Politics

Peter Mutharika endorsed as flag bearer of Malawi’s largest opposition party

Published

4 months ago

August 20, 2024

Former President Peter Mutharika, 84, has been backed by Malawi’s largest opposition, the Democratic Progress Party, as a 2025 presidential candidate.

Leading the nation from 2014 to 2020, Mutharika promised to mend the economy which has suffered from poor development and monetary difficulties.

He will be facing second-term seeking incumbent President Lazarus Chakwera. Though the party has not yet officialised the alliance, Mutharika also intends to ally with the United Transformation Movement.

Mutharika lost his re-election campaign in 2020 to fight against corruption Lazarus Chakwera. Following the top court of the nation invalidating the results of the May 2019 exercise, which handed Mutharika and his Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) victory, the election was a repeat vote.

Mutharika accused the current government of political prosecution in 2021. In August 2020, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Malawi blocked the personal bank accounts of Mutharika and his wife, Gertrude, under a probe looking at his involvement in a 5-billion kwacha ($6.6 million) cement scandal.

Malawi is expected to have general elections in 2025. Following the annulment of the 2019 elections and the Supreme Court’s ruling on May 8, 2020.

The President of Malawi is chosen using the two-round system with a candidate needing an absolute majority of the vote to win in the first round; should no candidate pass the 50% threshold, a second round will be conducted.

Meanwhile, the 193 National Assembly members are elected through first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.

Related Topics:Featured Malawi Peter Mutharika

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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.