On 8 August 2017, Kenya held its national election amid fears of violence and accusations of voter intimidation. The next day it became clear that the results would not be accepted peacefully as the officially released figures showed the incumbent, President Uhuru Kenyatta, leading in the vote tally. In response, the opposition coalition, the National …
Rwanda’s incumbent President Paul Kagame swept to victory with over 98% of the vote in the recent 4 August 2017 election guaranteeing him a third term in office and the possibility of being in office until 2034. There was little doubt ahead of the election that Kagame was going to win decisively with the result …
The possibility of presidential elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in 2017 is extremely unlikely amid mounting political tensions and frustrations over President Joseph Kabila’s ongoing backsliding that has seen him repeatedly renege on commitments and promises. This has included his failure to uphold the Congolese Constitution by staying in power beyond …
Kenya will hold its national general election on 8 August 2017 amid fears of vote irregularities and violence in a poll pitting the country’s two major coalitions against each other: the ruling Jubilee Alliance coalition and the opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) led by the perennial opposition leader, and former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga. Jubilee, …
Election campaigning began in earnest on 14 July 2017 across Rwanda ahead of the country’s 4 August 2017 presidential election which will see incumbent president, Paul Kagame, face off against Frank Habineza who heads the opposition Democratic Green Party (DGP), and independent candidate Philippe Mpayimana. However, the campaign is occurring under a cloud following accusations …
On the night of 6 July 2017, Zambian President Edgar Lungu announced he had invoked Article 31 of the Zambian Constitution granting him special emergency powers for a period of seven days. Article 31 is titled “Declaration Relating to Threatened Emergency” and, as such, does not technically effect a state of emergency but it allows …
Mozambique’s Attorney General’s Office (PGR) recently published the executive summary of the report on the independent audit into the country’s undisclosed debt. The initial report was completed and submitted to the PGR on 12 May 2017 for the Attorney General to review. The audit, by international auditing firm, Kroll, looked into the almost US$2 billion …
On 3 June, Lesotho voters took to the polls in the country’s third snap elections in five years. Main opposition leader and former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane from the All Basotho Congress (ABC) emerged victorious, winning 48 seats ‒ 47 constituency and one proportional representation (PR) seat. Thabane, who fled to neighbouring South Africa in …
Concerns of the presence of a third-force attempting to destabilise Côte d’Ivoire have emerged after leaders of the May 2017 mutiny claimed they received information on where to find an illicit stash of weapons. This was the second mutiny by Ivorian troops over pay in 2017. The first occurred between 6 and 8 January 2017 …
Lesotho will be holding a general election on 3 June 2017 following a vote of no-confidence in Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili on 1 March resulting in the dissolution of the coalition government. Mosisili was ousted following a falling out with his former deputy Prime Minister Monyane Moleleki who split from Mosisili’s Democratic Congress (DC) party …