting key electoral benchmarks” set out in the agreement, she added.

With a Security Council decision expected on March 15 on renewing the peacekeeping mission in South Sudan for a year — one of the most expensive on the UN’s books, with an annual budget exceeding $1 billion — Haysom pleaded for the deployment to remain at current levels of 17,000 troops and 2,100 police.

“We anticipate a mandate flexible enough to support the conduct of free and fair elections, upon the request of the government,” he said.

With less than a year until elections, South Sudan, which has been independent since only 2011, risks plunging back into war, the UN warned in February.

The youngest country in the world, it has experienced chronic instability since its independence from Sudan.

Between 2013 and 2018, it descended into a bloody civil war between sworn enemies Riek Machar and Salva Kiir, which left nearly 400,000 dead and millions displaced.

A peace deal signed in 2018 led to power-sharing in a national unity government sworn in February 2020, with Kiir as president and Machar as vice-president.

But the provisions of the peace agreement remain largely unimplemented, due mainly to persistent disputes between the two rivals.

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Politics

Opposition party wins majority seats in Guinea Bissau’s parliament

Published

15 hours ago

June 9, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

After a thirteen months break in Guinea-Bissau’s parliament, the opposition coalition has won majority seats after the legislative elections held on Sunday.

Over 20 political parties and coalitions, including the former ruling PAIGC party and its rival MADEM G15, presented candidates for various constituencies across the country.

According to official results, the PAI Terra Ranka coalition, led by the former ruling PAIGC party, won 54 of 102 seats in Sunday’s poll, while the ruling Madem G15, won 28 seats.

The development alters the planned constitutional reforms of President Embalo which would have allowed him to consolidate power by ridding the country of its semi-presidential system.

Under the current political system, the majority party or coalition appoints the government but the president has the authority to dismiss it in certain circumstances, a situation that has led to political gridlock and infighting in the past.

The political stability of the country has been consistently threatened by military incursions with successful and failed coup attempts. The latest was in February 2022 when gunmen stormed a government compound where President Embalo was holding a cabinet meeting, in an attempt to stage a coup.

Politics

Algeria, Sierra Leone get non-permanent seat at UN Security Council

Published

3 days ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Algeria and Sierra Leone, have been elected as non-permanent members of the the United Nations’ Security Council for 2024-2025.

The two countries are part of the ten countries elected for two years in the Council outside the five power bloc countries— the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom.

The countries replace Albania, Brazil, Gabon, Ghana and the United Arab Emirates and will join Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique and Switzerland who were elected last year.

For Sierra Leone, it’s a return to the council after 53 years. Its Foreign Minister, David Francis said it was “a great day for this small, progressive and confident country…which has successfully transitioned from war to peace.”

Guyana and South Korea were also elected unchallenged while Slovenia handily beat Belarus for the only contested seat.

An official of rights agency, Human Rights Watch, Louis Charbonneau remarked that “the vote in the General Assembly shows why a competition for UN elections is essential” after Slovenia edged Belarus for the seat going to Eastern Europe and obtained 153 votes, against 38 in Belarus.

“UN member states have undoubtedly decided that Belarus’ grave human rights violations at home and attempts to cover up Russian atrocities in Ukraine disqualify it from serving on the Security Council, a crucial body for ensuring human rights. humans,” he added.

Algeria got 184 votes, South Korea 180 votes, Sierra Leone 188 votes and Guyana 191 in a single candidate votes for four seat reserved for Africa, Asia-Pacific and Latin America/Caribbean.

There has been a long debate about the place of Africa in international relations. At the inception of the United Nations, only four independent African countries represented the continent when 50 representatives of different countries met in San Francisco, California, in 1945 to complete the Charter of the United Nations.