Politics

Algeria: Opposition candidates challenge President Tebboune’s re-election

Published

4 weeks ago

September 12, 2024

Two opposition candidates from the recently concluded elections in Algeria have formally contested the provisional result, sharply criticising election officials and contesting the vote total.

The first move towards contesting the election results was taken by Islamist Abdellali Hassani Cherif and socialist Youcef Aouchiche, who filed appeals with Algeria’s Constitutional Court. Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the incumbent president, won the election with 94.7% of the vote.

According to Algerian law, the court has ten days from the time the provisional election results are announced to decide on the appeals. Should a ruling be rendered, the electoral body might be forced to redo the totals for each candidate without doubting Tebboune’s victory.

Both candidates criticized Mohamed Charfi, the head of Algeria’s National Independent Electoral Authority (ANIE), the day before they filed their appeals.

“President Tebboune didn’t need this stuffing. We knew he’d be reelected, but with these results, ANIE hasn’t done him any favours,” Cherif said. “We want our votes — the votes of the people who voted for us — to be returned to us. I know it won’t change the outcome of the vote, but it will go down in history.”

At a press conference, Aouchiche’s campaign manager presented visuals that he said demonstrated how the results had been tampered with, labelling the result a “shameful and gross manipulation.”

He referred to the 1970s, when the only recognised political party in the nation ran its preferred candidate unopposed, saying, “These results, which do not correspond at all to the number of votes communicated to us by the regional delegations of the same ANIE, are a disgrace for the Algeria of 2024, taking us back to that era.”

The disparities in the number of votes counted to determine the outcome and the turnout statistics released by election officials the day before have been criticised by the two contenders. Tebboune joined them late on Sunday, September 9, joining the public outrage that his rivals had stoked against ANIE.

Campaign managers for Tebboune, Aouchiche, and Cherif questioned the results released by ANIE and noted that they didn’t match the regional data provided by local authorities in a joint statement.

“We inform national public opinion that inaccuracies, contradictions, ambiguities and inconsistencies were noted in the figures when the provisional results of the presidential election were announced by the chairman of the National Independent Election Authority,” they wrote.

Algeria has a system of universal suffrage. The President. who is chosen for a five-year term that is renewable once is in charge of both the High Security Council and the Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister, who serves as the head of state, is chosen by him. The Council of Ministers is chosen by the Prime Minister.

Politics

Rwandan foreign minister claims Congo refused M23 peace offer

Published

3 days ago

October 6, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Rwandan Foreign Minister, Olivier Nduhungirehe, has claimed that his Congolese colleague had refused to sign a pact to address the M23 rebel violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

Since 2022, the Tutsi-led M23 has been fighting in the violence-torn east of central Africa, displacing over 1.7 million people.

Congo, the UN, and others accuse Rwanda of providing troops and ammunition to the group. Rwanda denies aiding M23 and accuses Congo of fighting alongside the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), which has attacked Tutsis in both countries.

Both nations took part in peace talks in late August to reduce the hostilities, which have exacerbated the humanitarian catastrophe in the area and occasionally stoked concerns about a wider war.

Nduhungirehe told Reuters that a strategy “for neutralising the FDLR and lifting Rwanda’s defence measures” had been agreed upon and signed by participants in the negotiations, including the head of military intelligence for the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

He made this statement on the fringes of a conference in France between leaders of French-speaking nations, saying that ministers were expected to sign this accord on September 14.

“We were ready to sign … but the Congolese minister refused. She first commented on the report and then later, after consultation, she came back. She told us she was opposed to adopting the report.”

According to Nduhungirehe, the plan called for Rwanda to ease its “defence measures” a few days after the activities against the FDLR, however, the Congolese minister objected to these not occurring at the same time.

An inquiry for comment was not immediately answered by a Congolese government representative.

Paul Kagame and Felix Tshisekedi, the leaders of Rwanda and the Congo, were present at the meeting in France. Though a three-way meeting was suggested by French President Emmanuel Macron, the two ultimately had separate private encounters with Macron.

“The situation is still too tense (for a three-way meeting),” Macron told reporters later on Saturday. It “calls for efforts on both sides,” he said calling on the two countries to reach an agreement.

Politics

Barrick Gold, Mali govt resolve issues on Loulo and Gounkoto mines

Published

1 week ago

October 1, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The government of Mali and Barrick Gold Corp (ABX.TO) have resolved their ongoing claims and disagreements about the Loulo and Gounkoto gold mines in that West African nation, the company announced on Monday.

Two days after four Barrick employees were detained by the Malian government, the second-largest miner in the world made a statement. A new mining agreement that would allow Mali’s military-led government more control over its resources has been negotiated by the two sides. Among Africa’s top producers of gold is Mali.

According to Barrick, once the terms of the settlement have been finalised, the agreement’s specifics will be made public.

“The current negotiations have proved challenging but we’re encouraged by the government’s recognition of the importance of securing the long-term viability of the Loulo-Gounkoto complex as a substantial contributor to the Malian economy,” Barrick’s CEO, Mark Bristow, said in a statement.

It was not immediately possible to reach the Mali government for comment.

Barrick announced in July that it has made over $10 billion in economic investments in Mali during the previous 29 years.