Security threats were foremost on the media’s minds in the lead up to Libya’s first elections in 50 years. The Libyan Public National Conference elections were postponed to 7 July from an initial date of 19 June. In the period leading up to Saturday’s elections there were a number of security threats, most notably the …
Tensions in eastern DRC are on the rise once again, as what initially began as an internal rebellion within the country’s military now seems to have snowballed into a diplomatic fallout with Rwanda. In late March 2012, General Bosco Ntaganda, a senior officer in the DRC national army (FARDC) wanted by the International Criminal Court …
Egyptian presidential elections The results from Egypt’s first round of voting held on 23 and 24 May 2012, have pitted the two most polarizing and controversial figures in the race against each other. According to Egypt’s electoral commission, Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Morsi and ex-Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq were the top two finishers with 24.3 …
Egypt will host multicandidate presidential elections on 23 and 24 May 2012. These elections come 15 months after the downfall of former President Hosni Mubarak who ruled this Middle Eastern country with an iron fist for 30 years. Because this event will see Egyptians heading to the polls for the first time in history, it …
Malawi On 5 April 2012, Malawian President Bingu wa Mutharika died after suffering a heart attack at his home in the capital city, Lilongwe. Mutharika had been president since May 2004. Two days after his death, Joyce Hilda Banda, former vice president under Mutharika, was sworn in as president of the country. Banda’s appointment has …
Soldiers attacked Mali’s presidential palace on Wednesday, 21 March, after a protest over the government’s handling of the Tuareg-led rebellion in the north of the country turned into an all-out coup attempt. Official acknowledgement of fears of a coup only emerged after the presidential palace in Bamako was fired upon with heavy weapons and tracer …
Despite pre-election protests and violence, Senegal held peaceful elections on Sunday 26 February 2012. The results were originally scheduled to be announced on Tuesday 27 February but have already been delayed. To the frustration of many, the electoral commission has noted that official results will only be available on Friday 2 March. Early unofficial results …
Africa’s two powerhouses, Nigeria and South Africa, were embroiled in yet another diplomatic spat this week following the deportation of citizens from each country. South Africa threw the first blow on Friday 2 March when it deported 125 Nigerians from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg for allegedly having fake yellow fever vaccination certificates. A …
The Movement of the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has resumed hostilities in Nigeria. Not only have they taken to targeting various pipelines and foreign facilities in the oil-rich south, but they recently threatened to bomb South African investments in their country. This decision follows an alleged interference by President Jacob Zuma in the …
2012 looks to be an important year for the African continent as key countries prepare themselves to host elections. The following alert looks at various issues surrounding some of these events. Senegal: Senegalese elections are scheduled to take place on 26 February 2012. In direct contravention of the Constitution, established in 2001, the current president …