The vote was delayed after an allegation of electoral fraud in the first round earlier this month.

Former military coup leader Julius Maada Bio received the most votes in the first round.

He now faces ruling party candidate Samura Kamara who is an economist by training.

Mr Maada Bio received 43.3% of the vote in the first round.

But in Sierra Leone the president is elected by absolute majority and if no-one gets 55% then it goes to a run-off.

President Ernest Bai Koroma is stepping down as president after serving two five-year terms. He chose Mr Kamara as his successor to run as president for the All People’s Congress (APC).

Mr Maada Bio, who is leading the main opposition Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), lost to Mr Koroma in the last election. But Mr Maada Bio had already ruled the country briefly.

The 53-year-old was part of a group of soldiers who overthrew the government in 1992. Four years later he staged another coup and ruled Sierra Leone between January and March 1996.

Whoever wins this time, one of the greatest challenges for the new leader will be to improve healthcare following the devastating Ebola outbreak in 2014.

It killed nearly 4,000 people yet there are still only 200 doctors serving the country of seven million people.

The run-off was originally due to take place on Tuesday but the High Court ordered a delay after a member of the ruling party alleged there had been electoral fraud in the first round.

But the court rejected a petition by the ruling APC seeking an indefinite suspension of the run-off to allow for a forensic audit of the 7 March vote.

–

Source: BBC

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The elections are considered a dry run for the presidential vote to be held in 2019 and a test of whether Afghanistan’s Western-backed government can overcome past election problems of poor security and fraud.

President Ashraf Ghani and international donor countries have all said elections need to happen this year. Some Western diplomats doubt, however, that there is enough time to organize the vote in 2018.

The Independent Elections Commission (IEC) would hold the election on Oct. 20, IEC chairman Gula Jan Abdul Badi Sayad said on Friday. He said voter registration would start in mid-April.

The current parliament’s five-year term was to expire in June 2015, but Ghani extended it by decree amid security fears and disagreements on how to prevent fraud.

The main challenges ahead of the vote are registering Afghans, many of whom do not have identification documents, and setting up ballot stations in remote areas. Plans for voter security and preventing fraud are also critical.

Afghanistan has held two parliamentary elections since the end of Taliban rule, in 2005 and 2010. District council elections have never been held.

The 2014 presidential election produced no agreed winner and led to a U.S.-brokered deal that saw former rivals Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah forced into an uneasy coalition that has struggled to win popular support.

–

Source: Reuters

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Polling stations will be open for three days and Sisi, a former military commander, has urged Egyptians to vote, hinting that he sees the election as a referendum on his first four-year term, rather than a serious democratic contest.

Sisi, an ally of the United States, faces only one challenger who is a long-time supporter of the president.

Many Egyptians, as well as the country’s Arab and Western allies, see him as vital to stability as unrest since 2011 has hurt the economy. However, his critics say he has presided over Egypt’s worst crackdown on dissent and describe the vote as a charade.

Sisi, 63, who led the military’s overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically-elected president Mohamed Mursi in 2013, has cast his bid for a second term as a vote for stability and security. He is trying to defeat Islamist insurgents in the Sinai Peninsula and complete a series of mega-projects inaugurated with great fanfare since he came to power.

In early hours of the voting, witnesses said turnout was slow but on a normal business day most Egyptians are expected to vote after working hours.

A lower-than-expected turnout could suggest Sisi lacks the mandate to take more of the tough steps needed to revive the economy, which struggled after the 2011 revolution drove away tourists and foreign investors, both sources of hard currency.

Authorities have urged people to vote, ramping up nationalist rhetoric and painting participation as helping the fight against Islamists and other unspecified enemies.

“Your vote is a bullet in the heart of your enemy,” Monday’s front page of the state-owned al-Gomhouria newspaper read. Prime Minister Sherif Ismail told state TV as he voted: “People must turn out and participate with force”.

A 76-year-old voter, Saad Shahata, said at a polling station in Monofiya province north of Cairo: “We’re coming to support President Sisi. Anyone who doesn’t participate in the vote is a traitor.”

