Election Archives - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always https://citifmonline.com/tag/election/ Ghana News | Ghana Politics | Ghana Soccer | Ghana Showbiz Fri, 29 Dec 2017 10:48:56 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.0.8 https://citifmonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-CITI-973-FM-32x32.jpg Election Archives - Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always https://citifmonline.com/tag/election/ 32 32 Nana Addo commends George Weah, Boakai for peaceful polls https://citifmonline.com/2017/12/nana-addo-commends-george-weah-boakai-peaceful-polls/ Fri, 29 Dec 2017 10:48:56 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=387209 President Nana Addo has congratulated former footballer, George Weah on his election as Liberia’s President. Mr. Weah beat his opponent Joseph Boakai with more than 60% of the votes in Tuesday’s run-off election. While expressing the hope that the just ended polls will lead to an improvement of living standards of Liberians, the President observed […]

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President Nana Addo has congratulated former footballer, George Weah on his election as Liberia’s President.

Mr. Weah beat his opponent Joseph Boakai with more than 60% of the votes in Tuesday’s run-off election.

While expressing the hope that the just ended polls will lead to an improvement of living standards of Liberians, the President observed that the election had also “strengthened the frontiers of democracy in Liberia”

The President also commended Mr. Weah’s opponent, Boakai, who is currently Liberia’s Vice President for the “maturity” exhibited during his campaign.

“Best wishes for the success of President-elect George Weah, and Vice President –elect, Jewel Taylor,” he added.

Mr. Weah will succeed Africa’s first elected female President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia’s first democratic handover in decades.

Who is George Weah?

Mr. Weah, who was raised in a slum in Liberia’s capital Monrovia, starred at top-flight European football clubs Paris St-Germain (PSG) and AC Milan, before ending his career in England with brief stays at Chelsea and Manchester City.

He is the only African footballer to have won both Fifa World Player of the Year and the prestigious Ballon D’Or.

He entered politics after his retirement from the game in 2002 and is currently a senator in Liberia’s parliament.

His former club, PSG, congratulated him on Twitter.

Background

Liberia, founded by freed US slaves in the 19th Century, has not had a smooth transfer of power from one elected president to another since 1944.

Mrs Sirleaf defeated Mr Weah in the presidential election run-off in 2005 and took office a year later, after the end of a brutal civil war that saw President Charles Taylor forced out by rebels.

Taylor is now serving a 50-year prison sentence in the UK for war crimes related to the conflict in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

This time Mr Weah’s campaign – under the Coalition for Democratic Change banner – appealed to the youth vote, while incumbent Vice-President Boakai was seen as old and out of touch.

But Mr Weah’s election is not without controversy, as his running mate was Jewel Taylor, former wife of the jailed president.

By: Marian Ansah with files from BBC/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Mahama appeals for peace as Liberians vote in run-off today https://citifmonline.com/2017/12/mahama-appeals-peace-liberians-vote-run-off-today/ Tue, 26 Dec 2017 10:14:48 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=386326 Ghana’s immediate past President John Dramani Mahama; Head of ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to Liberia, on Monday met with the two candidates for today’s presidential run-off, George Weah and out-going Vice President, Joseph Boakai, and appealed for their maximum cooperation to ensure a peaceful and credible election. He reiterated at separate meetings with the presidential […]

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Ghana’s immediate past President John Dramani Mahama; Head of ECOWAS Election Observation Mission to Liberia, on Monday met with the two candidates for today’s presidential run-off, George Weah and out-going Vice President, Joseph Boakai, and appealed for their maximum cooperation to ensure a peaceful and credible election.

He reiterated at separate meetings with the presidential flag-bearers, who emerged from the inconclusive first round balloting of 10th October that “As I have always said, the responsibility for a successful election is the primary responsibility of the citizens of a country; international observers only facilitate the process.”

Noting that “a lot of water has passed under the bridge to test Liberia’s democratic credentials,” a reference to the legal dispute that followed the first round vote, which had to be settled by the Supreme Court. The Head of Mission told the two contestants that international observers had sacrificed their end-of-year celebrations in the interest of Liberia and democracy in the region.

