IGIHE

Category: Rubrique

  • Burundi Opposition Party Suspended

    Burundi Opposition Party Suspended

    {Interior Minister Edouard Nduwimana}

    {{A key Burundi opposition party has been suspended for four months, Interior Minister Edouard Nduwimana said late Saturday night, amid worsening tensions in the small central African nation.}}

    The four-month suspension of the Movement for Solidarity and Development (MSD) follows violent clashes in the capital Bujumbura on 8 March that pitted party activists against police.

    In a statement overnight on national television, the minister said MSD leader Alexis Sinduhije had “incited party militants to acts of revolt, hatred and violence”.

    Sinduhije and party militants had “committed barbaric acts by kidnapping, holding and undressing police officers”, the minister alleged, suspending the party’s activities for four months and closing its headquarters across the country.

    Francois Nyamoya, MSD secretary general, called the decision “unfair” but urged party militants to respect it.

    “On Saturday [8 March] our militants were staging a calm demonstration when they were taken to task by the police,” he said.

    {{Life in jail}}

    Nyamoya added: “We had already effectively been suspended because for months now the government has prevented us from demonstrating or even from holding meetings”.

    Burundi on Wednesday charged Sinduhije, who is on the run from police, and 71 party supporters with rebellion following the 8 March clashes. Those charged face life in jail if found guilty.

    They were arrested after taking part in what state prosecutor Arcade Nimubona called a “group jog” to the centre of Bujumbura, where they were dispersed by riot police firing tear gas.

    A reporter said at least 200 people sought refuge at the party headquarters, taking two officers hostage, before police stormed the building.

    Clashes lasted for over an hour, with at least 20 activists and five policemen wounded.

    AFP

  • Crimeans Vote to join Russia

    Crimeans Vote to join Russia

    {{With roughly half of the ballots counted, results from Sunday’s secession referendum in Crimea showed that 95% of voters opted to join Russia. The US and Europe condemned the ballot as illegal.}}

    – After 50% of the ballots were counted, Mikhail Malishev, head of the referendum committee, said more than 95% of Crimean voters had approved splitting off and joining Russia. Turnout was estimated at 81%.

    – Opponents of secession, including Crimea’s Tatar Muslim minority, appeared to have stayed home Sunday, denouncing the vote as a power play and land grab by Russia.

    – The US and Europe swiftly condemned the ballot as illegal and were expected to slap sanctions against Russia in reprisal as of Monday.

    – Russian President Vladimir Putin on Sunday told US President Barack Obama in telephone talks that the referendum was “completely in line with the norms of international law”, according to a statement released by the Kremlin.

    – After the polls closed late Sunday, crowds of ethnic Russians in the regional Crimean capital of Simferopol erupted with pro-Russian chants in the main square.

    – The Crimean parliament will meet Monday to formally ask Moscow to be annexed and Crimean lawmakers will fly to Moscow later in the day for talks, Crimea’s pro-Russia prime minister said on Twitter.

    – Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma, is expected to vote on the Crimean request for annexation on Monday.

    {france24}

  • El Salvador ex-rebel’s Presidential Victory Confirmed

    El Salvador ex-rebel’s Presidential Victory Confirmed

    {{El Salvador’s electoral court has confirmed the victory of former left-wing rebel Salvador Sanchez Ceren in a tight presidential run-off election.}}

    It said Mr Sanchez Ceren won 50.11% of the votes in the 9 March poll, defeating conservative candidate Norman Quijano, who polled 49.89%.

    Mr Quijano had challenged the result, alleging fraud.

    But the court’s decision makes Mr Sanchez Ceren the country’s first ex-rebel to serve as president.

    On Sunday, the court said that there was not enough evidence to back Mr Quijano’s claim.

    “Based on the results, Salvador Sanchez Ceren and Oscar Samuel Ortiz are declared president and vice-president elect respectively, for the period from 1 June 2014 to 1 June 2019,” court president Eugenio Chicas was quoted as saying by Reuters.

    The country’s outgoing President Mauricio Funes said he would meet Mr Ceren later on Monday to begin the handover process.

    Mr Sanchez Ceren became vice-president of El Salvador in 2009, while Mr Quijano was the mayor of the capital, San Salvador.

