Year: 2020

Guinea’s leading opposition figure Cellou Dalein Diallo has appealed against President Alpha Conde’s victory in last month’s presidential election at the country’s constitutional court.

The opposition figure’s lawyer, Amadou Diallo reported that the appeal, filed on Sunday, contains irrefutable evidence that irregularities marred the election.
Conde, 82, won a hotly contested October 18 election, according to provisional official results, setting the stage for a controversial third term in office.
But Cellou, 68, had already claimed victory, citing data his activists gathered at individual polling stations.
That move triggered weeks of clashes between his supporters and security forces in the West African nation, in which at least 20 people were killed.
While Amadou did not offer details about the evidence, the lawyer said it would allow the constitutional court to annul Conde’s victory.

Three other losing presidential candidates also filed appeals to the constitutional court, according to a court official who declined to be named.
Much of the turbulence in Guinea centres on a third term for the octogenarian president, whom opponents accuse of drifting into authoritarianism.
A former opposition figure whom an authoritarian leader once sentenced to death, Conde became Guinea’s first democratically elected leader in 2010 and won re-election in 2015.
He pushed through a new constitution in March, arguing it would modernise the country. But it also allowed him to bypass a two-term presidential limit.
Opposition to that move had provoked mass protests from October 2019, in which security forces killed dozens of people.
Cellou and his supporters are deeply suspicious of the credibility of last month’s election, although officials from the African Union and the 15-nation ECOWAS bloc said it was mostly fair.
The European Union, United States and the former colonial power, France, all released statements last week expressing concern about the vote-counting process. Africanewsguru update.

An armed group active in Ethiopia’s restive Oromia region has killed at least 32 civilians in a weekend “massacre”, the national rights body said, adding that the true toll could be higher.
The violence occurred Sunday in an area of western Ethiopia known as Wollega and involved up to 60 “armed and unarmed assailants”, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC) said in a statement.

It said the assailants targeted members of the Amhara ethnic group, Ethiopia’s second largest, and that victims “were dragged from their homes and taken to a school, where they were killed”.
Official figures state a death toll of 32 civilians, but preliminary evidence obtained by EHRC indicate the number is very likely to exceed that tally, it said in a statement.
Elias Umeta, the region’s administrator, confirmed that 32 people were killed in the attack, which he said saw the assailants burn 21 houses.

We buried today 32 of them. About 700 to 750 people were also displaced from the area. The killing was committed by an armed group called OLF Shane, Umeta reported.
The National Movement of Amhara (NAMA), an opposition party, denounced the government over its failure to protect civilians.
The government has failed in its duty to protect the safety of citizens, Dessalegn Chanie, a senior member of NAMA, told The Associated Press, adding that Ethiopia’s language-based federal system is the main cause for the killings.
Ethnic Amharas residing outside of the Amhara region are being labeled as outsiders and are exposed to repeated attacks.
A survivor who spoke by phone to said the violence erupted after soldiers stationed in the area abruptly and inexplicably left, allowing OLA fighters to round up civilians.

“After collecting us, they opened fire on us, and then afterwards looted cattle and burned down houses,” said the survivor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
Furthermore, I have counted more than 50 corpses, and I know there were others hit by bullets, the survivor said.
The OLA, believed to number in the low thousands, broke off from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), an opposition party that spent years in exile but was allowed to return to Ethiopia after Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took office in 2018.
Since December 2018, the Ethiopian army has been deployed in western and southern Oromia to combat the OLA’s armed campaign.

Survivors of the attack who spoke to the Amhara region’s affiliated broadcaster, Amhara Mass Media Agency, said ethnic Amharas were targeted.

The armed group gathered 200 people for a meeting around 5 pm, and then started shooting at them. Several people were killed as a result, the broadcaster quoted one survivor as saying. The survivor said a school and some 120 houses were burned.
Ethiopia’s enemies are vowing either to rule the country or ruin it, and they are doing everything they can to achieve this. One of their tactics is to arm civilians and carry out barbaric attacks based on identity, Abiy said in a statement.
The incident is likely to further ramp up pressure on Abiy, winner of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, to improve security in a country struggling with rising ethnic violence. Africanewsguru update.

Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia have resumed their talks over Addis Ababa’s controversial dam on the Blue Nile river, just over a week after US President Donald Trump warned that Cairo may “blow it up” if disputes are not resolved.
The week-long negotiations, being held via videoconference, started on Sunday and include water ministers from the three countries, as well as representatives from the African Union, the European Union and the World Bank.
The latest round of talks came three months after the suspension of dialogue between the African neighbours over the construction of the $4.6bn mega-dam by Ethiopia.