He therefore, called on all political actors in the country to play by the rules and conduct themselves responsibly. In case of any disputes, he said, any aggrieved party should seek redress through legal and constitutional means and not resort to violence.

Mahama and George Weah
Mahama and Vice President, Joseph Boakai.

The Ghanaian statesman congratulated the ECOWAS Commission for deploying a Technical Team to support the Liberia’s National Elections Commission (NEC) in cleaning up the contentious Voter’s Register, and acknowledged the tireless efforts of the ECOWAS Special Representative to Liberia, Ambassador Babatunde Ajisomo.

He expressed his optimism that following compliance with the Supreme Court’s decisions and the recommendations of the ECOWAS Technical Team, the stage was now set for the election to go ahead.

Both candidates assured the Head of the ECOWAS Mission of their commitment to respect the electoral codes. On his part, he wished the two candidates well in the political contest.

The NEC Chairman Jerome Korkoya, at a subsequent meeting with the ECOWAS Head of Mission, informed the meeting that the hard copies of the final registration roll (FRR) were being provided to the two political parties in addition to the public display of the document to guide voters on Election Day. The NEC Chair explained that electronic copies of FRR were not being provided in order to avoid tampering with the sensitive document.

In continuation of his engagements on Monday, the Head of ECOWAS Mission also received heads of other International Observation Group for purpose of information and experience sharing. Represented at the meeting were the African Union, European Union, Carter Center, the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), and the US National Democratic Institute (NDI), co-led by Nigeria’s former President Goodluck Jonathan.

After listening to the presentation by the ECOWAS Technical Team, the international observers commended ECOWAS for its contribution and support towards the resolution of the politico-legal dispute, noting that while the Voter’s Roll might not be perfect, it is a strong basis for the conduct of a credible election.

The Head of ECOWAS Mission also addressed the 39 ECOWAS short-term observers on Monday before their deployment to different Liberian Counties for the Tuesday’s election.

He told them that “beyond our moral support for our Liberian brothers and sisters, our duty as observers is to ensure that international standards are adhered to during the conduct of the 26 December 2017 run-off Presidential election.”

“Having suffered the horrors of a brutal civil war and the devastation of the Ebola pandemic, with a weak economy and high youth unemployment, Liberia today needs the concerted effort of all her citizens for the enormous task of reconstruction and nation building,” he said.

According to him, “The urgency of this task is further brought to the fore by the imminent departure of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) that has been here for the past 14 years. Thus, it is my hope that the political class will once again galvanise the citizenry, to come out en masse and peacefully cast their vote to enable this country proceed with its reconstruction.”

In her remarks, the ECOWAS Commissioner of Political Affairs, Peace and Security Mrs Halima Ahmed, urged the observer to be professional, neutral and unbiased in their task.

The election will produce Liberia’s next president to replace out-going President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a Nobel Laureate and Africa’s first democratically elected female president. Her constitutionally allowed two-terms end by 16 January 2018.

By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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We won’t allow Liberia back to instability and conflict – Nana Addo https://citifmonline.com/2017/12/wont-allow-liberia-back-instability-conflict-nana-addo/ Wed, 13 Dec 2017 19:31:19 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=383063 The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says West Africa is not prepared to contemplate the scenario of Liberia sliding back into instability and conflict. According to President Akufo-Addo, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), over the years, has made a huge investment in promoting peace in Liberia, and “we will do […]

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The President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, says West Africa is not prepared to contemplate the scenario of Liberia sliding back into instability and conflict.

According to President Akufo-Addo, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), over the years, has made a huge investment in promoting peace in Liberia, and “we will do all we can to ensure that democracy is entrenched in Liberia, and we will not accept any other outcome.”

The President said the 7th December 2017 recent ruling made by Liberia’s Supreme Court on their presidential election, must ensure that Liberia will have its first peaceful handover of power from one democratically elected leader to another in 73 years.

“The work undertaken by that truly historic figure, the first elected female leader of an African nation, Her Excellency Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, in stabilising the country, after a bitter and protracted civil war, has been very solid and commendable,” he said.

