IGIHE

Category: Politics

  • Ted Cruz, Bernie Sanders win Wisconsin

    {Cruz’s win in the Badger State is a serious blow to Trump and could alter the trajectory of the Republican race.}

    Republican Ted Cruz and Democratic challenger Bernie Sanders snatched victories in the crucial Wisconsin presidential primary Tuesday, sending a message to frontrunners Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton that their march to the nominations are not foregone conclusions.

    US networks including Fox News and NBC called the race for the two underdogs within half an hour of polls closing in the Midwestern state that borders Canada.

    With seven per cent of precincts reporting, Cruz, a conservative senator from Texas, was ahead with 49 per cent of the vote compared to 35 per cent for billionaire Trump.

    Ohio Governor John Kasich was a distant third at 14 per cent.

    Cruz’s win in the Badger State is a serious blow to Trump and could alter the trajectory of the Republican race.

    The New York real estate mogul predicted a surprise win Tuesday in Wisconsin, but now faces a narrower path to victory and the 1,237 delegates needed to sew up the Republican nomination.

    Tuesday also cements Cruz’s status as the leading anti-Trump candidate, with Kasich far back in the nomination battle.

    On the Democratic side, Vermont Senator Sanders led with 57 per cent versus 43 per cent for Clinton.

    But the former secretary of state can look forward with some confidence to the upcoming races.

    She leads Sanders by double digits in New York, her adopted home state which votes April 19, and Pennsylvania, which casts ballots a week later.

    Trump also leads handily in his home state of New York and in Pennsylvania.

    Republican presidential candidate Sen. Ted Cruz celebrates with his wife Heidi at the American Serb Hall Banquet Center after the polls closed on April 5, 2016 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

  • Trump, Clinton seek upsets in Wisconsin

    {The potentially pivotal contest is the first after a 10-day lull in the process.}

    Voters in the state of Wisconsin cast ballots on Tuesday in US presidential primary races in which challengers to Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton seem poised to win.

    The potentially pivotal contest is the first after a 10-day lull in the process that determines the parties’ nominees for the November general election. Voting began at 7 am (1200 GMT).

    Mr Trump’s main rival Senator Ted Cruz is eyeing the Badger State as a crucial firewall against the celebrity billionaire’s march to an outright nomination victory.

    But should Mr Trump, who is riding a wave of anti-establishment anger, manage to snatch a surprise victory there, he could snuff out Mr Cruz’s campaign.

    “If we do well here, folks, it’s over,” he claimed at a campaign stop Monday in the town of La Crosse.

    Like Mr Trump, Mrs Clinton risks losing Wisconsin, where she faces a surging Bernie Sanders who has won five of the last six contests.

    UPCOMING CONTESTS

    But April could ultimately prove a sunny month for the former secretary of state. She leads Sanders by double digits in New York, which votes on April 19, and Pennsylvania, which casts ballots a week later.

    Mr Trump, the 69-year-old real estate mogul from New York, also leads handily in those states.

    Wisconsin, the birthplace of the Republican Party, is seen as Ground Zero for the anti-Trump movement.

    Halting him there would bolster Cruz, the 45-year-old conservative senator from Texas.

    For Cruz, “it’s a very important win. For Mr Trump, it’s not a critical loss,” University of Iowa professor Timothy Hagle told AFP. However, Trump has been in damage control this past week.

    Although his campaign had recently seemed bulletproof, his latest controversial statements – on abortion, Mr Cruz’s wife and a journalist who said she was roughed up by Trump’s campaign manager – have further alienated women voters, polls indicate.

    Mr Cruz tried to cash in on Trump’s recent campaign gaffes that seem to be alienating women voters.

    Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks to supporters at a campaign stop on April 4, 2016 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

  • ANC backs Zuma as opposition calls for his impeachment

    {Democratic Alliance is making a third bid to have the ANC leader removed.}

    South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) has, once again, jumped to President Jacob Zuma’s defence saying there was no basis for Wednesday’s planned motion to remove him.

    The opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) is making a third bid within six months to have the ANC leader impeached.

