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Ugandan opposition candidate Bobi Wine has rejected the results declared so far and calls himself the president-elect, despite the electoral body saying not all votes have yet been counted. Bobi Wine alleges Thursday's polls saw the worst vote-rigging in Uganda's history, but did not provide any evidence to back up his claims. He declared the struggle is just beginning. Bobi Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, says he'll address the press again in a few hours on the way forward. Early results from the electoral commission give the incumbent, President Yoweri Museveni, a commanding lead of almost two-thirds of the votes so far counted. The military have surrounded Bobi Wine’s house. - BBC
\t On Friday, internet and international calls were cut off across the West African nation in anticipation of the election results, according to locals and international observers in the capital, Conakry.
\t This was the third time that Conde matched-up against Diallo. Before the election, observers raised concerns that an electoral dispute could reignite ethnic tensions between Guinea's largest ethnic groups.
June 15: Incoming president takes office June 18
\tBurundi will swear in president-elect Evariste Ndayishimiye on Thursday, June 18; the AFP news agency reports citing an official source.
READ MORE: Pierre’s zigzag – Burundi’s cyclist, controversially sporty president
June 13: Incoming president eulogizes Nkurunziza
\tBurundi’s president-elect Evariste Ndayishimiye today visited the presidency where he signed a book of condolence opened for the late president Pierre Nkurunziza.
June 12: Burundi court rules president-elect should be sworn in
\tBurundi’s should swear-in president-elect Evariste Ndayishimiye as incumbent as soon as possible, the country’s Constitutional Court ruled today.
VIDEO
June 11: Burundi cabinet wants apex court to declare presidency vacant
\tBurundi will seek constitutional interpretation on how to proceed over the power vacuum created by the death of president Pierre Nkurunziza on June 8.
Cabinet wants the court “to declare the vacancy of the post of President of the Republic following the death of Pierre Nkurunziza,” a tweet by the VP’s office said.
Electoral authorities in Guinea on Saturday declared President Alpha Conde winner of Sunday's election with 59.49% of the vote, defeating his main rival Cellou Diallo.
\t Some people went to the streets to protest immediately after the announcement. Such demonstrations have occurred for months after the government changed the constitution through a national referendum, allowing Conde to extend his decade in power.
\t Opposition candidate Cellou Diallo received 33.50% of the vote, the electoral commission said. Voter turnout was almost 80%.
\t Political tensions in the West African nation turned violent in recent days after Diallo claimed victory ahead of the official results. Celebrations by his supporters were suppressed when security forces fired tear gas to disperse them.
They accuse the electoral authorities of rigging the vote for incumbent president Alpha Conde.
\t At least nine people have been killed since the election, according to the government. The violence sparked international condemnation by the U.S. and others.
\t ``Today is a sad day for African democracy,'' said Sally Bilaly Sow, a Guinean blogger and activist living abroad. The government should take into account the will of the people who have a desire for change, he said.
ICC warning
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor warned on Friday that warring factions in Guinea could be prosecuted after fighting erupted.
“I wish to repeat this important reminder: anyone who commits, orders, incites, encourages and contributes in any other way to crimes … is liable to prosecution either by the Guinean courts or the ICC,” she said.
#ICC Prosecutor #FatouBensouda: "I wish to repeat this important reminder: anyone who commits, orders, incites, encourages or contributes, in any other way, to the commission of #RomeStatute crimes, is liable to prosecution either by #Guinean courts or by the #ICC."
— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) October 23, 2020
The Electoral Commission now has to make arrangements to include them on the voters’ register to participate in next year’s general election.
The ruling is a result of a petition filed in 2018 by lawyer Stephen Kalali seeking declarations and orders that prisoners and Ugandans in the diaspora have a fundamental and absolute right to be registered as voters.
Mr Kalali argued that their omission and exclusion from voting amounts to segregation and discrimination, demanding that all prisons in Uganda be declared registration and polling centres ahead of the 2021 election.