The President continued that, “I am anticipating that, at the end of the day, Liberia’s institutions, particularly the Supreme Court and the Electoral Commission, will be up to the task, and shepherd the country through a successful transition.”

President Akufo-Addo made this known on Wednesday, 13th December, 2017, when he delivered the Commencement Address at the 98th Commencement Exercises of the University of Liberia, in Monrovia.

Transform structure of African economies

With over 2,500 students graduating from the University, the President noted that it is not enough to hold successful elections every four years or to be able to criticize the government and to have a choice of 100 radio stations.

Democracy, he explained, must ensure that we are able to provide our people with a good quality of life.

“The structure of economies, bequeathed to us by colonialism, was dependent on the production and export of raw materials. Even though Liberia was not colonized, the structure of her economy remains very much the same as the others on the continent. Such economies cannot create opportunities, prosperity and wealth for our people,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo stressed that, the time is long overdue for Africa to transform the structure of African economies to serve better the needs of the African peoples.

“Too many of our peoples are still kept down by extreme poverty. The promise of prosperity that was to accompany freedom has not materialised for the mass of the African peoples, and has rather been replaced with widespread despondency across the continent. This is not what our forebears promised,” he said.

President Akufo-Addo, therefore, urged “the current generation” of African youths to meet the challenges of today, and help banish the disgraceful spectre of young Africans, taking harrowing risks in trekking the Sahara desert or drowning in the Mediterranean, seeking greener pastures in Europe.

“Your generation has to ensure the fulfilment of the statement, made almost 70 years ago in 1949 to the Gold Coast Legislative Assembly by Joseph Boakye Danquah, the father of modern Ghanaian nationalism, that ‘the two things go together, economic freedom and political freedom. And we must have the two together in this very age, and in the shortest possible time’”, President Akufo-Addo added.

To this end, President Akufo-Addo stressed that a new paradigm of leadership on the continent is called for, i.e. “leaders who are committed to governing their peoples according to the rule of law, respect for individual liberties, human rights, the principles of democratic accountability and social justice; leaders who are looking past commodities to position their countries in the global marketplace”.

The President also called for “leaders who are determined to free their peoples from a mind-set of dependence, aid, charity and hand-outs; leaders who are bent on mobilizing Africa’s own immeasurable resources to resolve Africa’s problems; leaders who recognise the connectedness of their peoples and economies to those of their neighbours.”

This new generation of African leaders, the President added, “should help bring dignity and prosperity to our continent and its longsuffering peoples.”

By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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NDC built a stable economy – Mahama https://citifmonline.com/2017/12/ndc-built-a-stable-economy-mahama/ Fri, 08 Dec 2017 19:57:31 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=381387 Former President Mahama has touted the achievements of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), saying the party had over the years exhibited “strong commitment to strengthening” Ghana’s democracy and building a stable economy while in power. The former President, in a statement posted on his Facebook page, further indicated that he is “convinced beyond any […]

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Former President Mahama has touted the achievements of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), saying the party had over the years exhibited “strong commitment to strengthening” Ghana’s democracy and building a stable economy while in power.

The former President, in a statement posted on his Facebook page, further indicated that he is “convinced beyond any doubt” that the party “remains the most citizen-friendly and development-oriented political party in Ghana.”

John Mahama’s comments came as the country marked a year following the 2016 general elections which saw the NDC lose power in what is widely seen as the worst defeat for a sitting President in Ghana’s history.

Mr. Mahama recorded 44.40 percent of valid votes cast, losing to the New Patriotic Party’s Nana Akufo-Addo, who was endorsed by 53. 85 percent of the voting population.

The NDC also lost most of its seats in Parliament, pushing them to be minority side in the lawmaking house.

The party subsequently set up a 13-member committee to investigate the cause of the party’s defeat.

The former President, in his statement, also extended his gratitude to the executives, supporters and sympathizers of the party who in his view had “worked tirelessly during the polls to achieve success for the party.”