    The motion was to be debated on Tuesday in Parliament. The DA brought the motion after the Constitutional Court found that President Zuma’s failure to comply with the Public Protector’s remedial action was inconsistent with his Constitutional obligation.

    ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe insisted that constitutionally there was no basis to remove the president. “In our view there is no basis for the proposal to impeach….because the provision of impeachment in the constitution is given conditions, that is why when in talks about contravention the degree in the emphasis in law makes a big difference, so from where we are seated there is no basis for that motion,” he said.

    The ANC’s 20-member National Working Committee (NWC) held a closed meeting in Cape Town until midnight on Monday to discuss the matter. The NWC is responsible for the day-to-day running of the party.

    The committee accepted the president’s apology over the controversial matter of his Nkandla rural home in KwaZulu-Natal province. “The NWC accepted the fact that the president apologised and said that it is humility that is necessary for any leader to apologise.

    STAND UP AND APOLOGISE

    It’s not an easy thing to stand up and apologise,” Mr Mantashe said.

    President Zuma apologised in a national television address on Friday for the “frustration and confusion” caused by the affair, but made it clear that he had no intention of responding to calls to resign.

    (READ: Pressure mounts on President Zuma to quit)

    He said he would pay back some of the money as ordered.

    The DA has called on ANC MPs to join them to remove President Zuma saying the matter transcends party politics and affects all South Africans.

    ANC caucus spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said the expectation is that members of parliament will be voting in line with party affiliations.

    “No member of any political party since 1994 has ever voted differently from the party line. Even those opposition parties, they will be voting in accordance with their party line. Why would they expect differently from the ANC? ”

    It is unlikely that Zuma will be in parliament for the debate, which means that it might escape the chaotic scenes which have regularly erupted when he is present.

    South African President and African National Congress leader, Jacob Zuma, answering questions from Parliament Members at the South African General Assembly in Cape Town on March 17, 2016.

  • Yemeni parties welcome cabinet reshuffle

    {A 10-member political group supports appointments of new vice president and prime minister ahead of planned peace talks.}

    A group of Yemeni political parties, organisations and forces has welcomed a cabinet reshuffle, offering its “utmost support” to President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

    The 10-member group said in a statement on Monday it “completely supports” the appointments of General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar as the new vice president, and Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr as the new prime minister.

    They will replace Khaled Bahah, who held both posts.

    The reshuffle, announced a day earlier by President Hadi, reinforced “national and political unity”, the group said in the statement, a copy of which was sent to Al Jazeera.

    The signing parties included The Southern Movement and The General People’s Congress.

    The statement came as a UN-brokered ceasefire is planned in the coming days between Yemen’s warring parties, which is expected to pave the way for the peace talks due to be held in Kuwait on April 18.

    The reshuffle boosted the push for peace in the conflict-torn country and would “facilitate the success of the upcoming Kuwait negotiations”, the statement said.

    The group also expressed its “appreciation and profound gratitude” to the Saudi-led coalition, including the United Arab Emirates, “for their continuing support for the Yemeni people, Yemen’s political leadership and national government in order to end the coup, restore the state’s authority and reconstruct the country.”

    “The welfare of Yemenis, security, reconstruction and the building of a modern, democratic, civil unionist state were the foundations of the republic’s values and the principles and objectives of the Yemeni revolution,” the statement continued.

    The Yemeni conflict intensified in March last year, after Iran-allied Houthi fighters and soldiers loyal to Ali Abdullah Saleh – the former Yemeni president – swept across southern Yemen, taking the port city of Aden and forcing President Hadi into exile.

    An Arab military coalition began an air campaign on March 26, 2015 to overthrow Houthi rebels.

    In October, the coalition began sending regular ground troops to help Hadi loyalists secure their gains, including the recently recaptured Aden.

    Five years ago, the Yemeni capital Sanaa echoed with thousands of people calling for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down and demand regime change.

    Inspired by the Arab Spring revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt, protests continued for months.

    Emboldened by the political infighting, the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, in September 2014.