She added that prisoners were allowed to vote in countries like South Africa, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria and Zambia, which subscribe to several international human rights instruments to which Uganda is signatory
The ruling is bound to impact the Electoral Commission’s preparations for elections due to be held between January 8, 2021 and February 10, 2021.
Commission spokesperson Jonathan Taremwa said they were yet to receive the ruling and promised to study it and take a decision.
The Electoral Commission (EC) yesterday conducted a pilot voters' registration exercise at the Accra Ridge Church to test its Biometric Verification Systems for the upcoming December polls.
The pilot was to ascertain the durability of the equipment towards a successful registration exercise scheduled for June 30.
The prospective voters spent about five minutes to go through the electoral processes at either of the two registration centres mounted at the premises, with a maximum of 20 voters observing COVID-19 precautionary measures and hygienic protocols.
Speaking to the Ghanaian Times, the Public Relations Officer of the Commission, Sylvia Annoh said the exercise was smooth and was to ensure the commission identified any challenges that might occur during the actual registration and find ways of addressing them before and during the exercise.
She explained that the registration officers did not encounter any challenges during the processes or the equipment breaking down, saying, \"We are adhering to the protocols to ensure no one got infected with the virus.\"
Uganda will go ahead with its planned re-opening of the country despite recording more than 150 Covid-19 cases in three days, according to President Yoweri Museveni.
In an address to the nation on Monday evening, President Museveni said that public transport will resume but with necessary health and safety measures in place.
\"For the next 21 days, no private or public transport is allowed in the border districts.
Meanwhile, Uganda on Tuesday recorded 32 new Covid-19 cases raising the national tally to 489.
\"Nineteen of the new confirmed cases are from 1,693 samples from points of entry while 13 are from 423 samples of contacts and alerts,\" the Health Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.
BET founder Robert Johnson says the Democratic Party has taken black voters in America for granted, and he urges the ascendant Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement to form a new third party to fight for their interests.
\"Vice President Biden said to an African-American, a black American host on his show, even if you think about voting for Donald Trump, you're not black,\" Johnson told Fox News.
Johnson said the permanent interests of African-Americans have diverged in many ways with the Democratic Party; now, with the nation behind the Black Lives Matter movement and racial injustice at the forefront, it's time to act.
BET FOUNDER ROBERT JOHNSON MOCKS CROWDS PULLING DOWN STATUES, CALLS THEM 'BORDERLINE ANARCHISTS'
\"It is very possible a black vote at 12 percent going one way toward Donald Trump could make Donald Trump president,\" Johnson said.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FOX NEWS APP
He said Latinos and white voters are routinely split among the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, so Johnson challenges the idea that black voters should continually vote in a bloc for Democrats.
The Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) has used the country's coronavirus lockdown to begin a long-awaited redevelopment of the park, including the installation of shelters, lighting and a tarmac surface.
A report released this month by the Britain-based Global Labour Institute (GLI) estimated that plans for a bus rapid transit system could threaten more than 17,000 taxi jobs and 20,000 boda-boda jobs in Kampala's central business district.
Over the last month, the KCCA and transport ministry have registered more than 13,000 taxis and assigned designated routes along which they can operate, according to Byamukama.
Byamukama said the city also wants boda-bodas to register with digital companies such as SafeBoda, a private firm with an Uber-like app and a growing fleet of orange-vested riders.
John Ssemujju, chairman of Kampala Metropolitan Boda-Boda Entrepreneurs, an association of riders which claims 50,000 members, said the boda-boda business is the country's biggest industry.
With popular frustrations running high, and opposition leader Agathon Rwasa warning that he will not accept a \"stolen\" election, fears are mounting that a contested poll could lead to violence along the lines of what the country saw in 2015, when Nkurunziza's controversial bid for a third term prompted street protests, a failed coup, a crackdown and the exodus of over 400,000 people.
It now also appears that the EAC will be unable to send an observation team in time for the elections; Burundi's authorities have cited the COVID-19 outbreak as a reason to quarantine the observers for fourteen days upon arrival, though it is unclear whether the decision was genuinely made for legitimate public health reasons, given that the government has otherwise played down the outbreak.
