Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara is in favor of “handing over to the new generation” in next year’s presidential polls, but did not rule out running in the election.

The 78-year-old, who has just over a year left of his second term in office, was addressing reporters in his hometown of Dimbroko after a four-day visit to the surrounding region.

Ouattara addressed plans to amend the constitution to include an age limit for presidential hopefuls, saying “it’s part of the evolution of our country,” Seventy-five percent of the population is aged under 30 and “we can’t remain indifferent.” But he also said “don’t interpret this as me not being a candidate.”

His fiercest political rivals include Henri Konan Bedie , 85, who broke away from the ruling coalition last year after Ouattara claimed a new constitution adopted in 2016 allows him to seek a third mandate if he wishes.

Another, Laurent Gbagbo, 74, was acquitted by the International Criminal Court on charges of crimes against humanity committed after a disputed vote in 2010, but prosecutors are appealing the ruling.

Source: Bloomberg

Tunisia’s electoral commission says law professor Kais Saied and detained media mogul Nabil Karoui have won the most votes in Sunday’s presidential election, beating veteran political leaders to advance to a second-round runoff.

It is a sharp rejection of the established forces that have dominated since the 2011 revolution but failed to address economic troubles that include high unemployment and inflation.

Tunisia’s president has only limited powers, controlling foreign and defense policy, while a prime minister chosen by the parliament manages other portfolios.

Tunisia’s main political parties are now turning to a parliamentary election on October 6.

“Tunisians have written a new and brilliant page in the history of Tunisia,” Saied told reporters at his humble headquarters in the heart of the capital after the announcement.

“I am an independent, but I am ready to work with all parties to build a new Tunisia.”

Karoui’s Qalb Tounes party did not release any immediate statement, with their candidate still in jail over allegations of tax evasion and money laundering, but it issued footage showing supporters watching the commission’s declaration and cheering. He denies the charges.

The announcement, following a full count of votes, confirmed exit polls released on Sunday evening and partial results issued throughout Monday. No date has yet been set for the second round, pending any appeals to the first-round results, but it must take place by mid-October.

Saied took 18.4% of the votes, and Karoui 15.6%. Of the other 24 candidates, who included the prime minister, two former premiers, a former president, and the defense minister, the moderate Ennahda candidate Abdelfattah Mourou came in third with 12.9%.

Endorsements

Saied, little known before the election, is a constitutional law professor who ran a modest campaign with next to no publicity or funding, espousing conservative social views while pushing for a return to the principles of the 2011 uprising.

Several losing conservative candidates, including former president Moncef Marzouki, came out in support of Saied. Ennahda congratulated the two candidates without formally backing either. No losing candidates have yet endorsed Karoui.

Karoui, a well-known but controversial figure, is the owner of a major television news channel and founder of a large charity that focuses on the plight of Tunisia’s poor.

He was detained weeks before the election over a tax evasion and money laundering case brought three years ago by an independent transparency watchdog.

He denies all wrongdoing, and his supporters attribute his arrest to political manipulation. He was unable to take part in televised debates before the vote and electoral monitors have voiced concern that voters have been deprived of a chance to hear him campaign.

A Karoui victory in the second round could raise difficult legal and constitutional questions given his status in detention in a case for which no verdict has yet been delivered.

The commission said that if Karoui wins the runoff, it will send his name to the parliament and the matter will then be for it and the judiciary to resolve. A constitutional court, mandated by the 2014 constitution, has not yet been set up.

(Source: Reuters)

The leaders of West African countries have announced a one-billion-dollar plan to combat the growing threat of Takfiri terrorism and violence in the region.

The plan was unveiled at a summit of the heads of state and government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Burkina Faso’s capital, Ougadougou, on Saturday.

ECOWAS Commission President Jean-Claude Kassi Brou said the 15-member West African bloc had decided to “contribute financially and urgently to joint efforts in the fight against terrorism” by pledging $1 billion.

Full details of the plan, to be funded from 2020 to 2024, would be presented to the next ECOWAS summit in December.

In his remarks, the president of the ECOWAS commission pointed to the mounting human, economic and political toll of terrorist attacks perpetrated by Takfiri groups in the region.

“2,200 attacks in the last four years, 11,500 dead, thousands wounded… millions displaced and economic activity has been greatly affected,” Brou said.

In a speech following the closed meeting, Brou called on the United Nations to strengthen its peacekeeping mission, which has been based in Mali since 2013.

Takfiri terrorist groups tied to Daesh and al-Qaeda have strengthened their foothold across the arid Sahel region this year, making large swathes of territory ungovernable and stoking local ethnic violence, especially in Mali and Burkina Faso.

The UN declared in July that the spread of terrorist attacks was so fast in West Africa that the region had to consider bolstering its response beyond current military efforts.

In 2017, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Mali and Mauritania launched the G5 Sahel task force to counter militancy in the region.

The 5,000-strong force was to receive more than 400 million euros (494 million dollars) to be able to meet its declared objectives but a lack of finance, training and equipment limited their effectiveness and their numbers plunged to 4,000 troops.

