Politics

Gabon: 19 candidates cleared for presidential poll

Published

1 year ago

July 24, 2023

Nineteen candidates have been cleared for the presidential election in Gabon next month.

Michel Stephane Bonda, the head of the Gabonese Elections Center, reported on Sunday that 27 applications had been received by the deadline for submitting nomination papers and that 19 of them had been approved.

President Ali Bongo will be hoping to extend his family’s 56-year grip on power in the country after their father, Omar Bongo died in power in 2009, following a 42-year reign.

The electoral commission revealed that other former ministers were also cleared for the country’s top job. Bongo’s biggest rival is former Mines Minister Alexandre Barro Chambrier. The economist, who was born in Paris, is in the presidential race for the first time.

Other contenders include Raymond Ndong Sima, a former prime minister, and Pierre-Claver Maganga Moussavou, the Social Democratic Party’s founder and leader.

The most recent presidential election was held August 27, 2016 where President Bongo was challenged by former Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean Ping. The electoral commission proclaimed Bongo’s re-election with a margin of less than two percent.

In a joint session held in April by the national parliament and senate of Gabon, 85% of votes were cast in favour of reducing the president’s tenure from seven to five years.

Related Topics:Featured Gabon Gabon election

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Politics

Burkina Faso releases 4 French spies after Moroccan intervention

Published

5 days ago

December 20, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a diplomatic spat over their imprisonment, France and Morocco announced Thursday that four French nationals detained in Burkina Faso for a year had been freed after mediation from Morocco.

They were spies, according to a prior statement made by the director of France’s foreign intelligence organisation, the DGSE.

A request for comment was not answered by the DGSE or a representative of the French military, which is in charge of the agency.

Since December 2023, they have been held in Ouagadougou.

President Emmanuel Macron hailed King Mohammed of Morocco on Wednesday for his intervention, “which made possible the liberation of our four countrymen who had been held in Burkina Faso for a year,” according to a statement from the French administration.

King Mohammed and President Ibrahim Traore of Burkina Faso were also commended by Morocco’s foreign ministry, which stated that “this humanitarian act” was made possible by their positive bilateral ties.

In October, France made peace with Morocco, one of its former protectorates, after three years of hostilities between Paris and Rabat stoked by immigration concerns and the disputed Western Sahara region.

Morocco offers Burkina Faso and other military-ruled Sahel republics Atlantic trade.

However, France’s relations with former West and Central African colonies, such as Burkina Faso, remain difficult. In Ouagadougou, French troops and diplomats were ejected, the defence attache and ambassador were asked to depart, and certain French media were suspended.

The military junta that took control in 2022 in Burkina Faso has been criticized by international rights groups for cracking down on free expression and harassing dissidents to handle a security crisis precipitated by Al Qaeda and Islamic State extremists.

Politics

Ghana: President-elect Mahama appoints anti-corruption team

Published

6 days ago

December 19, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to a statement released by his transition team on Wednesday, Ghana’s President-elect, John Dramani Mahama, has designated an anti-corruption committee to investigate allegations of wrongdoing.

When he takes office next month, Mahama, the leading opposition candidate in the presidential election held on December 7 and who received almost 56% of the vote, has pledged to reclaim the proceeds of corruption and hold those responsible for it accountable.

In anticipation, an anti-graft squad has been established. The parliament’s Committee on Assurances, which has previously raised suspicions of governmental corruption, is chaired by MP Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwah.

An investigative journalist, a private attorney, a former auditor general, and a former police officer with experience in high-profile robbery cases make up the other three members.

After looking into alleged financial irregularities that took place during the previous administration, Daniel Dumelovo, the former auditor general, was fired.

Recovering lost assets and fighting corruption were two of Mahama’s main campaign pledges.

“He intends to hit the ground running on these commitments,” the statement said.

Eight years after leaving office, former President Mahama is back to head the West African country. Despite not being personally contaminated, he faced criticism during his 2012–2016 administration due to claims of political corruption.