Below is the full statement from President Mahama

One year on after the December 7, 2016 election, I salute all our executives, supporters and sympathisers of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), who worked tirelessly during the polls to achieve success for the party. While the outcome was not what we desired, let us thank the Almighty God for his bountiful blessings as we are enjoined to do in all circumstances.

As we have demonstrated in the period following the elections and a year after the polls, we are a Party that believes and has demonstrably exhibited our strong commitment to strengthening our country’s democratic credentials and building a peaceful and stable economy.

Let’s continue to use the opportunity we are presented with, to work hard and diligently towards the reorganization of our party as we prepare for the next elections in 2020.

I am convinced beyond any doubt, that our party, the NDC, remains the most citizen-friendly and development-oriented political party in Ghana and we must continue to work in the interest of the Ghanaian People.

By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Kenya: Security tight for Kenyatta’s inauguration https://citifmonline.com/2017/11/kenya-security-tight-kenyattas-inauguration/ Tue, 28 Nov 2017 06:00:06 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=378207 Security has been stepped up in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, ahead of the inauguration of President Uhuru Kenyatta for a second term in office. More than 20 heads of state or senior ministers are expected to attend. Opposition leader, Raila Odinga, who boycotted a re-run of the presidential poll, has called for a protest rally, […]

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Security has been stepped up in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, ahead of the inauguration of President Uhuru Kenyatta for a second term in office.

More than 20 heads of state or senior ministers are expected to attend.

Opposition leader, Raila Odinga, who boycotted a re-run of the presidential poll, has called for a protest rally, despite a police ban.

August’s presidential election was annulled by the Supreme Court over what it called “irregularities”.

The re-run, on 26 October, saw Mr Kenyatta win 98% of the vote with a turnout of just under 39%.

Ceremony amid deep divisions

Tuesday’s ceremony at a sports stadium in Nairobi is due to get under way at 10:00 local time (07:00 GMT).

Organisers are expecting about 60,000 people to fill the venue and giant screens have been set up outside for those unable to get in.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta speaks from the back of a vehicle

President Kenyatta’s deputy, William Ruto, will also be sworn in.

Among the foreign leaders expected to attend will be Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Rwandan President Paul Kagame.

The Kenyan opposition coalition has called on its supporters to boycott the inauguration and instead hold a rally in memory of people killed in clashes since August’s election.

The police have warned the coalition against holding the event.

Supporters of opposition coalition the National Super Alliance (Nasa) and its presidential candidate Raila Odinga throw stones at riot police in Mathare North, Nairobi, Kenya, 20 November 2017

Why was there an election re-run?

Kenya’s Supreme Court took the unprecedented decision to annul the 8 August presidential election and demand a new poll in September citing “irregularities and illegalities”.

Chief Justice David Maraga said the election had not been “conducted in accordance with the constitution” and declared it “invalid, null and void”.

The court said the result was “neither transparent nor verifiable”.

Mr Odinga then urged his supporters to boycott the second vote because he said no reforms had been made to the electoral commission since the original poll.

However the re-run went ahead in October and the Supreme Court has since validated the results, but correspondents say the election dispute has left Kenya deeply divided.

What has happened since the first vote?

The aftermath of both polls has been fraught with tension and Mr Kenyatta will face an uphill task in uniting a fractured nation.

About 50 people are reported to have been killed in violence since Mr Kenyatta was declared the winner in the initial August election.

Raila Odinga addresses his supporters, who were facing off against police during their running battles in Riverside area in Ruaraka, in Nairobi, Kenya, 19 November 2017Raila Odinga told his supporters that “a third liberation is coming soon”

 

Mr Odinga, who went away on a 10-day speaking tour in Europe and America after withdrawing from the election re-run, has called for a “national resistance movement” to “restore democracy”.

Speaking earlier this month, Mr Odinga said: “Today is the day we are launching Kenya as a third republic.

“What you have seen is a signal that a third liberation is coming soon,” he added.