Ruling-party nominee Ndayishimiye and long-time opposition leader Rwasa, who both fought as rebels in Burundi's 1993-2005 civil war, are the clear front runners, and emblematic of the former fighters' continued influence in national politics.
They say Nkurunziza, who pushed for the selection of his ally Pascal Nyabenda, the president of the National Assembly (the lower chamber of Burundi's parliament), only agreed to Ndayishimiye's candidacy after intense lobbying by generals.
While Rwasa has announced that he will not allow the election to be \"stolen\", CNDD-FDD officials believe that their party structures and ability to register and mobilise voters across the country cannot but deliver victory.
At long last what passes for an electoral process in Guyana is drawing to a close.
President Granger has to be statesmanlike and ‘go off to watch the cricket’ in John Major’s famous words on losing office
President-elect Ali too needs to be statesmanlike, inclusive, respectful of the opposition and move Guyana forward.
Guyana has already wasted enough valuable time.
Burundi's ruling party presidential candidate Evariste Ndayishimiye on Monday was declared the victor of the bitterly disputed election, with 68.72 percent of the vote.
The election commission, which released the official results live on Burundian media, said that his main opposition rival Agathon Rwasa of the National Freedom Council (CNL), had garnered 24.19 percent of the vote.
The commission said that 87.7 percent of registered voters had turned out to cast their ballots in Wednesday's election, which also included the election of members of parliament and local officials.
Rwasa and his party have already contested the outcome of the election, saying early results were a \"fantasy\", and accused authorities of arresting their agents, and preventing them from observing the vote and taking part in counting.
Violence which erupted during that poll left at least 1 200 dead and saw 400 000 flee the country.
In light of the proliferation of North-South Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), that is, agreements between the developed countries and the less developed, it is important that trade policy negotiators look at data provisions in these agreements with a tooth-comb.
Perhaps EAC and other African countries can draw inspiration from the EU, who have the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) which have a framework for protections of citizens’ personal data as well as measures aimed at preventing transfer of data to third countries.
Could the developed countries then be exploiting this lacuna in the EAC data protection regime, in the trade agreements?
For instance, the US-Kenya FTA, according to the US Department of Commerce, aims to, among other things, “establish state of the art commitments to ensure Kenya refrains from imposing measures that restrict cross-border data flows and does not require the use of installation of local computing facilities”.
This is all the more reason these agreements and others that will come to the African continent should be thoroughly scrutinised with the needs of the African countries in mind given the insufficiency of data security laws on the continent.
The first inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States took place on Tuesday, January 20, 2009. The inauguration, which set a record attendance for any event held in Washington, D.C., marked the commencement of the first four-year term of Barack Obama as President and Joe Biden as Vice President. Based on the combined attendance numbers, television viewership, and Internet traffic, it was among the most-observed events ever by the global audience.
A New Birth of Freedom, a phrase from the Gettysburg Address, served as the inaugural theme to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the birth year of Abraham Lincoln. In his speeches to the crowds, Obama referred to ideals expressed by Lincoln about renewal, continuity and national unity. Obama mentioned these ideals in his speech to stress the need for shared sacrifice and a new sense of responsibility to answer Americas challenges at home and abroad.
Obama and others paid homage to Lincoln in the form of tributes and references during several of the events, starting with a commemorative train tour from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Washington, D.C. on January 17, 2009. The inaugural events held in Washington from January 18 to 21, 2009, included concerts, a national day of community service on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the swearing-in ceremony, luncheon and parade, inaugural balls, and the interfaith inaugural prayer service. The presidential oath as administered to Obama during his swearing-in ceremony on January 20 strayed slightly from the oath of office prescribed in the United States Constitution, which led to its re‑administration the next day.