MEGA PROJECTS AND AUSTERITY

In Cairo’s upscale Heliopolis neighborhood and Zamalek, areas with strong support for Sisi and the military, nationalist songs blared out and groups of men waved Egyptian flags as they cheered and danced. A child sang the anthem of an Egyptian special forces unit.

Dozens of people queued before polls opened, but only trickled in afterwards.

One of the few young voters at a Heliopolis polling station, Zeina Sherif, said she saw casting her vote as symbolic support for Sisi. “Sisi is working on projects that we should give him a chance to finish,” the 20-year-old said.

These projects include an expansion of the Suez Canal and a new capital being built east of Cairo. These will in time improve the economy and people’s lives, he says.

But critics say austerity measures have hurt his popularity, including a currency devaluation tied to an International Monetary Fund loan which left most Egyptians worse off. Many see little benefit from large projects and the harsh fiscal reforms.

Rights groups accuse Sisi of muzzling opponents, activists and independent media. Courts have sentenced hundreds of supporters of Mursi’s Muslim Brotherhood to death since 2013.

The president’s sole challenger is Moussa Mostafa Moussa, a Sisi supporter widely seen as a dummy candidate. Moussa has said he hopes Sisi beats him but rejects charges he is being used to present a false sense of competition. The electoral commission says it will ensure voting is fair and transparent.

Several opposition figures called for a boycott of the vote after all major opposition campaigns withdrew, saying repression had cleared the field of credible challengers.

Sisi’s top opponent, former military chief of staff Sami Anan, was arrested and halted his presidential bid after the army accused him of running for office without permission.

Even before campaigning officially began, the United Nations, rights groups and opposition figures criticized the run-up as compromised by arrests and intimidation of opponents.

In a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump’s foreign policy team, the Working Group on Egypt, a bipartisan group of U.S. foreign policy specialists, said the “sham election” would take place against a backdrop of massive human rights abuses.

Sisi has said he will not seek a third term, but critics expect him to remove a two-presidential term limit.

He won nearly 97 percent of the vote in 2014, but less than half of eligible Egyptians voted, even though the election was extended to three days.

–

Source: Reuters

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The country’s rival authorities are planning to hold parliamentary and presidential elections later this year, but no date has been set.

The United Nations and the European Union support the upcoming vote.

But HRW worries “voters, candidates, and political parties” are at risk of “coercion, discrimination, and intimidation” if the ballot goes ahead.

The US-based rights group thinks the conditions needed for free and fair elections will be hard to meet in the North African state, which was thrown into chaos following the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

“Libya today couldn’t be further away from respect for the rule of law and human rights, let alone from acceptable conditions for free elections,” Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

HRW says free speech, rule of law, assembly and a “functioning judiciary that is able to deal fairly and promptly with disputes concerning the elections” must be respected.

But armed groups continue to threaten, intimidate, and attack judicial figures and officials, HRW says.

It also points out that the “legal framework for an election remains opaque”, and has urged the elections commission to conduct “transparent audits of its voter register to rule out any inaccuracies”.

The country is currently run by a myriad of rival groups, which has made it difficult to secure any kind of electoral process.

They have yet to introduce new election laws, nor have they amended articles in its constitutional declaration, which would define the powers of the elected president.

Presidential hopefuls include Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, who leads the UN-backed government of national accord, and the military commander in East Libya, Khalifa Haftar, who leads the so-called Libyan National Army (LNA).

They both agreed to hold elections within the first half of 2018 during a July 2017 meeting in Paris, which was convened by French President Emmanuel Macron.

–

Source: BBC

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Mr. Mahama is the head of the ECOWAS Election Observer Team. When he and his team arrived in Liberia, they held a brief meeting with the team that will be deployed throughout the country during the election.

A technical support team, which is led by former Chairman of Ghana’s Electoral Commission, Dr. Kwadwo Afari Gyan, assisted the Liberian NEC to update their systems, tackle the queries of the political parties, and to meet the directives of the Liberian Supreme Court.

