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Tag: Presidential Election

  • Kagame set to win presidential election in Rwanda with 99% votes

    Kagame set to win presidential election in Rwanda with 99% votes

    Incumbent Paul Kagame is set to win a fourth term in office in the presidential election in Rwanda.

    With nearly 79 per cent of all votes counted, Kagame has garnered more than 99per cent of the vote, according to the electoral commission.

    His two opponents, the chairman of the Green Party, Frank Habineza, and the independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana, have both received well under 1per cent, the electoral commission said.

    More than nine million people were eligible to vote on Monday, including two million first-time voters.

    Kagame has been president of the country since 2000, but has, in practice, been leading Rwanda since 1994.

    Back then, as leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), he marched into Rwanda from exile in Uganda and ended the genocide of the Hutu militias against the Tutsi.

    He was then defence minister and vice president.

    Kagame’s party, RPF, is also likely to emerge as the strongest party in the parliamentary elections.

    There are  670 candidates vying for the 80 seats in parliament.

    A special feature is that female lawmakers make up a majority in parliament

    Human rights organizations have criticized the persecution of opposition figures in the East African country with a population of over 14 million.

    The official election results are to be announced by July 27.

  • Heart surgeon, Masoud Pezeshkian emerges winner of Iran’s presidential rerun election

    Heart surgeon, Masoud Pezeshkian emerges winner of Iran’s presidential rerun election

    Masoud Pezeshkian a reform advocate and  Heart surgeon has been declared the winner of the presidential runoff election in Iran.

    The lawmaker defeated hard fighting rival Saeed Jalili.

    Pezeshkian has already promised to reach out to the West for reforms to reposition Iran for advancement of the islamic country.

    “By gaining a majority of the votes cast on Friday, Pezeshkian has become Iran’s next president,” the country’s Ministry of Interior said on Saturday.

    Pezeshkian got 53.7 percent of the votes, or 16.3 million; while Jalili received 44.3 percent or 13.5 million.

    Pezeshkian said in his first public comments after the results were announced that he is not a winner-takes-it-all victory.

    “We are all people of this country; we will use everyone for the progress of the country,” he said on state television.

    Not long after the declaration of results, Jalili conceded defeat, asking Iranians to respect the president-elect.

    “Not only should he be respected, but now we must use all our strength and help him move forward,” he said on television.

    Participation in the election was 49.8 percent in the tight race between Pezeshkian and Jalili.

    The run-off on Friday followed a June 28 ballot for a successor to Ebrahim Raisi who died in a helicopter crash in May.

     

  • Iranian presidential vote pits reformist against hardliners

    Iranian presidential vote pits reformist against hardliners

    Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei  has kicked off the country’s presidential election on Friday, as Iranians decide whether to continue the country’s hardline conservative course or take a more moderate stance.

    Casting his vote in the capital Tehran, Khamenei urged the nation to participate in the vote to “prove the correctness and honesty of the system of the Islamic Republic.”

    Some 61 million voters in Iran are eligible to elect a successor to hardliner Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash in May.

    The election comes amid a severe economic crisis, tensions with the West and frustrations among the public with the enforcement of state power and the government, especially among the younger population.

    The candidates seen as having the best chances to win the election are the hardliner Saeed Jalili, a former negotiator in nuclear talks with Western powers; parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf; and former health minister and reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian.

    During the campaign, Pezeshkian criticised the government’s strict policy on women wearing headscarves, but also expressed his loyalty to Khamenei and praised the attack launched on Israel with drones and missiles in April.

    While, leading voices from the reformist camp have pledged their support for him, and he may stand a good chance of winning if he reaches a second round.

    The cleric Mostafa Pourmohammadi is also still in the running.

    In spite of the title of president, Raisi was only number two in Iran’s power structure as Khamenei functions as the head of state and has the final say in all strategic matters.

    He is also commander-in-chief of Iran’s armed forces.

    The Guardian Council, an extremely conservative supervisory body, had only authorised six candidates for the election.

