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Court lets Namibian opposition groups access election data

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A Namibian judge has permitted two opposition parties in Namibia to examine electoral papers they had requested in order to contest the outcome of last month’s polls.

On November 27, Namibia’s ruling party, SWAPO, extended its 34-year control in the southern African nation by winning both the presidential and parliamentary elections.

Opposition parties, among other things, claimed that the election was faulty and perhaps void because of a multi-day voting extension.

“There were irregularities in the election. IPC seeks the information to… determine the extent of the irregularities,” the Independent Patriots for Change (IPC), the largest opposition party, said in a court filing seen by Reuters.

“It also enables IPC to consider whether to launch proceedings concerning the validity of the elections,” it said.

The Landless People’s Movement, another opposition group, joined the IPC’s proposal.

Following a Friday morning hearing, Namibia’s electoral court directed the electoral commission to furnish the parties with election-related information for their review, including the total number of votes cast and counted at each polling station each day.

The commission had to deliver the statistics the next week.

Voting was postponed for up to three days in certain locations due to technological difficulties and a scarcity of ballot paper during the election.

“I am not even listening to those critics,” said President-elect Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah in her victory address last week, dismissing claims that the election was tainted.

The election was free and fair, according to the Electoral Commission. The nation’s first female president, Nandi-Ndaitwah is scheduled to assume office in March.

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Politics

Mozambique’s top court affirms governing party’s victory in recent election

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The highest court in Mozambique affirmed Monday that the incumbent Frelimo party won the October election, sparking widespread demonstrations from opposition parties who claim the vote was manipulated.

Fears of fresh bloodshed have been raised in the nation already shaken by weeks of fatal protests after Mozambique’s top electoral court mostly confirmed the results of the country’s contentious October elections, reinforcing the Frelimo party’s decades-long hold on power.

The final decision on the election process rests with the Constitutional Council. Mozambique, a nation of over 35 million people in Southern Africa that Frelimo has ruled since 1975, is expected to see more protests in response to its judgement.

Mozambique operates a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic in a multi-party system. The president of Mozambique serves as both the head of state and the head of government.

The government exercises executive power. The administration and the Assembly of the Republic have the authority to enact laws.

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Alliance of Sahel States opposes ECOWAS disengagement schedule

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The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) withdrawal timeline has been rejected by the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which is made up of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

The AES claims that the ECOWAS is attempting to destabilise their newly formed organisation.

During a meeting last week in Abuja, Nigeria, the regional organisation announced a six-month withdrawal period to give the three nations time to change their minds after their official departure date at the end of January 2025.

However, this decision is “nothing more than yet another attempt by the French and its auxiliaries to continue planning and carrying out destabilising actions against the AES,” according to the heads of state of the AES.

“This unilateral decision is not binding on the ESA countries,” the statement continues. Before the conference, they stated that their choice to leave the organisation was “irreversible.”

According to the president of the Ecowas Commission, this will be a “transition period” that ends on “July 29, 2025” to “keep the doors of Ecowas open.”

The three nations accused the bloc of neglecting to assist them in resolving their domestic security challenges and of imposing “inhumane and irresponsible” sanctions related to the coup.

The three nations that were involved in the coup have mostly rejected ECOWAS’ attempts to undo their withdrawal. They are creating their alliance and have begun thinking about how to issue travel passports independently of ECOWAS.

It is anticipated that they will finish giving their one-year notice of departure in January.

Visa-free travel to other ECOWAS members is a significant perk of membership, and it is unclear how this would alter after the three nations exit the group.

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