Previous three-way talks failed to reach an agreement on the filling and operation of the vast reservoir behind the 145-metre (475-foot) tall Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD).
Egypt, which depends on the Nile for about 97 percent of its irrigation and drinking water, sees the dam as an existential threat.
Sudan hopes the dam will help regulate flooding but has also warned that millions of lives would be at “great risk” if Ethiopia unilaterally fills the dam.
Ethiopia, on the other hand, views the project as essential for its electrification and development, and insists that the flow of water downstream will not be affected.
The three sides agreed to continue discussing the issue through a six-member team, including two representatives from each country, Sudan’s water ministry said in a statement.
The team, it said, will put a frame of reference on the role of experts to facilitate the talks, and will submit its report to the water ministers from the three countries by Wednesday.
In July, Addis Ababa declared that it reached its first-year target of filling the mega-dam’s reservoir, which can hold 74 billion cubic metres (2,600 billion cubic feet) of water.
Last month, US President Trump appeared to suggest that Egypt may destroy the mega-dam, remarks that were seen by Ethiopia as inciting a war.
It’s a very dangerous situation because Egypt is not going to be able to live that way… They’ll end up blowing up the dam, said the US leader.
Egypt and Sudan, however, have long called for a political solution to the dispute, voicing rejection against any unilateral action by Ethiopia.
The Blue Nile, which rises in the Ethiopian highlands, meets the White Nile flowing from East Africa at the Sudanese capital Khartoum to form the River Nile, traditionally considered to be the world’s longest river. Africanewsguru update.

The Democratic Alliance (DA), South Africa’s largest opposition party, has elected John Steenhuisen as its new leader.

The 44-year-old white politician, who has acted as interim party leader since its first Black leader Mmusi Maimane stepped down more than a year ago, secured a whopping 80 percent of Sunday’s virtual vote over his competitor, Mbali Ntuli.
Steenhuisen’s triumph will see him lead the DA in the 2024 presidential elections against the African National Congress (ANC), which has governed the country since the end of apartheid in 1994.
In his acceptance speech, Steenhuisen said “people power” would be the order of the day under his leadership, promising to “fight to give power and opportunities to every law-abiding, honest and hard-working citizen, regardless of their background”.
“We choose our leaders on the basis of their ideas, the content of their character and their potential to lead our party into new territory,” added Steenhuisen, who has also served as party chief whip in parliament.

On account of the coronavirus pandemic, the centre-right party’s more than 2,000 delegates voted digitally for their preferred candidate.
Thank you to each and every DA delegate … for the trust you have placed in me, Steenhuisen said.
Formed in 2000 as a merger of three mostly white parties, the DA has positioned itself as a non-racial, liberal party but has struggled to stave off its white, middle-class identity.
This was further compounded by a mass exodus of Black leaders, including the former mayor of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, who claimed the party was racist.

In recent times, it has been plagued by internal factions, stoked by its slump in the 2019 elections when it garnered 20.7 percent of the votes, compared with 22.2 percent in the previous polls.
It faces an uphill battle to win favour with voters in the country grappling with the legacy of apartheid, where white households on average earn five times more than their Black counterparts.
Ntuli, a Black woman, stood for the position despite indications that Steenhuizen was supported by the party’s top hierarchy, including its divisive former leader Helen Zille, who was elected on Sunday to chair the DA’s federal council. Africanewsguru update.

Opposition leaders in Ivory Coast have called for a “civilian transition” from President Alassane Ouattara’s government, as official results showed the incumbent taking a commanding early lead in his controversial bid to secure a third term in an election that has been marked by deadly violence.
Ouattara won all 20 of the districts that were announced from Saturday’s vote by the electoral commission. Results from the other 88 districts are expected to be announced later on Sunday or early Monday.

The president has been expected to win re-election after his opponents called for a boycott of the vote in protest of what they say is an illegal bid to hold onto power. Ouattara says the approval of a new constitution in 2016 means he is not violating a two-term limit.
The dispute led to violence in the lead-up to the polls that killed more than 30 people. At least five more people died in clashes on election day in the centre of the country, officials said on Sunday.
The unrest has stoked fears of a repeat of the electoral violence that had engulfed the country nearly a decade ago. The 2010 election standoff led to months of fighting that left more than 3,000 people dead after then-President Laurent Gbagbo refused to concede defeat to Ouattara, the internationally recognised winner.

In a joint statement on Sunday, opposition candidates Henri Konan Bedie, a former president, and ex-Prime Minister Pascal Affi N’Guessan said on Sunday that about 30 people had died since Saturday, without providing details.
Opposition parties and political groups call for the start of a civilian transition, Affi N’Guessan told reporters.
He said they rejected the election and believed Ouattara’s mandate was over, adding that fewer than 10 percent of people had turned up to vote, without providing evidence.
There are no official estimates yet of turnout, but a domestic observer mission said 23 percent of polling places did not open at all because of opposition interference that included barricading roads and threatening election staff.
Later on Sunday, the governing party warned “Affi N’Guessan and his cohorts against any attempt at destabilisation”.
Ouattara said on Saturday that the election went ahead with only isolated incidents and his party added it expected him to be declared the winner.
Scattered unrest, vandalised voting materials and some closed polling stations were reported mostly in opposition strongholds during the election.

