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Flight grounded, offices closed as Tunisia Trade Union protest shuts country. Will president Saied succumb?

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The nationwide strike by Tunisia’s main trade union confederation, the UGTT, recorded a massive impact as activities in the North African country were grounded on Thursday.

President Saied’s power grab regime continues to face wild criticisms. Flights were cancelled, public transport ground to a halt and government offices were closed on Thursday as the public put pressure on Saied.

Labour pressure group, Tunisian Trade Union Centre UGTT made bold steps towards actualizing its threat of a nationwide strike and boycott of President Saied’s “National Dialogue” when it made the announcement to begin a nationwide public sector strike on June 16 to protest against soaring inflation and prevent the privatization of major state-owned companies.

The pressure group had called on up to three million public sector workers to strike, halting work at 159 state agencies and public companies to demand concessions on salaries and threatened reforms.

The turn out to the call appeared to be widely observed. Around 1,000 strike supporters gathered outside UGTT headquarters in central Tunis, singing the national anthem and waving flags.

UGTT chief, Noureddine Taboubi in a passionate protest speech said the action had been over 96 percent successful, and blamed the government for the collapse of salary negotiations.

“This is a stubborn government which sows discord and spreads false information,” Taboubi told the demonstrators.

“We won’t stop campaigning, no matter the cost, until our demands are met.”

“We’re not demanding a pay rise, but a reset to workers’ purchasing power to take inflation into account,” as well as the scrapping of a one-percent social security tax introduced in 2018, Taboubi said.

President Saied sacked the government, suspended parliament, and seized a string of powers in July 2021. In December of the same year, he announced in a speech on national television a three-month “popular consultation” with the Tunisian people after which “draft constitutional and other reforms will be put forward to a referendum on July 25”.

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Politics

Ghana’s Supreme Court reinstates ruling party’s majority

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The ruling New Patriotic Party regained its majority in the legislature ahead of the Dec. 7 election after Ghana’s Supreme Court declared on Tuesday that the speaker of parliament’s declaration of four seats as vacant was illegal.

 

Alexander Afenyo-Markin, the leader of the NPP caucus, petitioned the supreme court of the West African nation to reverse Speaker Alban Bagbin’s decision.

 

Bagbin had said that one member of the National Democratic Congress and two members of the NPP had resigned their seats when they registered to run as independents.

 

Another lawmaker with an NPP leaning filed as an NPP candidate to run for office.

 

Due to Bagbin’s decision, the NDC now holds 136 members in parliament, compared to the 135 held by the NPP, the party of outgoing President Nana Akufo-Addo.

 

The approval of Supreme Court nominees, loans, and bill enactments, as well as the presentation of a provisional budget for the first quarter of 2025, were all delayed by the indefinite postponement of two further parliamentary sessions.

 

In a televised decision, Chief Justice Gertrude Torkornoo declared that Afenyo-Markin’s appeal was successful by a majority vote of 5:2. She noted that the court will later submit the rationale for its ruling.

 

According to Afenyo-Markin, the decision permitted the parliament to return to its regular activities. Among other things, it is anticipated to approve a $250 million World Bank loan intended to support the financial industry and give corporations tax breaks.

 

 

A request for comment from Bagbin’s representative was not answered.

 

Although some observers predict a hotly contested election, opinion surveys suggest that primary opposition leader John Dramani Mahama will likely defeat NPP contender and incumbent Vice President Muhamudu Bawumia in next month’s election.

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Senegal: PM Sonko urges followers to avenge campaign violence

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Senegal’s Prime Minister, Ousmane Sonko, has advised Pastef party followers to exact retribution for claimed violence against them during the Sunday parliamentary election campaign.

 

Before a presidential election in March in some of the greatest disturbances in Senegal’s history, supporters of the prime minister, also president of Pastef, battled with police. Since Sonko’s ally, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, won the vote, the nation has remained peaceful. He defeated then-president Macky Sall handily.

 

 

However, reports of periodic conflicts between various party supporters have surfaced recently as the nation gets ready for a legislative contest that will finally determine how much Faye and Sonko will be able to carry out their agenda.

 

Sonko claimed in a social media post attacks against Pastef supporters in the capital Dakar and other towns since campaigning began.

 

 

“May each patriot they have attacked and injured, be proportionally avenged. We will exercise our legitimate right to respond,” he wrote.

The text accompanied a photo of a young man showing a gashing wound on his forearm.

 

The first week of campaigning saw an increase in violence reported by a local civil society group involving conflicts between supporters in central Senegal and the burning of an opposition party headquarters in Dakar.

 

Calling for calm, the interior ministry said on Monday it had been notified of acts of violence and sabotage against party caravans and other campaign activity.

 

In order to stop damage, rights defender Alioune Tine asked politicians to exhibit “moderation and wisdom” in their speech and requested the interior ministry to invite various party representatives to meet.

 

 

“The verbal escalation has reached a critical threshold, we have the impression of going to war,” Tine posted on X.

 

 

Pastef is up against former ruling parties that have united ex-presidents Sall and Abdoulaye Wade into a coalition.

 

Dissolving the opposition-led national assembly in September, Faye accused legislators of not participating in substantive budget and other proposal debates.

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