In addition to a larger than usual celebrity attendance, the Presidential Inaugural Committee increased its outreach to ordinary citizens to encourage greater participation in inaugural events compared with participation in recent past inaugurations. For the first time, the committee opened the entire length of the National Mall as the public viewing area for the swearing-in ceremony,
The Ugandan government has said people like Musasizi are partly to blame for the floods, and wants them to leave the wetlands for good.
Last year, wetlands covered just 8.4 percent of Uganda, down from 15.5 percent in 1994, according to the environment ministry.
In 2014 the government ordered the cancellation of all land titles there, issued illegally by local officials because the law prohibits private ownership of wetlands.
A subsequent survey of four central districts identified 1,700 titles in wetlands, said Collins Oloya, the acting director of environmental affairs at the environment ministry.
Now the rising waters are forcing people out of the wetlands, doing Oloya’s work for him.
By SIMBARASHE SITHOLE A SELF-PROCLAIMED Bindura prophetess Spiwe Gwashure (40) of Grace in Abundance Ministries was sentenced to two months in jail yesterday by Bindura provincial magistrate Tinashe Ndokera for fraud. Gwashure was ordered to pay the US$320 which she had taken from one of her congregants, Abina Maliwo (46), on the pretext that she would find him a wife to marry. Prosecutor Edward Katsvairo told the court that sometime in April 2018, the prophetess gave a prophecy to the complainant, saying she would find him a good wife to marry. In July last year, Gwashure called Maliwo to come to her house and told him that she had found a wife for him in Guruve and there was need for him to pay the bride price. The complainant raised US$320 in two months and was supposed to get his wife in October 2019.He was ordered to buy a cellphone for his intended wife and he complied for easy communication. The wife did not appear and in November, he figured out that he had been duped after he spoke to Gwashure on a mobile phone that he bought assuming that he was speaking to his intended wife. He filed a police report leading to her arrest.The magistrate ordered a full compensation of the money within two months.
By Desmond Chingarande Harare court has just remanded MDC Alliance legislator for Harare West Joana Mamombe in custody for two weeks for her to be examined by two government doctors after the State said that it suspects her of faking mental illness to avoid trial. Magistrate Bianca Makwande said Mamombe has to be examined by doctors as the court cannot independently assess her mentality.
The Media Association Jamaica (MAJ) Limited is expressing disappointment over the passing of the Data Protection Bill two weeks ago without changes to grant complete exemption to the media on the basis of press freedom principles, something for which it and the Press Association of Jamaica had been lobbying.
In a release yesterday, the MAJ said, among other things, that this means that there could be subjective determination by the information commissioner for whether exemptions applied when journalists, as data controllers, are challenged for publishing personal data.
Additionally, media personnel will not be able to present their case to the information commissioner before a determination is made in respect of an application challenging the use of personal data.
MAJ Chairman Christopher Barnes said that the association’s disappointment is due to the fact that policymakers have seemingly squandered an opportunity to make a credible process of consultation by proceeding without the suggestions made not only for the benefit of the media, but for all Jamaicans.
It is because while there are certain exemptions in this bill afforded to the media, the average person, as a data controller, will be fully exposed to many of the above issues and more,” Barnes said.
Image: Dado Ruvic, Reuters
Facebook is acquiring Giphy, a popular website for making and sharing animated images, or GIFs, and will integrate it with its rapidly growing Instagram photo-sharing app, Facebook said in a blog post.
In 2015, Giphy rebuffed a Facebook offer, choosing instead to continue integrating its products with multiple social media platforms, according to news site TechCrunch.
Giphy will become part of Instagram, the photo-sharing site owned by Facebook.
“People will still be able to upload GIFs; developers and API partners will continue to have the same access to Giphy’s APIs; and Giphy’s creative community will still be able to create great content,” said Vishal Shah, Instagram’s vice president of product, in the blog post.
Facebook’s blog post said 50% of Giphy’s traffic already comes from Facebook’s apps, with half of that coming from Instagram.
Outgoing Burundian President Pierre Nkurunziza on Tuesday congratulated his protégé, General Évariste Ndayishimiye, who won the 20 May presidential election, seeing in his broad victory the proof of the people’s support “for the projects and values” conveyed by the regime.