Source: BBC

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Putin insulted by meddling claim – Trump https://citifmonline.com/2017/11/putin-insulted-by-meddling-claim-trump/ Sat, 11 Nov 2017 16:15:37 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=372798 President Vladimir Putin feels insulted by allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US election, Donald Trump has said after meeting him briefly at an Asia-Pacific summit in Vietnam. “You can only ask so many times… he said he absolutely did not meddle in our election,” the US president said. Mr Putin later dismissed the […]

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President Vladimir Putin feels insulted by allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 US election, Donald Trump has said after meeting him briefly at an Asia-Pacific summit in Vietnam.

“You can only ask so many times… he said he absolutely did not meddle in our election,” the US president said.

Mr Putin later dismissed the allegations as “political infighting”.

The US intelligence community has already concluded that Russia tried to sway the poll in favour of Mr Trump.

The US justice department has appointed special investigator Robert Mueller to examine any possible collusion involving Mr Trump’s team, and legal action has already been taken against several former aides

What are the allegations against Russia?

President Trump has refused to acknowledge a reported assessment by the CIA and other intelligence agencies that Russia was behind the hacking of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in the run-up to last year’s presidential election.

Donald Trump listens as Hillary Clinton answers a question during presidential debate at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, U.S., October 9, 2016

The contents of the emails, passed to Wikileaks and posted online, were embarrassing to the Democrats and shook up the presidential campaign, which ended in defeat for Hillary Clinton.

In addition to the Mueller inquiry, congressional committees have been set up to carry out their own investigations.

Relations between the US and Russia have been strained for years, with the Kremlin long accusing Washington of seeking to sway elections in Russia and other ex-Soviet states including Ukraine and Georgia.

While Russian hackers are widely suspected of involvement, there has been no conclusive link to the Kremlin.

Denying that Russia had tried to interfere last year by fostering contacts with Mr Trump’s campaign, Mr Putin told reporters in Vietnam: “Everything about the so-called Russian dossier in the US is a manifestation of a continuing domestic political struggle.”

What does Mr Trump say to the allegations?

He said he believed Mr Putin had been “very insulted by” the allegations and that was “not a good thing” for America.

“He [Putin] said he didn’t meddle,” he added. “I asked him again.”

Asked if he believed Mr Putin, he replied, “He is very, very strong in the fact that he didn’t do it. You have President Putin very strongly, vehemently says he has nothing to do with that. Now, you are not going to get into an argument, you are going to start talking about Syria and the Ukraine.”

He dismissed the collusion allegations as an “artificial Democratic hit job”.

Trump out on a limb again

Aleem Maqbool, BBC News, Da Nang

Donald Trump once again goes against the findings of his own intelligence agencies.

Because although the US justice department is investigating the scale and nature of Russian interference in the election of 2016 (and any links to the Trump campaign), the American intelligence community has already long determined that Russia did, indeed, interfere.

Yet Mr Trump suggested this story was not only entirely fabricated by his political opponents, it might even be costing lives in Syria, because it is getting in the way of his relationship with the Russian president and hampering their ability to help solve the conflict together.

“People will die because of it, and it’s a pure hit job, and it’s artificially induced and that’s a shame,” he said.

It is hard to know what the president hopes to achieve with this type of rhetoric. The investigation goes on.

How did the two presidents get on in Vietnam?

Mr Trump and Mr Putin met for the first time in July at a G20 summit in the German city of Hamburg. In Da Nang they were seen chatting briefly on three occasions within 24 hours during the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) summit.

However, they had no formal bilateral meeting, with Mr Putin blaming it on scheduling and protocol.

Donald Trump walks next to Vladimir Putin and other world leaders on the way to the Mr Putin said he regretted that his talks with Mr Trump were too brief

They had warm words for each other, with the US president talking of their mutual “very good feeling” and the Russian leader describing his counterpart as “well-mannered… and comfortable to deal with”.

They did manage to sign off a statement vowing to continue the battle against so-called Islamic State in Syria until the militants are defeated and calling for a political solution to the conflict.

How far has US justice department investigation progressed?

Last month, former Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos pleaded guilty to having lied to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about the timing of meetings with alleged go-betweens for Russia.