    {wirestory}

  • Ousted Libyan PM Says no-Confidence vote Was ‘falsified’

    Ousted Libyan PM Says no-Confidence vote Was ‘falsified’

    {{Ali Zeidan, who was ousted as prime minister by Libya’s parliament this week, told media on Thursday that the parliamentary no-confidence vote that deposed him was “falsified”.}}

    Parliament voted to oust the premier on Tuesday after a tanker loaded with crude oil set off from the rebel-held port of Es Sider and evaded navy attempts to halt it.

    Some of Libya’s powerful rebel groups who have been demanding regional autonomy in the east began exporting oil this week in defiance of the central government.

    After the vote Zeidan fled to Germany via Malta, government sources in Valletta told reporters, while Libya’s General National Congress named Defence Minister Abdullah al-Thani to serve as caretaker premier.

    The ouster of the liberal prime minister has embolded the country’s Islamist groups, which have been waging an insurgency against the government since the overthrow of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

    Forces loyal to the central government, often out-manned and out-gunned, have struggled to contain their influence.

    It was unclear where the tanker, which was flying the North Korean flag, was heading. The North Korean flag is often used to keep the true ownership of cargo ships secret.

    North Korea said in a statement to state media that the tanker had violated its laws and a contract it had with an Egyptian company by carrying contraband cargo.

    It said it had notified Libya and the International Maritime Organisation that it had severed all association with the ship.

    {wirestory}

  • Zanu-PF slams Tsvangirai for Dreaming

    Zanu-PF slams Tsvangirai for Dreaming

    {{Zanu-PF has no plans to re-engage the vanquished MDC-T to form another coalition Government and the opposition leader, Mr Morgan Tsvangirai’s announcement on Sunday that the revolutionary party would soon reach out to him, was “rubbish and hogwash.”}}

    The revolutionary party’s spokesperson Cde Rugare Gumbo yesterday said Zanu-PF was busy implementing its economic blue print, Zim Asset and would not spend time on a political party that was ditched by its traditional allies in the region and internationally.

    “Tsvangirai’s proposal for another coalition government is rubbish and hogwash. You cannot judge a new government’s policies in about six months. There are a lot of polices that we need to carry out.

    As Zanu-PF, we have efficient policies and programmes and it is clear that the MDC-T has nothing,” said Cde Gumbo.

    Addressing his supporters in Mabvuku, Harare on Sunday, Mr Tsvangirai said he predicted another coalition government, saying Zanu-PF was likely to re-engage him to rescue what he called “the free-falling economy.”

    Mr Tsvangirai and his party were rejected by voters in last year’s harmonised elections.

  • Ousted Ukrainian President Announces Return

    Ousted Ukrainian President Announces Return

    {{Ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych on Tuesday said that he remained Ukraine’s legitimate president and commander-in-chief, saying he believed he would be able to return to Kiev soon.}}

    “I remain not just the sole legitimate president of Ukraine but also commander-in-chief,” he said in his first public appearance in a week in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don.

    “As soon as the circumstances allow — and I am sure there is not long to wait — I will without doubt return to Kiev.”

    AFP

  • Egypt Military Chief Launches Housing Initiative

    Egypt Military Chief Launches Housing Initiative

    {{Egypt’s powerful military chief is launching a housing initiative to build a million homes for the poor, in the first campaign-style move by Field Marshal Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who is widely expected to run for president.}}

    El-Sissi hasn’t made an official announcement yet, but has strongly indicated he would run.

    The elections expected in April are the first since the military ousted elected Islamist President Mohammed Morsi in July following mass protests against him.

    The housing initiative was announced Sunday on the official Facebook page of Egypt’s military spokesman. It only said the million homes are dedicated to “Egypt’s youth” and are a first step to solve the country’s housing problem.

    Senior generals close to el-Sissi have told Press he is focusing on the country’s myriad of economic problems.

    AP

  • Facts & Figures for India’s 2014 General Election

    Facts & Figures for India’s 2014 General Election

    {{Voting for the 2014 general election will begin on April 7, the Election Commission said on Wednesday.}}

    More than 814 million people — a number larger than the population of Europe — will be eligible to vote in the world’s biggest democratic exercise.

    Voting will be held in nine stages, which will be staggered until May 12, and results are due to be announced on May 16. Elections to state assemblies in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Sikkim will be held simultaneously.