Meanwhile, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that the military approach alone would not be effective and called for greater efforts to relieve the roots of the conflict in the region, namely poverty, poor governance, and climate hazards.

Source: Presstv

Sudan’s first cabinet since the ouster of president Omar al-Bashir was sworn Sunday as the African country transitions to civilian rule.

The 18-member cabinet led by Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok took oath at the presidential palace in Khartoum, AFP reported.

It is expected to steer the daily affairs of the country during a transition period of 39 months.

The cabinet includes four women, among them Asmaa Abdallah, who becomes the country’s first female foreign minister.

It also includes Ibrahim Elbadawi, a former World Bank economist who will serve as finance minister, and Madani Abbas Madani — a leader of the civilian coalition that negotiated the transition deal with the military — as minister of industry and trade.

The line-up was formed after Sudan last month swore in a “sovereign council” — a joint civilian-military ruling body that aims to oversee the transition.

The 18 ministers were seen greeting members of the sovereign council, including its chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, in images broadcast by state television from the palace.

The council itself is the result of a power-sharing deal between the protesters and the generals who had seized power after the army ousted Bashir in April.

Hamdok’s cabinet is expected to lead Sudan through formidable challenges that include ending internal conflicts in three regions. Rebel groups from the marginalized regions of Darfur, Blue Nile, and South Kordofan states had waged long wars against Bashir’s forces.

Sudan’s power-sharing deal aims to forge peace with armed groups.

Hamdok’s cabinet will also be expected to fight corruption. It was a worsening economic crisis that triggered the fall of Bashir, who is now on trial on charges of the illegal acquisition and use of foreign funds.

(Source: Agencies)

A top judge in Gabon who recently admitted a case challenging the eligibility of President Ali Bongo to continue in office has been suspended by the Ministry of Justice, local news portal Gabonactu has reported.

The case in question surrounds the president’s health following months abroad for treatment and recuperation from a stroke.

On August 12, Judge Paulette Ayo Mba, who is president of Libreville Court of Appeal, ruled that a petition seeking an order for the president to undergo health checks to determine if he can continue in office was valid.

The judge’s suspension comes five days to the next hearing of the case and barely a week after the president’s first public appearance since resuming his duties after a lengthy medical absence.

An opposition coalition made up of political opposition, civil society and trade union movement filed the suit requesting the visibly ailing Bongo be assessed medically.

A lower court dismissed the case in May, saying only the two houses of parliament, or the Constitutional Court acting for the government, were empowered to determine whether the president was unfit.

On Friday, the 60-year-old Bongo took part in events on the eve of celebrations to mark Gabon’s 1960 independence from France, laying a wreath at the tomb of the country’s first president, Leon Mba.

Early on Saturday morning, many people had flocked to the seafront, trying to make their way through many security barriers to catch a glimpse of their leader.

“There are people who said he was sick, but he was able to greet us,” said Mama Youssouf, a young spectator in the crowd. We wanted to see him with our own eyes,” a policeman said ahead of the parade.

There has been speculation for some time about the state of Mr Bongo’s health. He returned to Gabon at the end of March after five months of recovery abroad following after suffering a stroke in Saudi Arabia last October.

Standing straight in an army vehicle, in a dark suit and dark glasses, Bongo on Saturday arrived at the military parade on Libreville’s main boulevard along the capital’s seafront.

He used a long cane to walk to an observation stand, applauded by dignitaries there and he climbed the stairs by himself to his seat, next to his wife Sylvia Bongo, AFP journalists at the scene said.

Source: AFP

Sudan’s protest leaders have agreed to nominate former senior UN official Abdalla Hamdok as the first prime minister of the country’s transition government, two protest leaders say.

The veteran economist, who stepped down last year as deputy executive secretary of the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa, is due to be formally selected on August 20.

“The leaders of the Alliance for Freedom and Change have fully agreed to nominate Abdalla Hamdok,” one of the protest umbrella’s leaders said, asking not to be named.

Another senior member of the protest movement confirmed to AFP that they had chosen Hamdok.

The protest umbrella and a ruling military council agreed an outline power sharing accord on July 17, ahead of a landmark deal paving the way for civilian rule that is meant to be signed on Saturday.

The military council came to power by toppling long-time president Omar al-Bashir in April on the back of months of protests, but demonstrations had continued as the Alliance for Freedom and Change demanded the generals step aside.

The compromise — after it was agreed in principle by the two sides earlier this month — mandates the protest umbrella to choose a prime minister to preside over Sudan’s political transition.

The sovereign council will be formed on Sunday, according to the agreed-upon schedule, after which the Transitional Military Council will be dissolved. The appointment of the prime minister is scheduled to take place on Tuesday.

The opposition alliance will also nominate former judge and human rights activist Mohamed Alhafiz Mahmoud as public prosecutor, opposition sources said, and Abdelqadir Mohamed Ahmed as head of the judiciary.

(Source: Agencies)

A Ugandan court on Tuesday charged Bobi Wine, a singer-turned-politician and avowed adversary of President Yoweri Museveni, with “annoying” the country’s leader in a move some analysts say is part of a “worrying” increase in political repression.

