Politics

Tunisian President Saied rejects opposition calls for dialogue after sacking election commission

Published

1 year ago

April 29, 2022

The President of Tunisia, Kais Saied, has rejected calls by the country’s opposition for a dialogue after dissolving the election commission and appointing a new one made up of his loyalists, with himself as thr chairman.

Saied had on April 22, replaced most of the members of the election commission, thus removing one more democratic check on the president, leading to worries about the legitimacy of any future elections.

With the political crisis in the North African country growing, Saied has remained adamant and has made several moves that critics say are designed to entrench him in power and appears increasingly unwilling to compromise.

On Thursday, the President rejected the formation of an opposition “National Salvation Front’, which has called for a national dialogue conference and a transitional government.

The opposition have also made several attempts to reach out to Saied to discuss the way forward but he told a gathering in Tunis on Wednesday that there was “no dialogue with those who want to target the Tunisian state”.

Saied had in the past, taken certain decisions which have further escalated the political crisis in the country which began after he sacked the government, suspended parliament, and took emergency powers nine months ago, actions that were labelled a “coup” by his opponents.

Saied has often argued that his moves were a fight against the corruption of Tunisia’s political elites, and a move from a parliamentary system, which he blames for the poor performance of the government in recent years, to a presidential system.

While Saied did receive a wide degree of popular support at the time, that has weakened following decisions that appear to reverse Tunisia’s path towards democracy following the 2011 revolution in the country.

Related Topics:Election Commission Featured Opposition Tunisia

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Politics

Zimbabwe’s electoral commission, ZEC promises to publicise voters’ register

Published

7 hours ago

June 4, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

The electoral commission in Zimbabwe said it would soon publish the voters’ register for the forthcoming general elections.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) also assured the public of a fair election and promised to rectify anomalies that were observed during the voters’ inspection exercise.

The head of ZEC, Utloile Silaigwana made the position known when he announced the end of the mop-up voter registration exercise on Friday.

Silaigwana further revealed that the Nomination court would sit on 21 June and thereafter the voters’ roll would be accessible to candidates.

There are contentions about the neutrality of the electoral commission. In March, a member of the opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), Allan Markham filed a court application challenging ZEC for access to the electronic voters’ roll but had his request rejected because “it was too risky” and in the interest of data protection.

Meanwhile, the ruling party, Zanu PF sent text messages to registered voters during the period urging them to vote for President Emmerson Mnangagwa. This move further fuelled the allegation that Zanu PF had access to the voters’ roll which is why it was able to send the messages.

President Mnangagwa is running for re-election to a second term after coming to power following a military coup that dislodged Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe’s president in 2017.

The country is struggling with deep poverty, recurring power outages, and crippling unemployment, all of which have fuelled widespread resentment.

The President of Zimbabwe is elected using a two-round system. The Zimbabwean legislature is made up of 270 members of the National Assembly, 210 members elected in single-member constituencies, and 60 women elected by proportional representation in ten six-seat constituencies based on the country’s provinces.

Politics

Guinea-Bissau holds parliamentary elections after year-long break

Published

7 hours ago

June 4, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Elections into the parliament of Guinea-Bissau have been held on Sunday after over a year since President Umaro Sissoco Embalo dissolved the House over accusations of corruption.

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.

The country’s parliament, known as the National People’s Assembly, is made up of 102 members who are chosen in two ways: 100 by closed-list proportional representation from 27 multi-member constituencies and two by single-member constituencies representing expatriate citizens in Africa and Europe.

The majority party or coalition appoints the government under the current political system, but the president has the authority to dismiss it in certain circumstances. In the past, this has led to political gridlock and infighting.

The Prime Minister, Nuno Gomes Nabiam, while commenting on the strength of diversity of the country and the likely inclusive parliament that could follow the elections, noted that “there will be no winner with an absolute majority in these elections. It is impossible.”

“No party is ready to govern Guinea-Bissau alone, ” Nabiam said.

Guinea Bissau’s path to stability has been difficult, as it has been for many other countries in the West African sub-region. Since its independence from Portugal in 1974, the country has seen coups or attempted coups despite elections.

In February 2022, gunmen stormed a government compound where President Embalo was holding a cabinet meeting, attempting to stage a coup. The incident was later linked by the presidency to the country’s thriving drug trade.