Politics

Rwanda’s Kagame sworn in for 4th term as president

Published

1 month ago

August 11, 2024

After a resounding victory in last month’s election, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame was sworn in on Sunday for a five-year term, extending his nearly 25 years in government.

Following the election commission’s exclusion of eight other candidates, including his most vocal adversaries, the 66-year-old former rebel leader emerged victorious with 99.18% of the vote in the July ballot.

Leaders in the West and the region praised Kagame for his role in putting an end to the genocide in 1994 and transforming Rwanda into a desirable location for aid and investment. However, he has denied all charges of violating human rights, stifling dissent, and aiding rebels in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, all of which have damaged his reputation.

“Our country has been a good work in progress for the last 30 years. This new mandate means the beginning of even more hard work,” Kagame said.

“That expectation to keep improving is not a dream, it is a reality. We can do it and we will do it.”

Thousands of people attended Sunday’s swearing-in ceremony at Kigali’s Amahoro National Stadium, with many of them sporting T-shirts with the yellow, green, and blue colours of the national flag on them.

The audience cheered as the military saluted Kagame with 21 guns. There were twenty-two heads of state from African nations present.

2015 saw a reform to Rwanda’s constitution, giving Kagame more time to serve as president.

The Democratic Green Party’s Frank Habineza and the independent Philippe Mpayimana, who ran against him last month, both declared their defeat.

According to human rights organizations, the election was tainted by a crackdown on the media, the opposition, and civil society organizations. Throughout the election campaign, a government spokeswoman consistently dismissed such criticism.

Human rights advocates claimed that the 66-year-old’s resounding victory served as a clear reminder of Rwanda’s lack of democracy. Out of eight applicants, only two were allowed to run against him; several well-known opponents of Kagame were excluded.

In 2015, Kagame supervised contentious constitutional changes that reset the clock for the Rwandan leader, enabling him to potentially reign until 2034, but also cut presidential tenure from seven to five years.

President Kagame is one of several long-serving African leaders, including Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, Paul Biya of Cameroon, who has been in office since 1982, and Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, who has been in office for 43 years and is the world’s longest-serving president.

Related Topics:Featured President Paul Kagame Rwanda

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Politics

Tunisian court mandates electoral commission to reinstate presidential contenders

Published

5 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The highest court in Tunisia has issued an order requiring the electoral commission to re-enter two candidates for an October presidential election, cautioning that not doing so might compromise the election’s credibility.

The Administrative Court’s decision was made in rising political unrest in the nation of North Africa, where opposition parties and civil society organisations are concerned that a rigged election could give President Kais Saied a second term.

In the largest demonstration against constraints on liberties and the undemocratic electoral environment in Tunisia in two years, thousands of Tunisians came to the streets on Friday. Among the shouts screamed by the demonstrators was “Out with dictator Saied.”

Tensions increased after the electoral commission, citing purported flaws in their candidacy forms, rejected the court’s decision earlier this month to restore the candidatures of Abdellaif Mekki, Mondher Znaidi, and Imed Daimi ahead of the contest on October 6.

The president himself appointed the committee’s members, and major parties and civil society organisations claimed that this meant the president was using the inquiry as a weapon against his opponents.

Regarding the charges, commission president Farouk Bouasker has stated that “the commission is the only constitutional body entrusted with the integrity of the election” and refuted them. However, the commission must carry out its mandate and, if needed, revise the election schedule, the court ruled on Saturday. It’s unclear if this entails delaying the election or prolonging the campaign.

“Otherwise it would lead to an illegal situation that conflicts with the electoral law and the transparency of the electoral process”, it said.

Following their filing of a new complaint against the commission’s ruling, the court requested that Znaidi and Mekki be allowed to participate in the race. Daimi, the third contender, hasn’t yet submitted a second appeal.

After winning a democratic election in 2019, Saied strengthened his hold on power and started governing by decree in 2021—a move that the opposition has called a coup.

Politics

Under their new coalition, Mali, Burkina, Niger to launch biometric passports

Published

5 hours ago

September 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

As part of their departure from the West African bloc in favour of a new Sahel alliance, military authorities in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger will implement new biometric passports, the countries’ leaders announced on Sunday.

Together, the three Sahelian neighbours run by juntas declared in January that they would be exiting the 15-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), despite efforts by the organisation to convince them otherwise.

In July, the three West African nations signed a confederation treaty demonstrating their will to forge on together outside of the regional political and economic bloc that has been pressuring them to revert to democratic governance.

Earlier this month, Burkina Faso declared that it will no longer be issuing passports with the ECOWAS emblem.

“In the coming days, a new biometric passport of the AES (Alliance of Sahel States) will be put into circulation with the aim of harmonising travel documents in our common area and facilitating the mobility of our citizens throughout the world”, Malian junta leader Assimi Goita announced on Sunday evening.

On the eve of the decision to form their alliance, the foreign ministers of the three nations will meet on Monday. He made this statement beforehand.

In addition, Goita announced that they intended to open a common information channel “to foster a peaceful exchange of information among our three states.”

Meanwhile, ECOWAS had warned that the 400 million residents of the 49-year-old bloc would lose their freedom of movement and access to the common market if the three countries were to exit,

Their withdrawal coincides with their troops fighting militants associated with the Islamic State and al Qaeda, whose insurgencies have caused instability in the area for the previous ten years and pose a threat to those bordering West Africa.