Politics

Rwanda sets date for next presidential elections

Published

1 year ago

December 12, 2023

East African country, Rwanda, has set July 2024 as the date for its next presidential elections, with incumbent Paul Kagame seeking to extend his roughly three decades of control of the country.

According to a presidential order published in the official gazette, nationwide elections for the lower house of parliament’s 53 deputies and the president will occur on July 15, with elections for the remaining 27 deputies scheduled for July 16.

Earlier this year, the president was re-elected to a five-year term as chair of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front party. Human rights organisations have accused him of suppressing political opposition and silencing independent media, for which he has come under increasing pressure.

Ideal Democratic Party, Democratic Union of the Rwandan People, Prosperity and Solidarity Party, and Rwandan Socialist Party were among the groups that have declared support for Kagame’s re-election at the 2024 polls.

Political activist, Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza, declared that her United Democratic Forces party would challenge Kagame if registered in time. At the same time, Frank Habineza, the Democratic Green Party of Rwanda’s 2017 presidential candidate, has also stated that he will run again in 2024.

Rwanda held its last presidential elections on August 4, 2017. Paul Kagame, the current president of Rwanda, received 98.79% of the vote to win a third seven-year term in office.

A 2015 referendum authorised constitutional amendments that reduced the length of presidential terms from seven to five years and permitted incumbent President Paul Kagame to seek a third term in office in 2017. However, the latter change would not take effect until 2024.

The United States criticised the constitutional amendment in 2015, arguing that Kagame ought to resign at the end of his term to make room for a new generation of leaders.

Since the end of the 1994 genocide, which is said to have killed 800,000 ethnic Tutsis and moderate Hutus, Kagame has received praise from all around the world for overseeing economic expansion and peace.

As a result, some observers have used Kagame as a model for a hypothetical “benevolent dictator” argued to be necessary for the continent’s development.

Related Topics:Featured Paul Kagame Rwanda

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Politics

Burkina Faso releases 4 French spies after Moroccan intervention

Published

3 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

4 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.