Politics

Voting underway in Mauritius as President Ghazouani runs for reelection

Published

6 months ago

June 29, 2024

With a promise to increase investment in the West African nation as it gets ready to start producing natural gas, incumbent President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani is highly likely to win the presidential election that was held on Saturday.

The 67-year-old former senior soldier, Ghazouani, has pledged investor-friendly measures to ignite a commodities boom in the 5 million-person nation, many of whom remain impoverished despite the abundance of fossil fuels and minerals.

“The last word belongs to the Mauritanian voters. I commit myself to respecting their choice,” Ghazouani said after voting in the capital.

Voting began at 0700 GMT. The polls close at 1900 GMT, and on Sunday, preliminary results are anticipated.

Ghazouani, who was elected to a first term in 2019, is up against six opponents, one of which is anti-slavery campaigner Biram Dah Abeid, who finished second in the election with more than 18% of the vote.

Hamadi Sidi El Mokhtar of the Islamist Tewassoul party, economist Mohamed Lemine El Mourtaji El Wafi, and attorney Id Mohameden M’Bareck are among the other contenders.

The 39-year-old geographer Mohamed Cheikh Hadrami claimed he had voted for a candidate “who will be able to reconcile Mauritanians” shortly after polls opened in the capital, Nouakchott. He refused to disclose his vote-casting choice.

Two million or so people were registered to vote, and the two main election topics were eliminating corruption and giving young people jobs.

Ghazouani has pledged, should he be re-elected, to build an LNG-fueled power plant from the Greater Tortue Ahmeyin offshore gas project, which is expected to begin producing natural gas by the end of the year. In addition, he promised to increase mining for iron ore, gold, and uranium as well as to invest in renewable energy.

Since 2019, Ghazouani has overseen a period of comparatively stable conditions as Mali and other neighbouring countries in the Sahel region of Mauritania have struggled with Islamist insurgencies that have resulted in military coups.

Politics

Burkina Faso releases 4 French spies after Moroccan intervention

Published

2 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

3 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.