    Around 930,000 polling stations will be set up for the month-long election using electronic voting machines, first introduced in 2004.

    About 23 million eligible voters have been enrolled in the 18 to 19 age group, nearly 3 percent of India’s voters.

    Of India’s 814.5 million eligible voters, 28,314 identify themselves as transgender and their gender is listed as “other”. There are 11,844 non-resident Indians registered to vote in the election this year.

    Since introducing photo voter ID cards and electoral rolls in 2009, 98 percent of India’s eligible voters have the former, 96 percent have the latter.

    Electronic voting machine security includes: transported under armed escort and stored in strong rooms, with a double lock system and guarded 24×7 by armed police, and CCTV coverage. Also, parties/candidates allowed to keep a watch on them.

    “Basic Minimum Facilities” for polling stations include drinking water, shed, toilet, ramp for disabled voters.

    Voters will have a “None of the Above” option on voting machines.

    Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party has emerged as the favourite in opinion polls, which reflect waning support for Rahul Gandhi’s Congress party that wrested power from the BJP in 2004.

    Modi, the chief minister of Gujarat, will also be challenged by a clutch of regional parties that are vying for power as part of a “third front” opposed to both the Congress and the BJP.

    Also in the race is Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party, which made a stunning debut in Delhi elections last year and is now eyeing a national presence on the anti-corruption plank.

    Here’s a look at the election schedule, and the states and union territories going to polls:

    April 7 (six constituencies) – Assam, Tripura

    April 9 (seven constituencies) – Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland

    April 10 (92 constituencies) – Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Andaman and Nicobar islands, Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, Delhi

    April 12 (five constituencies) – Assam, Sikkim, Tripura

    April 17 (122 constituencies) – Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal

    April 24 (117 constituencies) – Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Puducherry

    April 30 (89 constituencies) – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu

    May 7 (64 constituencies) – Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal

    May 12 (41 constituencies) – Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal

    {{MORE ON THE ELECTION}}

    The new Lok Sabha is expected to be constituted by June 1 with 543 lawmakers chosen from across India. Of these, 131 seats are reserved for candidates from the country’s scheduled castes and tribes.

    Two other lawmakers can be appointed to the Lok Sabha by the president to ensure the representation of India’s tiny Anglo-Indian community, taking the total number of lawmakers to 545.

    A political party needs to secure at least 272 seats to form the government.

  • President Goodluck Celebrates Mass Defection From his Party

    President Goodluck Celebrates Mass Defection From his Party

    {{Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan says the defection of some governors, legislators and their supporters to the All Progressive Congress (APC) is a good omen for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), pointing out that since their defection, the PDP has been waxing stronger.}}

    Addressing PDP supporters at the North-central solidarity rally held at the Trade Fair Complex in Minna, Niger State, yesterday, the President described the defectors as retrogressive.

    “If some people have been with the PDP for 14 years and now they said they are leaving for progressive, the question is where are they progressing to?

    It means in past 14 years, they have been involved in retrogressive activities in the PDP and were problems to us and you will agree with me that now that these retrogressive elements have left, PDP will progress more,” he said.

    Jonathan called on Nigerians, especially PDP supporters, not to be frightened by anybody who uses the media to preach violence but to be focus on what PDP has done for the country in the past years.

    Vice President Namadi Sambo, in his brief remark, thanked the people of North-central for their support for the PDP in past years and called on them to remain loyal and dedicated to the party.

    {wirestory}

  • 11th National Leadership Retreat to Discuss ‘Accountable Governance’

    11th National Leadership Retreat to Discuss ‘Accountable Governance’

    {{More than 250 members of cabinet, ambassadors, mayors and heads of key government agencies, senior members of the legislature and judiciary, and representatives of the private sector will gather at GabiroSchool of Infantry in Eastern Province from 8-10 March for the 11thGovernment Leadership Retreat .}}

    Chaired by President Kagame, this year’s retreat is themed “Accountable Governance” and provides an opportunity for Rwanda’s leaders to hold each other accountable,reflect on the country’s progress and forge common solutions that will ensure improved the delivery of services to Rwandans.

    The retreat will discuss the role of education, governance and private sector as key to achieving EDPRS2 and Vision 2020.

    The interactive discussions will begin with panels discussing improving the quality of basic education, improving planning, coordination and service delivery as well as mechanisms to accelerate private sector growth.