    Earlier in the week, two conservative hardliner candidates withdrew their nominations in an effort to unite support among hard-line voters heading to the polls.

    Many Iranians, especially young people, have however lost faith in major political change at home.

    The death of the young Kurdish woman Mahsa Amini in autumn 2022 sparked nationwide protests against the Islamic system of rule, but the protests were quashed long ago with harsh punishments for demonstrators.

    If none of the candidates secures an absolute majority, a runoff vote will take place on July 5.

    The first results from the first round are expected on Saturday.

  • How PDP can win 2027 presidential election – Bode George

    How PDP can win 2027 presidential election – Bode George

    Chief Bode George, a former Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) National Deputy Chairman, says the party must stick to its power rotation grundnorm  between the North and South to win in 2027.

    George said this while fielding questions from newsmen during his address to the nation, titled “My Thoughts on The State of Our Country in the Last 25 Years: A Time to Chart A New Direction”in Lagos .

    He was  reacting to a recent statement made by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and PDP 2023 Presidential candidate that he would drop his ambition in 2027  if the party decides to pick its candidate from the  South East.

    Abubakar,who made the comment after a meeting  with the Labour Party Presidential candidate in 2023,Mr Peter Obi , said if Obi returns to PDP and the party zones the presidential ticket to the South East in 2027 ,he would drop his ambition and support him.

    George said power rotation must be  sacrosanct, adding PDP  should have learnt its lessons from  the defeat of 2023.

    He said: “Our party has a grundnorm. The constitution of our party as compiled by the founding father, Baba Ekwueme (former Vice President Alex Ekwueme) and his team will remain a guiding light.

    “We have paid a big price for not following the rule. We have made  mistakes, let us learn. It has cost us too much.

    “Section 7 sub section 3C states very clearly that the party must adhere to the zoning and rotation procedures for party positions and elective positions simultaneously for things to work well.

    George, a PDP Board of Trustees (BOT) member, said that power rotation, as embedded in the party’s constitution,was to guard against any situation that might bring back the military to power.

    He said that the party’s founding fathers divided the country into six geo-political zones to capture the majority and minority tribes and give all a sense of belonging.

    “This is because the problem since 1960 is between majority tribes and minority tribes.

    “The majority tribe will have their way, but the minority will just be mere onlookers. That was the major cause of coups and counter coups,” he said.

    According to him, the party’s founding fathers came up with the idea that the top six positions in the land  be shared by the six geo-political zones for equity and justice.

    He listed the positions as  offices of the President, Vice President, Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Chairman of the party.

    He added: “They (founding fathers) agreed that every eight years, all the positions held by northern zones should come to the south zones, vice versa for rotation.

    “The party does not micro zone. That idea was very refreshing and what kept democracy alive then.

    “The moment we (the PDP) started tinkering with that idea officially against our grundnorm, that was what created  division in PDP.”

    He said that Abubakar’s micro zoning comment under which he would he would stay clear of contest, was not known to the party’s constitution.

    George said: “I want to appeal to him, in the interest of millions of Nigerians, and those who are still coming, to allow this nation rise.

    “The party cannot tell anybody not to contest because it will run foul of the members’ fundamental human rights ,but the party must definitively state that the number one is going down (South) or Up (North) depending on who has held it.”

    He said that after President Buhari had spent eight years, it was normal for lovers of justice and fairness to recognise that it was the turn of the South to use same two-term tenure.

    “If PDP had adhere to its grundnorms, the party will still be in Aso Rock Villa today.

    “This is because if you add the votes garnered by Mr Peter Obi of Labour Party, Sen. Rabiu Kwankwaso of New Nigeria People’s Party, and those of Abubakar of PDP together in the 2023 general elections, the PDP would have won.

    “I am praying, one is not getting younger, as long as I live, I want us to follow the Constitution that the founding fathers gave us.

    “But if we continue to manipulate things, I hope we have learnt our lessons because a divided house will remain a defeated house,” he said.

