Politics

Senegal finally fixes date for presidential election

Published

2 months ago

March 8, 2024

The government of Senegal says President Macky Sall has now fixed March 24 for the postponed presidential election following a ruling by the Supreme Court that a plan to delay the ballot after his mandate expires on April 2 was illegal.

The announcement completes a tumultuous evening in which Sall dismissed Prime Minister Amadou Ba and installed Interior Minister Sidiki Kaba in his stead. This allowed Ba, the presidential candidate of the ruling coalition, to concentrate on his campaign, according to the presidency.

The abrupt postponement of the referendum, which was originally set for February 25 to December, has left Senegal in crisis mode and increased opposition to what many see as an attempt to extend Sall’s mandate and a threat to one of the last democracies in coup-affected West Africa.

A proposal from a national dialogue panel for the vote to take place on June 2 was previously declared unconstitutional by the Constitutional Council.

“The President of the Republic informed the Council of Ministers that the date of the presidential election had been set for Sunday, March 24,” the council of ministers said soon after in a statement.

The decision is the most recent development in a months-long electoral dispute that has provoked violent upheaval, with international friends of Senegal warning that the country’s standing as one of the more stable democracies in coup-hit West Africa is in jeopardy.

The move represents the most recent development in an electoral crisis that has lasted for more than a month and resulted in deadly upheaval and warnings from Senegal’s international partners that its standing as one of the more stable democracies in coup-hit West Africa is in jeopardy.

The majority of the 19 candidates in the contest, including Anta Babacar, the opposition presidential candidate, welcomed the revised date and called for an early poll.

“I think this is very good news. This is the reason why we were fighting for these past weeks and days, because we knew that it was actually possible to hold these elections before April 2,” she told a journalist.

The authorities’ unsuccessful attempt to move the poll scheduled for February 25 to December is what started the unrest in the first place.

Sall justified the action by citing worries about electoral disputes, but some opposition members claimed it amounted to an attempted institutional coup.

Additionally, parliament passed Sall’s proposed amnesty law on Wednesday night in an effort to defuse the tensions surrounding his negotiations with the opposition.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) warned on Tuesday that while the law might pardon hundreds of demonstrators and opposition members accused of crimes related to anti-government protests in the previous three years, it would also probably absolve security forces of responsibility for their excessive and occasionally lethal use of force against demonstrators.

Related Topics:Featured Mackay Sall Senegal

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Politics

S’Africa lengthens troop deployment in Mozambique, Congo DR

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a speech that South Africa’s military would keep sending troops to Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which are both in the middle of wars.

The extension will leave 1,198 members of the South African National Defense Force (SANDF) in eastern Congo for an unknown amount of time. They are there as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force helping Congo fight rebel groups.

The statement also said that 1,495 members of the SANDF would keep working in Mozambique, where they have been since 2021 helping the government fight dangerous extremism in the north.

After two SANDF troops were killed and three were hurt by a mortar bomb in Congo in February, South Africa’s military operations abroad have been looked at more closely at home this year.

Meanwhile, the major opposition party in South Africa, the Democratic Alliance, said that Ramaphosa sent troops into a war zone without being ready.
Under the supervision of the UN, the SANDF has taken on many dangerous and difficult peacekeeping tasks over the years to help war-torn African countries stay stable and peaceful.

In 2003, South Africa was one of the first countries to send troops to Burundi to help the peace process. During the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) peacekeeping mission in 2000, the SANDF led attempts to stabilize the country’s politics, rebuild and improve infrastructure, and train DRC troops.

Politics

Digital Rights: Policy enthusiast, Jere, advocates self-regulation as alternative to govt regulations

Published

4 days ago

April 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Copperbelt businessman and mining policy advocate, George Jere, has highlighted the importance of self-regulation in the expanding digital media landscape, countering arguments against freedom of speech.

In an exclusive discussion with Zambia Monitor, Jere challenged notions surrounding media freedom and digital rights, emphasizing the indispensable role of effective media instruments in national progress.

“Digital media’s unrestricted nature facilitates publishing, although tracking those behind it poses challenges for government intervention,” Jere remarked, advocating for self-regulation as a preferable alternative to government restrictions.

He stressed the need for a balanced approach between private and public media operations, criticizing the high level of censorship in public media channels.

“While cyber security laws fall short, self-regulation offers a more effective solution for managing digital platforms,” Jere asserted, expressing disappointment in the government’s failure to enact comprehensive media reforms.

Jere cautioned against subjective regulations aimed at suppressing dissenting voices, urging authorities to reconsider laws through inclusive consultations.

“Media freedom should extend to all, including rural communities, chiefs, and church leaders, across traditional, social, and digital platforms,” he emphasized.

Reflecting on public media governance, Jere noted its tendency to align with ruling interests, calling for fairer recruitment processes for media executives to ensure unbiased coverage.

Regarding proposed taxes on online livestream programmes, Jere questioned the necessity of double taxation, suggesting negotiation of percentage-based levies to support domestic resource mobilization without unfairly targeting individuals.

As debates on freedom of speech and media regulation continue, Jere remained steadfast in advocating for inclusive, balanced media practices to foster national development.

This story is sponsored content from Zambia Monitor’s Project Aliyense.