“I warmly congratulate President-elect (…) Évariste Ndayishimiye for his broad victory which confirms that the vast majority of Burundians adhere to the projects and values he embodies,” Reporters Without Borders said.
General Ndayishimiye, a candidate of the ruling CNDD-FDD party, won the presidential election with 68.72 percent of the vote against 24.19 percent for his main opponent Agathon Rwasa, according to official figures announced on Monday by the National Independent Electoral Commission (Céni).
I warmly congratulate President-elect (...) Évariste Ndayishimiye for his broad victory which confirms that the vast majority of Burundians adhere to the projects and values he embodies.
If the opposition’s appeal is rejected, General Ndayishimiye, 52, will succeed President Nkurunziza.
[DW] On October 31, Ivorians will elect a new leader. President Alassane Ouattara is running for a third controversial term. The opposition is urging supporters to shun the poll -- a political crisis appears imminent.
Malawi’s President Peter Mutharika has appointed a new electoral commission chairperson ahead of a presidential re-run.
The country’s Constitutional Court in February ordered a fresh presidential election be held within 150 days after annulling last year’s re-election of President Mutharika – a ruling upheld by the Supreme Court.
The former commission chairperson Jane Ansah resigned amid criticism by the opposition on how she managed the disputed election.
President Mutharika on Sunday appointed Justice Chifundo Kachale to head the electoral commission.
The new chairperson is expected by voters to deliver a credible presidential election devoid of irregularities as ordered by the courts.
Benjamin S. Carson, neurosurgeon and Republican Presidential Candidate in 2016, was born on September 18, 1951 in Detroit, Michigan. Carson was raised in a single parent home when his father deserted the family in 1959 when he was eight years old, leaving his mother, Sonya, and his older brother, Curtis. Because of the turmoil in the family, Carson and his brother fell behind in school and he was labeled a “dummy” by his classmates in fifth grade. Once his mother saw their failing grades, she stepped in to turn their lives around. They were only allowed to watch two or three television programs a week and were required to read two books per week and write a book report for her despite her own limited reading skills. Carson developed a love for books and scholarship and eventually graduated third in his high school class. He enrolled in and graduated from Yale University and from there completed medical school at the University of Michigan after training to become a neurosurgeon.
Benjamin Carson joined the medical staff at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1985 he revived a little used surgical procedure, the hemispherectomy, which involved removing half the brain of a child who had experienced numerous seizures. This procedure had been stopped in the 1970s after hundreds of failed attempts. Dr. Carson, however, was able to complete it successfully. He made medical history again in 1987 when he led a team of 140 surgeons and nurses in a 22 hour surgery that successfully separated Siamese twins who were conjoined at the back of the head. Until then, either one or both twins died during or after the complicated surgery. Dr. Carson can also be credited with performing the first intrauterine surgical procedure to relieve pressure on the brain of a fetal twin.
Carson sets aside at least one hour a month to speak to children around the nation to encourage them to excel in school and never stop dreaming. He has also written numerous books including Gifted Hands and Think Big. Carson retired
The Burundi Constitutional Court ruled late Friday that the country does not need an interim president as stipulated by Article 121, saying the country already has a president-elect.
The Court president Charles Ndagijimana said that since the president-elect is competent and the position of president is vacant, Evariste Ndayishimiye should be sworn in as soon as possible so that he can assume office in line with the country's constitution.
Burundi's 2018 Constitution, Article 121, states that; \"In case of vacancy caused by resigning, death or any other cause by the president then the Speaker of the National Assembly takes over in the interim until a new president is elected.\"
Burundi government announced a one week mourning of the death of the country's outgoing President Nkurunziza, all sorts of karaoke and music other than religious ones were banned country wide in bars and restaurants and other public places.
The East African Community (EAC) Council of Ministers suggests Uganda may have breached the agreements on how much water to release from Nalubaale dam — the main outlet of the world’s largest freshwater lake.