South African lawmakers on Wednesday re-elected Cyril Ramaphosa as the nation’s president, two weeks after the ruling ANC party returned to power in legislative elections.

Ramaphosa was “duly elected president of the Republic of South Africa,” chief justice Mogoeng Mogoeng told parliament after Ramaphosa was the only name nominated by lawmakers in Cape Town.

MPs from the African National Congress, which won 230 out of 400 seats on May 8, choose the head of state in the parliament’s first post-election sitting.

The ANC won the ballot with 57.5 percent of the vote, its thinnest majority since the end of apartheid.

Ramaphosa will be sworn in on Saturday and name a deputy president and cabinet at the weekend.

Under South Africa’s 1996 constitution, electors vote for a party, and the party selects individuals who go to the National Assembly, which then chooses the head of state.

Ramaphosa, 66, is a trade unionist who played a prominent part in the struggle against white minority rule before becoming a successful businessman after the end of apartheid.

He will serve his first full five-year term since taking over last year from Jacob Zuma who was forced out over a series of corruption scandals.

Ramaphosa’s first test as he starts his new term will be his choice of a cabinet — a task beset by rival factions within the ANC.

(Source: AFP)

Sudan’s military says it wants to cede power to a democratically-elected government as soon as possible. On April 11, the Sudanese military overthrew and then imprisoned 75-year-old president Omar al-Bashir after some four months of widespread protests against him over dire economic conditions and the soaring prices of basic commodities. Bashir himself had come to power through a military coup in 1989.

Following Bashir’s ouster, the coup leaders established the so-called Transitional Military Council (TMC), chaired by Lieutenant General Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, with the task of running state affairs in the post-Bashir era.

However, they have failed so far to reach an agreement with an alliance of protest and opposition groups — collectively known as the Alliance for Freedom and Change (AFC) — on procedures concerning the formation of an interim government.

The alliance, backed by the Sudanese people, insists that a civilian-led sovereign body, rather than the current military council, be formed to govern the country during a three-year transition period.

“We got tired. We want to hand over power today not tomorrow,” said General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy leader of the TMC, in an interview with Egypt’s state newspaper Al Ahram published on Wednesday.

His comments came just a day after the latest round of talks between the two sides was adjourned with no new date set for the next round.

However, Dagalo, who is widely known as Hemedti and leads Sudan’s feared paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), said the military was impatient for finding a solution and a way out of the current impasse.

“Members of the military council are not politicians and we are waiting for the government to be formed,” he added.

The 44-year old general, who is the second most powerful man in Sudan right now, added that judicial proceedings against Bashir and some of his allies were underway. “Until now, we have arrested 25 regime figures and we are preparing the files for their charges.”

On Tuesday, Sudan’s Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), an opposition group that spearheaded four-month-long anti-government demonstrations, called for a general strike, saying the military was still insisting on directing the transition and keeping a military majority on the council.

Sudanese protest

Later on Tuesday, however, a video clip of Dagalo was widely circulated on social media in which he warned that those who go on strike could lose their jobs.

Dagalo’s RSF conducted a series of counter-insurgency campaigns in Darfur and other restive provinces during the past couple of years. The paramilitary force is accused by rights groups of using brutal tactics under Dagalo’s command.

Source: Presstv

Inner City Press has asked UNSG Antonio Guterres and his spokesman Stephane Dujarric and others, “May 22-5: On Cameroon, what is the SG’s comment if any and action if any at all on for example that Paul Biya’s forces reportedly shot dead 4 month old Martha in Muyuka on 20th May?”

Now Egypt, whose strongman Sisi pals around with UNSG Guterres who has handed investigative Inner City Press‘ long time work space in the UN to a Sisi state media Akhbar al Youm whose retired correspondent Saana Youssef has not asked a question in years is lavishing praise for its business with Paul Biya’s Cameroun: in Cairo, “Cameroon Ambassador in Cairo Mohamadou Labarang commended the strenuous efforts exerted by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El Sisi to realize development in Africa.

The diplomat made the remarks late Monday during a ceremony held at the embassy on the Cameroon national day.   Labarang lauded the efforts exerted by Egypt under Sisi – the current chair of the African Union – to unite the continent and carry out development projects.   Thanks to Sisi, the African free trade agreement will go into effect by the end of May, he said.   He noted that the Egypt-Cameroon ties are excellent at the political level, voicing hope that the two sides would further cooperation in the economic score in the coming period.

Meanwhile, Egypt’s Deputy Assistant Foreign Minister for African Affairs Maher el Adawi underlined the depth of ties between Egypt and African countries.   He noted that Sisi ordered all state bodies to further ties with African countries, referring to Sisi’s visits to African states.   He added that Sisi will embark on a tour in eastern and southern African states within the coming few days.” The blathering about business with Biya is just blood money. Inside the UN, Guterres’ Global Censor Alison Smale, now leaving in August, controls a propaganda channel called UN News and a sycophantic press corpse including Sisi’s retiree while mantaining her ghoulish no due process ban on Inner City Press, now in its 322st day.

Source: Inner City Press