Politics

What next for Africa’s opposition as former Vice President Boakai unseats incumbent Weah in Liberia

Published

1 year ago

November 18, 2023

An incumbent president has lost an election in Africa, a rare ray of hope for Africa’s struggling opposition.

In Liberia, West Africa, the country’s president, George Weah, has been defeated by an opposition leader, Joseph Boakai, after a tight race for the country’s top job.

The election ends Weah’s era, which has been marred by graft allegations, while also notably helping to ensure a smooth transition of power in the once volatile nation, as the president conceded defeat on Friday.

Weah said on national radio, “I spoke with president-elect Joseph Boakai a few moments ago to congratulate him on his victory.

“I urge you to follow my example and accept the results of the elections.”

Other contenders in the election were Nathaniel Barnes, a former Liberian ambassador to the United States; Clarence Moniba, and Alexander B. Cummings Jr., who finished fifth in the 2017 presidential election, among others.

The Liberian President is elected using a two-round system, while the 73 members of the House of Representatives are elected by first-past-the-post voting in single-member constituencies.

The outcome is a sharp contrast to the 2017 election when Boakai was defeated by global football legend, Weah, who garnered 62% of the vote. Unfortunately, some Liberians have become discouraged by continued poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, and inadequate electricity supply.

Boakai’s win also marks the highpoint in a long career, much of it spent within touching distance of power, including 12 years as vice president under Weah’s predecessor, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. He lost in a run-off vote to Weah in 2017.

The victory of the 78-year-old leader of the Liberia National Union, Boakai, spotlights electoral evolution in the continent, as it is unusual to unseat a president in a continent with the unsavoury tag of having the longest-serving president in the world.

While opposition parties have merged in the bid to defeat ruling parties elsewhere, like in Nigeria in 2013, in Gabon earlier this year, and more recently during the week in the Democratic Republic of the Congo ahead of next month’s presidential election, veteran Boakai has defied the odds to become Liberia’s top man without such mergers. It is yet to be seen if he will sustain popularity or run out of gas like the outgoing Weah.

Close watchers of Africa’s opposition politics will wait to see if Boakai’s victory represents a continent-wide bellwether or just another occasional outlier.

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Politics

Mali’s junta names spokesman Abdoulaye Maiga new Prime Minister

Published

1 hour ago

November 22, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

A day after dismissing Choguel Maiga for criticising the government, Mali’s governing junta named its spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, as Prime Minister on Thursday, according to state broadcaster, ORTM.

A source close to Choguel Maiga told Reuters that the ruling generals were incensed by Maiga’s remarks over the weekend denouncing the junta’s inability to hold elections within the 24-month timeframe given for the return to democracy.

After promising to hold elections in February, the military authorities, who took control in two separate coups in 2020 and 2021, have put off the poll indefinitely, citing technological difficulties.

Choguel Maiga’s firing coincides with indications of growing discontent and disarray among Mali politicians, even those who first supported the coup and collaborated with the junta.

As the wait for elections continues, Choguel Maiga, a civilian prime minister who was installed by the military junta in 2021, is the most recent to lose support.

He was cited on Saturday as claiming he learnt of the junta’s decision via the media and that there had been no discussion regarding the delay of the elections inside the cabinet.

“It’s all happening in total secrecy, without the prime minister’s knowledge,” Choguel Maiga told reporters.

Before then, he had frequently stood up for Mali’s junta against criticism from foreign friends and neighbours in West Africa who denounced its repeated election delays and military collaboration with Russian mercenaries.

As government spokesperson, Abdoulaye Maiga, the new prime minister, has also made strong public remarks against France, the previous colonial master. One such speech was demanding French President Emmanuel Macron to stop his “neocolonial” and “condescending” behaviour.

Abdoulaye Maiga and Assimi Goita, the leaders of the junta, announced they had kept all of the important cabinet ministers in their portfolios in the new administration in a statement that was broadcast on state television ORTM.

The announcement said that Abdoulaye Maiga will remain minister of territory administration.

Politics

Congo opposition mobilizes protests against constitution review

Published

23 hours ago

November 21, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In response to President Felix Tshisekedi’s intentions to amend the constitution, opposition lawmakers in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have called for national protests on Wednesday.

Tshisekedi, who was sworn in for his second and last term in January, said that a panel would be formed in October to recommend possible constitutional amendments.

According to critics, it may be a ploy to lift term restrictions and give him another chance to run.

Tshisekedi said the current constitution, ratified by a referendum in 2005, needed to change because it did not align with the country’s current realities.

Opposition politicians, including former president Joseph Kabila and past presidential candidates Martin Fayulu and Moise Katumbi, issued a unified statement on Wednesday urging rallies to “block” Tshisekedi.

A request for a response from the Congo’s presidency was not answered.

Patrick Muyaya, the minister of communications, stated on Monday that discussions surrounding the constitutional revision should be de-politicized and that no one should doubt the president’s intentions.

“We’re at the beginning of our mandate… The President of the Republic still has four years to go, and we must avoid attributing intentions to him,” Muyaya told reporters.