Documents filed at the EAC Council of Ministers say Uganda has refused to execute a new policy governing the release of water in Jinja, a decision that has led to flooding of the lake that could claim more lives and cause destruction.
Uganda insists that the policy, which determines volumes of water to be released based on Lake Victoria levels, cannot be implemented as it does not take into consideration several factors, like extraction in the affected countries.
The regional bloc ordered implementation of the schedule after it emerged that Uganda had been violating agreements to maintain the natural Lake Victoria outflow volumes before Nalubaale dam was built.
In 2005, World Bank senior disaster risk management specialist Daniel Kull led a study that showed that Uganda released more than 50 per cent of the allowed water volumes from Nalubaale and Kiira dams over the previous two years.
June 28: Chakwera, Chilima sworn in
\tMalawi held an investiture for president Lazarus Chakwera and vice-president Saulos Chilima, hours after the elections body declared Chakwera winner of last Tuesday’s polls.
Key statistics
\t
\t\tLazarus Chakwera, leader of the Tonse Allaince = 2,604,043 votes (58.5%)
\t\tArthur Peter Mutharika of the DPP/UDF alliance = 1,751,877 votes
\t\tPeter Kuwani of Mbakuwaku Movement for Development = 33,456 votes
\t\tOut of the 6,859,570 registered voters, 4,445,699 cast their votes
\t\tThe Commission recorded 57,323 spoilt ballots, representing 1.29%
\t\tThe commission received and resolved 10 complaints from all three participating sides
June 27: Chakwera’s victory confirmed by election body
\tMalawi Electoral Commission (MEC) late Saturday declared opposition alliance leader Lazarus Chakwera as the winner of Tuesday’s presidential re-run election.
June 25: Opposition celebrates unofficial Chakwera victory
\tOpposition chief Lazarus Chakwera has ‘taken the lead’ in Malawi’s poll count, according to unofficial results being projected by multiple local media outlets.
Read more – Malawi election commission appeals for calm as it tallies votes
June 23: Voting ends, ballot counting begins
\tPolls have closed in most parts of Malawi privately-run newspaper The Nation reports.
June 23: Malawians vote in crucial presidential poll rerun despite virus
\tVoters in Malawi have already started casting their ballots today in crucial presidential election rerun pitting incumbent Peter Mutharika and opposition coalition leader Lazarus Chakwera.
Kyadondo East MP Robert Kyagulanyi, alias Bobi Wine, has called on the government to account for the relief items and money that has been given to the Covid-19 National Taskforce.
Addressing a press conference at the People Power headquarters in Kamwokya, a Kampala suburb, yesterday, Bobi Wine said the taskforce has continued to ask for more money from the public but without publicly showing how the other contributions have been utilised.
\"The taskforce has gone ahead to ask for Shs10,000 from Ugandans but they have not laboured to tell us what the money and relief items they have been receiving since March has done.
As of last week, the taskforce indicated that they had received Shs28b with Shs15b in cash and Shs13b worth of vehicles, food stuffs and other relief items.
Mr Emmanuel Katongole, the taskforce chairperson, told Daily Monitor that they are targeting Shs170b which would be used to construct isolation facilities and buy at least 1,350 vehicles for all districts in the country.
Polling station closed across Burundi on Wednesday in a largely incident free process in keenly watched general elections.
Burundians stood in long lines outside polling stations, which opened shortly after six am, most centers had hand washing points for people arriving to vote and election officials had some protective equipments in some instances.
Meanwhile, main opposition candidate, Agathon Rwasa, has protested what he says is fraud in Wednesday’s general election.
He said his party’s election observers were chased away from some polling stations.
In the presidential vote, 5.1 million registered voters are to choose between Nkurunziza’s handpicked heir and frontrunner, 52-year-old general Evariste Ndayishimiye, main opposition competitor Agathon Rwasa, and five other candidates.
[Monitor] The newly revised roadmap for 2021 General Election that authorised virtual campaigning has been challenged in the High Court for violating various fundamental constitutional rights and freedom.