John Mahama also had separate meetings with the two candidates going into the run-off, current Liberian vice president John Boakai of the Unity Party, and former footballer George Weah of the Coalition for Democratic Change.

In the meetings with the two gentlemen, Mr. Mahama called for a peaceful vote. He also reminded Liberians of the sanctity of the polls, and the stability of the country after the elections, will depend on them and not ECOWAS, the observers or the UN.

George Weah and John Boakai are battling to succeed the outgoing president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, whose constitutional two terms in office end in January.

In the first round which was held on October 10, both men fell short of the 50% plus one vote stipulated by the constitution for the winner to emerge in the first round.

Third place Charles Brumskine of the Liberty Party, meanwhile, filed a petition against the exercise on alleged irregularities and fraud.

The case was dismissed by the court, but it delayed the run-off which was originally slated for November 7.

–

By: Jeffrey Owuraku Sarpong/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The law seeks to empower eligible Ghanaians abroad to vote in national elections. Successive governments have failed to ensure its implementation, since its passage in 2006.

The applicants are therefore praying the court to declare a violation of their human right with the non-implementation of the law, and a subsequent order for them to take part in general elections and national referenda while residing abroad.

EC’s arguments 

The Electoral Commission at the last hearing prayed the court to allow it prove it was in the process of implementing the law, but failed to provide enough evidence to that effect.

The EC, primarily argued that, it had plans to implement the law and should not be compelled to do so.

It also challenged the process by which the applicants invoked the court’s jurisdiction as wrong, while insisting that the right to vote is not a human right.

State Attorneys representing the 2^nd Respondent in court had at the start of the case also told the court that they will associate themselves with arguments of lawyers of the 1^st Respondent (EC), throughout the entire process.

The case was originally filed in 2016, but withdrawn ahead of the elections and refiled after the elections.

The applicants are Kofi A. Boateng, Nellie Kemevor, Obed Danquah, Christiana Sillim and Agyenim Boateng, all residing in New York State and Kentucky in the USA.

Reliefs as spelt out by the applicants are listed below :

The Applicants who are all members of the Progressive Alliance Movement (PAM) a New York State incorporated nonprofit organization, seek from the Court “a Declaration that Applicants have fundamental human rights under Articles 17(2), 42 and 33(5), of the 1992 Constitution of the Republic of Ghana, the Representation of the People (Amendment) Act 2006 [Act 699] Article 13 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, Article 25 of The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, Article 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Protocol 1 (article 3) of the European Convention on Human Rights

a)    “to be registered as voter[s]” while resident abroad and being outside the jurisdiction of the Republic of Ghana, and doing so from/at their places of residence abroad or designated centers close to their places of residence abroad or from/at the Ghana Mission/Embassy within their jurisdiction abroad;

b)   to be issued voters Identity Cards “to enable” them “to vote in public elections and referenda” while resident abroad and being outside the jurisdiction of the Republic of Ghana at the time of such elections, and doing so from/at their places of residence abroad or designated centers close to their places of residence abroad or from/at the Ghana Mission/Embassy within their jurisdiction abroad;

c)    “to vote in public elections and referenda” particularly Presidential and Parliamentary elections while resident abroad and being outside the jurisdiction of the Republic of Ghana at the time of such elections, and doing so from/at their places of residence abroad or designated centers close to their places of residence abroad or from/at the Ghana Mission/Embassy within their jurisdiction abroad;

d)   A Declaration that the non-compliance of 1st Respondent in particular to operationalize the Act 699 since same became law on the 24th day of February 2006 is a breach of Applicants’ fundamental rights under said various laws and legal instruments;

e)    A Declaration 2nd Respondent’s failure, neglect or refusal to uphold/ensure full compliance/operationalization of the Act 699 since same became law on the 24th day of February 2006 is a breach of Applicants’ fundamental rights under said various laws and legal instruments;

f)     A Declaration that each of the Applicant’s “right to vote and entitle[ment] to be registered as a voter for the purposes of public elections and referenda” in light of the Act 699  and said various laws and legal instruments is not subject to any condition precedent aside the article 42 age and sanity of mind criteria;

g)   A Declaration that it is discriminatory for Respondents particularly 1st Respondent to continue to register abroad and ensure that a category of citizens studying abroad or working in Ghana’s Missions/Embassies abroad vote in public elections and referenda while in abroad to exclusion of the Applicants.