    Politically powerful army general General Ali Mohsen al-Ahmar, pictured, has been appointed as Yemen's new prime minister

  • Kenya’s William Ruto due to hear war crimes case ruling

    {Kenyan Vice-President William Ruto is due to find out whether a crimes against humanity case against him will be thrown out by judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC).}

    Mr Ruto denies murder, deportation and persecution charges during violence that followed the 2007 elections in which about 1,200 people were killed.

    His lawyers want the case to be terminated due to a lack of evidence.

    Mr Ruto is one of the most senior politicians to be tried by the ICC.

    The prosecution case against him has been dogged by repeated setbacks.

    In February judges at the ICC barred the use of recanted testimony, meaning that prior recorded witness statements could not be used by prosecutors.

    Several key witnesses in the case have changed their statements, which prosecutors said was due to intimidation and bribery.

    Mr Ruto’s lawyers say he should be acquitted because so many key prosecution witnesses have either dropped or changed their original statements.

    ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has acknowledged that the loss of witnesses has weakened the case against the deputy president – but she has argued there still remains enough evidence to proceed with the trial.

    A spokesman for the ICC has told the BBC’s Anna Holligan in The Hague there are a number of possible scenarios.

    The judges could clear Mr Ruto of all the charges, they may ask the prosecution to consider changing the charges or they could reject the defence team’s arguments and allow the trial to continue.

    In 2014, the prosecutor dropped similar charges against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, alleging that witnesses had been intimidated to make them change their testimony.

    The future of the case now appears to depend on whether the prosecution has proved that it has sufficient evidence to offset a no-case-to-answer move from Mr Ruto’s lawyers.

    The use of prior testimony falls under Rule 68 of the Rome Statute, which set up the ICC.

    But William Ruto’s defence team argued this was unfair because changes to the rule were brought in after the case against him and his fellow defendant, the journalist Joshua arap Sang, had started.

    Presiding Judge Piotr Hofmanski ruled that prior-recorded testimony was delivered without an opportunity for the accused to cross-examine the witnesses.

    Mr Sang, who is accused of using his radio show to organise attacks in the election aftermath, said at the time that the decision was “one step to our freedom”.

    Mr Ruto and Mr Kenyatta were on opposite sides of the 2007 election, but formed an alliance that won the 2013 election.

    William Ruto denies charges of crimes against humanity

  • Five-year-old becomes latest Ebola victim in Liberia

    {New cases are a setback for the country, which had been declared free of the disease for a third time in January.}

    A second case of Ebola has been confirmed in Liberia just months after the country had been declared free of the disease, according to health officials.

    The five-year-old son of a 30-year-old woman who died on Thursday has now been taken to a treatment centre in Monrovia, Tolbert Nyenswah, the country’s deputy health minister, said on Sunday.

    “We are investigating in both Guinea and Liberia how she entered,” he said. “But knowing the porous border we are not surprised. She entered Liberia before getting sick or manifesting signs and symptoms.”

    Authorities are now checking everyone the woman was in contact with and 10 health care workers from the hospital where the woman was treated are also under observation.

    The woman, who died on arrival at the hospital on Thursday, had travelled with three of her children.

    {{Setback for Liberia}}

    The new cases are a setback for Liberia, which had been declared free from transmissions for a third time on January 14.

    The country was first declared free of the disease in May, but new cases have emerged twice, forcing officials to reset the clock in a nation where more than 4,800 people have died.

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has said Ebola is no longer an international health emergency, but flare-ups, at a decreasing frequency, are expected.

    Flare-ups have also broken out in Sierra Leone and in Guinea.

    The WHO said there have been eight cases of Ebola and seven deaths in Guinea since late February. There now are no known cases in Sierra Leone.

    Ebola is spread through direct contact with the bodily fluids of victims or corpses. It has killed more than 11,300 people, mostly in West Africa, since December 2013.