    On the crisis at the  Lagos chapter of the PDP, George said that it was not a big crisis.

    He said the problems at the chapter were being  caused by some individuals “just looking for positions”.

  • Chad Prime Minister, Masra resigns two weeks after losing presidential election to junta chief

    Chad Prime Minister, Masra resigns two weeks after losing presidential election to junta chief

    The prime Minister of Chad, Succes Masra has turned in his resignation letter two weeks after his to junta chief Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno in presidential elections.

    Recall that 40-year -old Deby, won the May 6 presidential vote with 61 percent of the ballot, according to final results, and is due to be sworn in at an investiture ceremony on Thursday in the capital N’Djamena.

    He was proclaimed transitional president in April 2021 by a junta of 15 generals after his father, iron-fisted president Idriss Deby Itno, had been shot dead by rebels after 30 years in power.

    Masra, also aged 40 and once a fierce Deby opponent before becoming prime minister four months ago, won 18.5 percent of the vote, but contested the results.

    “I’ve just submitted my resignation and that of the transition government, which became irrelevant with the end of the presidential election,” Masra said on his Facebook page in a message authenticated by his team to AFP.

    The move, he added, was also in accordance with the constitution.

    Masra claimed victory in the first round of the ballot, which his party called a “masquerade” and which international rights groups had said would be neither credible nor fair.

     

  • How Chad’s military head, Mahamat Deby, PM Succès Masra, eight others slugged it out in presidential election

    How Chad’s military head, Mahamat Deby, PM Succès Masra, eight others slugged it out in presidential election

    Chad is preparing to end its three year military junta as presidential elections took place today in the central African Country.

    Recall that General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, who seized power in 2021, suspended the constitution, and was installed as the president of the Transitional Military Council, is the favourite among the 10 candidates.

    The 40-year-old became the central African nation’s leader when his father, who had repressively ruled Chad since 1990, died from wounds suffered on the front line as he visited troops in the north battling rebels.

    It was further gathered that the country of around 19 million people has never experienced a peaceful transfer of power since its independence from its former colonial power France in 1960.

    Déby promised that his presidency was only a temporary placeholder until Chad had transitioned to a new democratic government.

    But  Gen Mahamat Déby is one of the favourites to win, there is some scepticism about whether this will bring about change.

    Prime Minister Succès Masra is among his nine challengers and is seen as his biggest rival.

    Ten politicians who had been hoping to run, including two prominent figures, Nassour Ibrahim Neguy Koursami and Rakhis Ahmat Saleh, were excluded by the constitutional council because of “irregularities”. For example, Mr Koursami was accused of forgery.

    But some have argued that the decision to bar certain people was politically motivated.

  • Chad holds presidential election after 3 years of military rule

    Chad holds presidential election after 3 years of military rule

    Chad holds presidential election on Monday meant to end three years of military administration and usher in democracy, but instead it appears likely to solidify the interim president’s grip on power.

    General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno who seized power in 2021, suspended the constitution, and was installed as the president of the Transitional Military Council is the favourite among the 10 candidates.

    The 40-year-old became the central African nation’s leader when his father, who had repressively ruled Chad since 1990, died from wounds suffered on the front line as he visited troops in the north battling rebels.

    The vast country of around 19 million people has never experienced a peaceful transfer of power since its independence from its former colonial power France in 1960.

    Déby promised that his presidency was only a temporary placeholder until Chad had transitioned to a new democratic government.

    But he has crushed opposition demonstrations, voters and observers alike doubt that the election will be fair.

    NAN reports that the politics of Chad take place in a framework of a presidential republic, whereby the President of Chad is both head of state and head of government.

    Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament.

    The president is elected for a five-year term by the people.

    The National Assembly has 155 members, elected for a four-year term in 25 single-member constituencies and 34 multi-member constituencies.

  • Egypt’s president, Sisi re-elected for third term

    Egypt’s president, Sisi re-elected for third term

    The President of Egypt, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has has won his re-election for a third term with 89.6% of the vote, the electoral commission has announced.