h)   An Order of mandamus directed at Respondents particularly 1st Respondent to forthwith, uphold/ensure full compliance/operationalisation of the Act 699;

–

By: Marian Ansah/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Following the October 10 election that ended with none of the candidates able to amass the over 50 percent of votes quota needed to become President, the two frontrunners Ex-football star George Weah, and Vice-President Joseph Boakai, were set to face off in a run-off on November 7.

[contextly_sidebar id=”j7JxVSqFO1V8cVnM52kETde9PBW1R4vQ”]However, after allegations of fraud were made by Charles Brumskine, who finished third in the polls, the country’s Supreme Court put the run-off on hold until the Electoral Commission completes their investigation of the claims.

The National Elections Commission (NEC), has since ended their probe, but the Supreme Court is now hearing an appeal lodged by the Liberty Party and the Unity Party against the outcome of the investigation, with a ruling expected on Thursday.

The investigation by the National Elections Commission concluded that, irregularities did not affect the outcome of the first round, a conclusion being disputed by the two parties.

With the country on the verge of its first peaceful handover of power from one democratically elected leader to another in 73 years, President Akufo-Addo called on the Supreme Court to help usher in a new era for the West African country.

“We believe work that has been done to stabilize Liberia by Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has been very solid. I’m anticipating that at the end of the day, Liberia’s institutions, the Supreme Court and the Electoral Commission will be up to the task and be able to shepherd the country to a successful transition,” he said at the Flagstaff House after the new Liberian Ambassador to Ghana Madam Genevieve Kennedy called on him.

‘Turmoil and hope’

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: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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Former footballer George Weah was initially set to face Vice-President Joseph Boakai on Tuesday to determine who will replace Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. A successful vote would be Liberia’s first democratic transfer of power in over 70 years.

But preparations for the second round were halted last week when the Supreme Court announced it was examining a complaint by the Liberty Party of third-placed candidate Charles Brumskine.

The Supreme Court’s order for a full investigation into the allegations could push back the run-off date by weeks or even result in a re-run of the first round.

“The NEC (National Elections Commission) is stopped and prohibited from conducting the run off election until the complaint filed by the petitioners is investigated by the NEC,” the Supreme Court ruling said.

Addressing the Supreme Court last week, Brumskine cited “gross irregularities” in the first round and accused NEC officials of fraud.

The NEC has denied wrongdoing and said the election was largely fair. International observers say they saw no major problems with the vote.

But a growing chorus of parties have expressed doubt about the vote, including Boakai’s ruling Unity Party, which last week accused Johnson Sirleaf, one of its own members, of trying to influence the vote. She rejected the allegation.

“The course we pursue is not about Charles Walker Brumskine. It is not about the Liberty Party. It is greater than all of us. It is about our country,” Brumskine said following the Supreme Court ruling.
Janga Kowo, Secretary General of Weah’s CDC party, called upon supporters to remain calm and allow the legal process to run its course. The Unity Party had no immediate comment on Monday’s ruling.

Expectations of a poll delay have increased tensions in Liberia, where many are eager for change after 12 years of Johnson Sirleaf’s rule. Her tenure cemented peace after a long civil war, but many Liberians say she did little to alleviate widespread poverty despite vast iron ore reserves.

It is now unclear when the run-off will take place.

The NEC has until mid-November to rule on the Liberty Party’s complaint. If it is rejected, Brumskine could still take the case back before the Supreme Court with an appeal, potentially pushing the date of the second round into December.