    The WHO has said Ebola is no longer an international health emergency, but flare-ups, at decreasing frequency, are expected

  • Uganda:Mbabazi petition costs taxpayers Shs10 billion

    {At least Shs10b worth of taxpayers’ money was spent on the just concluded election petition in which former presidential candidate Amama Mbabazi sought to nullify Mr Museveni’s victory.}

    Details from the Finance ministry, Electoral Commission (EC), Judiciary and Justice ministry show the money was apparently used to facilitate the Supreme Court, Attorney General (AG) office and payment for private lawyers.

    According to the Finance ministry the Justice ministry requested for a supplementary of Shs14.4b of which Shs2.7b was for the election petition, EC officials had also presented a request of Shs3.1b as opposed to Shs1b previously reported as the budget for external lawyers.

    Another Shs5b was requested by the Judiciary to facilitate election tribunals, operations and case backlog.
    The AG, who is the chief government legal adviser, was added onto Mr Mbabazi’s petition as the third respondent. This was in regard to alleged electoral irregularities committed by civil servants such as police chief Kale Kayihura, KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi and UNRA boss Allen Kagina.

    Asked whether the Finance ministry conducted due diligence on the requests for additional funding for the election petition, Mr Jim Mugunga, the ministry spokesperson, said: “The AG requested for funds to manage the presidential election petition. The supplementary was allowed and is before Parliament for consideration.”
    “EC wanted supplementary funds [Shs47b] to clear outstanding payments for the voter verification devices and another Shs3.1b for the presidential elections petition but this has not been considered. We [Finance ministry] believe EC has enough funds to meet these costs,” he said.

    EC, which was the second respondent in the dismissed petition, hired six external lawyers to beef up its legal team in which the commission was accused of forging results. However, the petition was dismissed for lack of evidence.
    The lawyers who represented EC included Mr Enos Tumusiime, Mr McDusman Kabega, Mr Tom Magezi, Mr Alfred Okello Oryem, Enoch Barata and Elison Karuhanga.
    EC spokesperson, Mr Jotham Taremwa requested for more time to dig up the details of the supplementary request.
    Mr Ibrahim Ssemuju Nganda, the FDC spokesperson and Kampala Lord Mayor, Erias Lukwago, among others at the weekend, called the expenditure ‘unacceptable’.
    “…this is normal. Spending Shs10b on a petition is in his [Mr Museveni] line. They have shared our country,” Mr Ssemuju said.
    However, Presidency minister Frank Tumwebaze, said it is Mr Ssemuju and other members who sit in Parliament to approve budgets and not the President.
    “The President is not the accounting officer of those agencies,” he said, adding: “People like Mr Ssemuju are only obsessed with the name of the President.”

    Judiciary

    Different figures: According to Judiciary deputy spokesperson Solomon Muyita, they only requested for Shs2.8b and not Shs5b to cater for the presidential, parliamentary and local government election petitions.

    The numbers

    Shs2.7b
    The amount of money that was requested by the Justice ministry for the election petition.

    Shs3.1b
    The amount of money that was requested by the Electoral Commission.

    Shs5b
    The amount of money that was requested by the Justice Ministry to facilitate election tribunals, operations and case backlog.

    v

  • S African parliament to debate Zuma impeachment motion

    {National Assembly set to debate on Tuesday an opposition-tabled motion to impeach President Zuma over spending scandal.}

    South Africa’s parliament will debate a motion to impeach President Jacob Zuma, the National Assembly Speaker said on Sunday days after the country’s top court ruled the president had violated the constitution.

    “The debate on that motion has been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon,” Baleka Mbete said a day after anti-apartheid veteran Ahmed Kathrada joined opposition leaders in calling for Zuma’s resignation.

    The South African president had ignored orders from the public prosecutor to return some of the $16m in state funds that he used to renovate his mansion in Nkandla situated in KwaZulu-Natal province.

    On Friday, 73-year-old Zuma in a televised address apologised and said he would pay back some of the money, as ordered. He said that he never knowingly or deliberately set out to violate the constitution.

    Mmusi Maimane, leader of the opposition party Democratic Alliance, tabled the motion to impeach Zuma, who is facing arguably the biggest scandal since he took office in 2009. He has fended off accusations of corruption, influence peddling and rape in the past.