He testified that Russian nationals had contacted him in an attempt to gain influence with the Trump campaign, offering “dirt” in the form of “thousands of emails” on Mrs Clinton in April 2016 – two months before the DNC emails were leaked.

Mr Trump has played down the importance of Mr Papadopoulos, calling him a “low-level volunteer” and “liar”.

On Saturday, Mr Putin brushed aside US media reports that a woman wrongly identified by Mr Papadopoulos as the Russian president’s niece had offered to help broker meetings with Kremlin officials.

“I do not know anything about it and I think it is just some fantasies,” Mr Putin said.

Mr Trump’s former campaign manager, Paul Manafort, and an associate were also placed under house arrest on charges of money laundering as a result of the Mueller inquiry, but the charges do not relate to the election.

Source: BBC

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Spain to sack Catalan government, call regional election https://citifmonline.com/2017/10/spain-to-sack-catalan-government-call-regional-election/ Sat, 21 Oct 2017 14:10:49 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=363860 The Spanish government decided on Saturday to sack the secessionist leadership of Catalonia and force the region into a new election, saying it had to take the unprecedented step to prevent the region pushing ahead with independence. The plan, which still requires the approval of the upper house Senate, seeks to resolve Spain’s worst political […]

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The Spanish government decided on Saturday to sack the secessionist leadership of Catalonia and force the region into a new election, saying it had to take the unprecedented step to prevent the region pushing ahead with independence.

The plan, which still requires the approval of the upper house Senate, seeks to resolve Spain’s worst political crisis in four decades but risks an angry reaction from independence supporters, who plan street protests later in the day.

In outlining the cabinet’s decision, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said the Catalan economy, which accounts for a fifth of the national economy, was already in worrying shape as a result of the regional’s government push for independence.

“We will ask the Senate, with the aim of protecting the general interest of the nation, to authorize the government… to sack the Catalan president and his government,” Rajoy told a news conference.

It is the first time since Spain’s return to democracy in the late 1970s that the central government has invoked the constitutional right to take control of a region and rule it directly from Madrid.

Direct rule will include full control of the region’s police, finances and public media. The powers of the regional parliament will also be curbed.

Rajoy said his intention was to not use those special powers for more than six months and he would call a regional election as soon as the situation was back to “normal.”

“Our objective is to restore the law and a normal cohabitation among citizens, which has deteriorated a lot, continue with the economic recovery, which is under threat today in Catalonia, and celebrate elections in a situation of normality,” Rajoy said.

The measures must now be approved by Spain’s upper house, the Senate, where a vote is scheduled for Oct. 27.

UNSUSTAINABLE

Rajoy has insisted that Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, who heads the northeastern region’s government, has broken the law several times in pushing for independence, including with a referendum on Oct. 1 that the government declared illegal.

“The rulers of Catalonia have respected neither the law on which is based our democracy nor the general interest,” the government said in a memorandum obtained by Reuters. “This situation is unsustainable.”

The independence push has brought on Spain’s worst political crisis since a failed military coup in 1981 several years after the end of the Franco dictatorship. It has met with strong opposition across the rest of Spain, divided Catalonia itself, and raised the prospect of prolonged street protests

It has also led Madrid to cut economic growth forecasts for the euro zone’s fourth-largest economy and prompted hundreds of firms to move their headquarters from Catalonia. Rajoy on Saturday urged firms to stay in the region.

The main opposition Socialists said on Friday they would back special measures and had agreed on the holding of regional elections in January. Rajoy also received the backing of the head of state, King Felipe, on Friday, who said at a public ceremony that “Catalonia is and will remain an essential part” of Spain.

Pro-independence groups have mustered more than one million people onto the streets in protest at Madrid’s refusal to negotiate a solution. Heavy-handed police tactics to shut down a the Oct. 1 independence referendum drew criticism from human rights groups.

Regional authorities said about 90 percent of those who cast ballots voted for independence. But only 43 percent of voters participated and opponents of secession mostly stayed home.

Puigdemont stopped short of making a unilateral declaration of independence following the referendum, but on Thursday he threatened to do so unless the government agreed to a dialogue. He accused Madrid of “repression”.