The court also has the option of calling a new first round vote to be held within 60 days.
–
By: Reuters

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The party had hinted of this move in recent months, with Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the party, Ade Coker, announcing the party’s intention during the party’s unity walk.

[contextly_sidebar id=”NkURVrpivXlbe7hvvjxY4rl1fPXG3Wlb”]Addressing the media on Tuesday, the party’s National Chairman, Kofi Portuphy, stated that the National Executive Committee had unanimously agreed to scrap the register as it was deemed not credible enough.

He also suggested that, recommendations made by the Kwesi Botchwey Committee, which was set up to probe NDC’s loss in the 2016 elections, had factored into the decision as well.

“In line with the wishes of the majority of the members of the National Democratic Congress, and in the wake of recommendations made by the election review committee chaired by Dr. Kwesi Botchwey, the National Executive Committee, which is the highest decision-making body after Congress, voted unanimously for the scrapping of the register which was used to conduct our internal elections last year,” Kofi Portuphy said.

“The register, which was meant to be a biometric one, did not meet the standards required to make it qualified to be a biometric register. NEC has decided that we should adopt a manual process of capturing the names of members at all branches nationwide.”

Portuphy stated that, the registration would take place “between November and December [of 2017]” which would be followed by “branch elections in the last week of January 2018”

The NDC, prior to the election in 2016, commenced the registration of its members through a biometric system targeting to capture about 1.5 million members of the party.

Despite the fact that it was only put together in 2016, several members of the opposition party have blamed breaches in the biometric register for the party’s embarrassing loss in last year’s polls.

There were complaints that some non-NDC members took advantage of the biometric registration to be captured on the NDC’s voter’s database.

According to the party, it arrived at the decision because the old register which was generated through a biometric system, was found not to be credible enough.

Kofi Portuphy stated that, the registration process would take place at the various local branches of the party, which he explained, would ensure that only genuine members of the NDC are registered.

“What we are doing now is intended to restore the integrity of our register, and will become the basis for the creation of a biometric register. This process would have to be supported by everybody in the party. You have to go back to your roots and register at a polling station at your branch office for the branch to recognize that you are a member. It is meant for only members of the National Democratic Congress,” he stated.

The Party also announced that it will hold its constituency elections from the 24th to the 25th of March 2018, and regional elections on the 9th and 10th of June.

Plans are also in place for the party to hold a National Congress to elect its national executives from the 27th to the 29th of July 2018.

–

By: Fred Djabanor & Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The association, which has been described by many as unattractive, has only few members in good standing.

A statement issued by the Elections Committee of the Association said the polls will begin from 8:00am to 4:00pm.

[contextly_sidebar id=”lBVBCzPr3Hcaj4Dhvoi9dSNiGwhkxvNc”]Candidates were expected to submit names of their polling agents to the Committee headed by Ben Batabe Assorow by close of day on Wednesday.

The election was supposed to be held in March, 2017, but was postponed because of some unresolved disputes.

At the time, Lloyd Evans, who is also contesting for the presidential position, was appealing his disqualification, and some journalists were challenging the authority of Affail Monney and his executives to organize the election.

Lloyd Evans said at the time that he would resist the decision to disqualify him and has since been reinstated.

Proxy voters have been asked to send a note duly signed for a member in good standing to vote for them. “No member will be allowed to have more than two proxy votes,” the statement said.

Eligible voters are expected to produce a GJA Identification Card or any national ID card to cast their ballot.

In all, some 656 members in good standing are expected to vote. Voters are mainly staff of state-owned media houses, whereas there are a few members from private media firms.

The incumbent GJA president, Affail Monney, faces stiff opposition from some contenders including former President of the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists (IFEJ), Lloyd Evans.

Other contestants are Kofi Yeboah, aspiring General Secretary, Vance Azu, aspiring Organising Secretary, Francis Kokutse, aspiring Vice President and Johnnie Aryeetey, aspiring President.

–
By: Ebenezer Afanyi Dadzie/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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