    The impeachment proceedings are unlikely to be successful because of the Africa National Congress party’s strong majority in parliament, but the judicial rebuke may strengthen anti-Zuma factions within the ruling party to press for change.

    The unanimous ruling by the 11-judge constitutional court also criticised parliament for passing a resolution that purported to nullify Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s findings on Zuma’s private residence.

    “The judgement makes sound, balanced and critical findings,” Speaker Mbete told journalists.

    President Jacob Zuma faces his biggest challenge as the parliament will debate a motion to impeach him.

  • Turkish leader Erdogan says Islamophobia on rise in US

    {Turkish president says US presidential candidates have targeted Muslims as he opens a mosque.}

    Islamophobia is on the rise in the United States and US presidential candidates have targeted Muslims during the election campaign, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said during a visit to the country.

    Speaking on Saturday at the opening of a Turkish-sponsored mosque and religious complex outside Washington, Erdogan also said recent attacks in Brussels and Paris “cannot compare” to countries such as Turkey and Pakistan had endured over the years, in terms of violent attacks by hardline groups.

    “Unfortunately, we are in a period of rising intolerance and prejudice toward Muslims in the United States and the world,” Erdogan said. “It is absolutely unacceptable to make all Muslims pay the price for the pain and horror” of the attacks on America on September 11, 2001, he said.

    “There are still people walking around calling Muslims terrorists. I am watching with bewilderment and astonishment that some candidates still defend this position in the current presidential election in America.”

    The Turkish leader was in the US mainly to participate in a nuclear summit in Washington.

    “Thousands have come here to hear him speak,” Al Jazeera’s John Hendren, reporting from the mosque, said.

    “There are Turkish flags here with the words ‘I love Turkey’ on them. He has generated some enthusiasm, on an otherwise controversial trip.”

    ISIL discussed

    On Thursday, US President Barack Obama reaffirmed the US commitment to Turkey’s security during a meeting with Erdogan, while also discussing both countries’ efforts to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), the White House said.

    “The president extended condolences to President Erdogan on behalf of the American people for those killed and injured in today’s terrorist attack in Diyarbakir, and reaffirmed the support of the United States for Turkey’s security and our mutual struggle against terrorism,” the White House said.

    “The leaders also discussed how to advance our shared effort to degrade and destroy ISIL”.

    In a statement on Friday, Turkey’s presidential office said the two NATO leaders discussed cooperation on resolving the refugee crisis and how partners in the fight against ISIL can ramp up their efforts.

    The Turkish leader was in the US to participate in a nuclear summit in Washington

  • Central African Republic president names new PM

    {President Faustin-Archange Touadera appoints former campaign director Simplice Sarandji to prime minister post.}

    Faustin-Archange Touadera, the Central African Republic’s new President, has named his former campaign director Simplice Sarandji as the country’s prime minister.

    “The president of the republic, head of state, in light of the constitution of the Central African Republic of March 30, 2016 … decrees Mr. Simplice Sarandji to be named prime minister, head of the government,” a presidential decree released on Saturday said.

    It was not immediately clear when Sarandji would name his cabinet but an announcement was expected in the coming days.

    Touadera, a former prime minister and mathematics teacher, was elected president in February, replacing a transitional government that had held power since early 2014.

    Touadera has pledged to bring peace and development to the former French colony. The country was hit by religious and inter-commununal conflict in 2013, when a mostly Muslim rebel group, Seleka, toppled longtime ruler Francois Bozize.

    That prompted a counter-attack by a Christian militia known as the anti-Balaka. Three years of bloodshed and the displacement of nearly one million people from their homes have since disrupted harvests and sent food prices soaring.

    In March, the World Food Programme (WFP) said that at least half of the population – or 2.5 million people – were facing a hunger crisis.

    Bienvenu Djossa, the WFP country director in CAR, said the number of people battling hunger had doubled from 2015.

    “It is serious,” Djossa said in a statement.

    The WFP said it had only secured about half the $89m it needs until the end of July to respond to the needs of 1.4 million people in CAR and neighbouring countries hosting refugees from there.

    President Touadera has pledged to bring peace and development to the former French colony