Source: Reuters

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Kenya election official Roselyn Akombe flees to US https://citifmonline.com/2017/10/kenya-election-official-roselyn-akombe-flees-to-us/ Wed, 18 Oct 2017 08:18:45 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=362877 A senior member of Kenya’s electoral commission (IEBC) has resigned, saying the country is unable to hold credible elections next week. Roselyn Akombe said the IEBC was under political “siege”, unable to reach consensus or take any decisions. Now in the US, she told the BBC she had feared for her safety while in Kenya […]

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A senior member of Kenya’s electoral commission (IEBC) has resigned, saying the country is unable to hold credible elections next week.

Roselyn Akombe said the IEBC was under political “siege”, unable to reach consensus or take any decisions.

Now in the US, she told the BBC she had feared for her safety while in Kenya after receiving numerous threats.

Last week, opposition leader Raila Odinga pulled out of the 26 October presidential run-off.

The Supreme Court annulled the result of the original 8 August poll, which saw current President Uhuru Kenyatta declared winner, after finding irregularities and illegalities.

In a statement, Ms Akombe said she had “agonised over the decision to leave the IEBC (Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission).

“My decision to leave the IEBC will disappoint some of you, but it is not for lack of trying.

“I have tried the best I could do given the circumstances. Sometimes, you walk away, especially when potentially lives are at stake. The commission has become a party to the current crisis. The commission is under siege.

“The commission in its current state can surely not guarantee a credible election on 26 October 2017.”

And in an interview with the BBC’s Newsday programme, she said: “Would it be a credible election? Absolutely not.

“There is a very high likelihood that the mistakes that some of the presiding officers made during the last election will be repeated.”

Speaking from New York, she said IEBC members had been voting along partisan lines, without discussing different issues on merit.

Commissioners and other IEBC personnel were facing intimidation by political actors and protesters, Ms Akombe said.

She also revealed that she herself had received a number of anonymous threats, and had been put under pressure to resign.

“I have never felt the kind of fear that I felt in my own country.”

She said she did not “feel safe enough to be able to go home” in the foreseeable future.

The IEBC has so far made no public comments on the issue.

Election positions

Mr Odinga, who leads the opposition – the National Super Alliance (Nasa) – said last week: “We have come to the conclusion that there is no intention on the part of the IEBC to undertake any changes to its operations and personnel.

“All indications are that the election scheduled for 26 October will be worse than the previous one.”

Mr Odinga has organised a series of protests against the IEBC in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Mr Kenyatta says he is ready to proceed with the new vote as planned.

“We have no problem going back to elections. We are sure we will get more votes than the last time.”

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta. Photo: 21 September 2017

“We are also telling him it is the people’s right to choose their leader. It is their sovereign right to choose their leader of choice,” Mr Kenyatta said.

The country’s electoral commission said Mr Kenyatta had won the August vote by a margin of 1.4 million votes – or 54% of the total, compared to Mr Odinga’s 45%.

Source: BBC

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Liberia election headed for run-off https://citifmonline.com/2017/10/liberia-election-headed-for-run-off/ Mon, 16 Oct 2017 05:08:47 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=362129 Former football star George Weah and Vice-President Joseph Boakai are headed for a run-off in Liberia’s presidential election. Nearly all the results from Tuesday’s poll have been counted, the election commission says. Mr Weah, the first African to win the Ballon D’Or football award, is leading with 39%, while Mr Boakai is in second place […]

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Former football star George Weah and Vice-President Joseph Boakai are headed for a run-off in Liberia’s presidential election.

Nearly all the results from Tuesday’s poll have been counted, the election commission says.

Mr Weah, the first African to win the Ballon D’Or football award, is leading with 39%, while Mr Boakai is in second place with 29%.

A second round between the pair is expected next month.

They lead the field of 20 candidates who competed to succeed Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first female elected president and a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Fewer than 5% of polling stations have yet to declare results, and lawyer Charles Brumskine is in third place with 9.8%.