    Sisi defeated three other candidates with the runner-up finishing a distant second with only 4.5%. of the votes.

    Recall that leading opposition candidate, Ahmed Tantawy had pulled out months before last week’s poll, claiming intimidation and violence against his campaign camp.

    Egypt’s faltering economy and the war in Gaza were key electoral issues.

    Mr Sisi, who is 69, first became president in 2014, a year after he had led the military’s overthrow of his Islamist predecessor Mohammed Morsi.

    Mr Sisi won again in 2018. The victory in the latest election means he will be in power until 2030, when he is barred by the constitution from running again.

    Under his leadership, huge sums of money have been spent on big infrastructure projects.

    Roads have been expanded and flyovers built, and a new capital costing billions of dollars has been constructed near Cairo but is barely inhabited.

    Critics say this has drained much of the country’s economic resources and created unprecedented levels of debt that have crippled the economy.

    Egypt’s parliament extended presidential terms from four to six years. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was also allowed to run for third term in next election in 2024.

     

  • Liberia Polls: Incumbent president, Weah finishes second in first ballot, set for run-off election

    Liberia Polls: Incumbent president, Weah finishes second in first ballot, set for run-off election

    Incumbent Liberia president, Geoarge Weah  will slug it out with the candidate of the opposition, Boakai  in a second ballot to determine who leads the country in the next administration.

    The official provisional results on Tuesday placed both Weah and Boakai  neck and neck.

    With the recently released results the two leading candidates will battle it out in the second rround of election already slated for two weeks time.

    With more than 94 percent of ballots counted, Boakai, 78, won 43.70 percent, while Weah, 57, a former international footballer who is running for a second term, gained 43.65 percent, according to results published by the national electoral commission.

    The two men were well ahead of the 18 other presidential candidates in the first round of voting in the West African nation on October 10.

    Ballot counting is now complete in nearly 93 percent of polling stations, the commission said on its website.

    The figures indicate that neither Weah nor Boakai are set to secure enough votes for an absolute majority and be elected in the first round.

    However, there are reports that run off  could be delayed for possible appeals in the election.

    West African regional bloc ECOWAS and the African Union have congratulated the Liberian government and the election commission for the organisation of a peaceful vote, marked by a high participation rate.

    The vote was the first to be held since the United Nations ended its peacekeeping mission in Liberia in 2018.

    The mission was created after more than 250,000 people died in two civil wars between 1989 and 200

  • I never said I’d contest again in 2027 – Peter Obi

    I never said I’d contest again in 2027 – Peter Obi

    The Presidential Candidate, Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi has dismissed media reports that he is looking forward to run for office in the  2027 presidential elections.

    The presidential candidate also denied commenting on appointees of the Federal Government.

    Obi, who is also a former governor of Anambra, made this known in a statement on his official Twitter handle in Lagos on Saturday.

    The presidential candidate described both reports as bogus, regretting that Nigerian politics had sunken to the level where manipulation of the media space was now a trade.

    He said: “I have noticed with dismay, an emerging pattern, where fake media reports and news items are predicated on interviews and press remarks I never granted.

    “Two recent instances relating to my saying that I am looking forward to running for office in 2027 on a supposed Arise TV interview.

    “This never took place and the other, about my reaction to prospective appointees into the current Federal Government,” he said.

    The presidential candidate said he would not allow fake news to distract his focus for a new Nigeria which he insisted,  was possible.

    Obi said his focus and that of the ‘Obidient’ Movement that he leads, would not derail from the original mission of creating a new Nigeria which they believed was possible.

    He said for him, he would continue to speak on topical national issues via recognised news and media outfits but certainly would not concern himself with cheap distraction.

    Obi also said the focus of his followers had never been on political appointments and positions.

    “Our emphasis has never been on political positions or personal aggrandisement but on putting the nation on the right footing and deepening our democracy by helping to elevate and empower the downtrodden in our society.”

    Obi so aid that was the reason their messages during the electioneering campaigns were all issue-driven.