Both Mr Weah and Mr Boakai had predicted they would win the first round of voting.

Mr Weah’s former manager on the football field, Arsene Wenger, was earlier this week apparently duped by false reports that he had already been elected president.

He told reporters: “It’s not often you have a former player who becomes president of a country. So well done, Georgie.”

Meet the frontrunners

George Weah, 51:

  • Former Fifa World Footballer of the Year
  • Arsene Wenger, now at Arsenal, was his coach at Monaco in the 1990s
  • Has the political backing of jailed warlord and former president Charles Taylor
  • Taylor’s ex-wife, Jewel Howard Taylor, is his running mate

Joseph Boakai, 73:

  • Nicknamed “Sleepy Joe”
  • Denies it is because he is often caught napping at public events, says it is because he is a dreamer
  • Vice-president under Ellen Johnson Sirleaf since 2005
  • Has distanced himself from her record, saying “a lot more needs to be achieved”

Liberia, which was founded by freed US slaves in the 19th Century, has not had a smooth transfer of power in 73 years.

Ms Sirleaf took office in 2006, after her predecessor, Charles Taylor, was forced out of office by rebels in 2003, ending a long civil war.

Taylor is currently serving a 50-year prison sentence in the UK for war crimes related to the conflict in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

Mr Weah, 51, has chosen Taylor’s ex-wife Jewel Howard Taylor as his running mate.

Source: BBC

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Liberia election: Ex-football star George Weah takes early lead https://citifmonline.com/2017/10/liberia-election-ex-football-star-george-weah-takes-early-lead/ Fri, 13 Oct 2017 06:27:50 +0000 http://citifmonline.com/?p=361550 Partial results from Liberia’s presidential election show former football star George Weah has taken an early lead. Figures from the National Elections Commission (NEC) put Mr Weah ahead in 11 out of 15 counties, although most votes have yet to be counted. His main rival, incumbent Vice-President Joseph Boakai, leads in one county and is […]

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Partial results from Liberia’s presidential election show former football star George Weah has taken an early lead.

Figures from the National Elections Commission (NEC) put Mr Weah ahead in 11 out of 15 counties, although most votes have yet to be counted.

His main rival, incumbent Vice-President Joseph Boakai, leads in one county and is second in most others.

A candidate needs more than 50% of the votes for outright victory.

If no-one achieves that, a second round will be held in November.

The election is to choose a successor to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – Africa’s first elected female president and a Nobel Peace laureate.

As the results came in, the manager of Arsenal Football Club, Arsene Wenger, was apparently duped by false reports that Mr. Weah had won.

Arsene Wenger coached George Weah in the 1990s when he was in charge of French club Monaco.
Arsene Wenger coached George Weah in the 1990s when he was in charge of French club Monaco.

“I would like to congratulate one of my former players, who became president of Liberia,” Mr Wenger told reporters.

“It’s not often you have a former player who becomes president of a country. So well done, Georgie.

NEC Chairman Jerome Korkoya hit out at false reports and said his officials were doing their best to get accurate official results out as quickly as possible.

“This commission has not declared any winner,” he stressed.

International election observers said they had not identified any major problems with Tuesday’s voting.

However, parties supporting three of the 20 candidates have alleged irregularities and said they would contest the result, Reuters reported.

Vice-President Joseph Boakai says the Liberian people want to see more development.
Vice-President Joseph Boakai says the Liberian people want to see more development.

Ms Sirleaf, 78, who is stepping down at the end of two terms, hailed the election as a success.

“We believe that all Liberians are ready for this process. I thank them for participating in this process,” she said.

Liberia, which was founded by freed US slaves in the 19th Century, has not had a smooth transfer of power in 73 years.

Ms Sirleaf took office in 2006, after her predecessor, Charles Taylor, was forced out of office by rebels in 2003, ending a long civil war.

Taylor is currently serving a 50-year prison sentence in the UK for war crimes related to the conflict in neighbouring Sierra Leone.

Mr. Weah, 51, has chosen Taylor’s ex-wife Jewel Howard Taylor as his running mate.

By: BBC

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