Opposition leaders on Saturday already dismissed the election as a failure and several opposition figures, including exiled former rebel chief Guillaume Soro, announced they no longer recognised Ouattara as president.
Earlier this year, Ouattara had said after his second term he planned to make way for a new generation, but the sudden death of his chosen successor in July prompted him to seek a third term. Africanewsguru update.

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has won the presidential election, the National Electoral Commission said late on Friday, a contest dismissed by the opposition as a “travesty” because of widespread irregularities.
Magufuli received 12.5 million votes in Wednesday’s election – or 85 percent – while his main challenger, Tundu Lissu of the Chadema party, got 1.9 million votes, or 13 percent, the electoral commission said.

The commission declares John Magufuli of CCM [Chama Cha Mapinduzi] who garnered the majority of votes as the winner in the presidential seat, said commission chairman Semistocles Kaijage.
Magufuli had been seeking a second five-year term and promised voters he will boost the economy by completing ambitious infrastructure projects he started in his first term.
Lissu previously said he will not accept the eventual election results.
The vote marked the most significant backsliding in Tanzania’s democratic credentials, Tanzania Elections Watch, a group of regional experts, said in an assessment released on Friday. It noted a heavy deployment of military and police whose conduct created a climate of fear.
The electoral process, so far, falls way below the acceptable international standards for holding free and fair elections, the group said.

Few international observers were allowed to watch the vote.
The US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, Tibor Nagy, said on Friday “we remain deeply concerned about reports of systematic interference in the democratic process”.
We continue to review credible allegations of the use of force against unarmed civilians, he said in a tweet.
Magufuli’s CCM party, a version of which has held power in Tanzania since independence from Britain in 1961, had already retained power in the semi-autonomous Indian Ocean archipelago of Zanzibar with 76 percent of the vote.
Dozens of opposition party officials and members were arrested in Zanzibar on Thursday and at least one is in hospital with severe injuries after allegations he was beaten by police, who have not commented on the incident.

The US embassy in the East African country said on Thursday there had been credible allegations of significant election-related fraud and intimidation in Wednesday’s vote for a president and politicians.

The election was marred by allegations of arrests of candidates and protesters, restrictions on agents of political parties to access polling stations, multiple voting, pre-ticking of ballots, and widespread blocking of social media.
Officials at the electoral commission were not immediately available for comment on allegations of irregularities.
On Wednesday, the commission denied allegations of fake ballots saying they were unofficial and unsubstantiated.
But observers say Tanzania’s reputation for democratic ideals is crumbling, with Magufuli accused of severely stifling dissenting voices in his first five-year term. Opposition political gatherings were banned in 2016, the year after he took office. Media outlets have been targeted.
Zitto Kabwe, leader of the main opposition party in Zanzibar, ACT-Wazalendo, and Chadema’s leader in parliament Freeman Mbowe were among dozens of opposition candidates who lost their seats to the ruling party. Africanewsguru update.

Tanzania’s president is poised to be declared the overwhelming winner of Wednesday’s election despite widespread allegations of fraud, while the governing party appears to have secured the two-thirds majority in parliament required to change the constitution.

Populist President John Magufuli has 83 percent of votes with 60 percent of ballots counted, the electoral commission said on Friday. The ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party has won 194 seats in the 393-member parliament, while opposition parties have managed to win just two, with the leaders of the two main opposition parties losing their seats.
The United States has said, “Irregularities and the overwhelming margins of victory raise serious doubts about the credibility of the results.”
Main opposition presidential candidate Tundu Lissu of the CHADEMA party, who has received 14 percent of the vote so far, has rejected the election and called for protests.

The vote “marked the most significant backsliding in Tanzania’s democratic credentials”, Tanzania Elections Watch, a group of regional experts, said in an assessment released on Friday. It noted a heavy deployment of military and police whose conduct created a “climate of fear”.
“The electoral process, so far, falls way below the acceptable international standards” for holding free and fair elections, the group said.
The opposition alleges widespread irregularities including blackouts of internet and text messaging services, double voting, ballot box-seizing and the rejection of thousands of election observers from polling stations. Few international observers were allowed to watch the vote.

The electoral commission has denied allegations of irregularities in the East African nation that is one of Africa’s most populous countries and fastest-growing economies. Magufuli has pointed to the country’s achievement of lower-middle-income status as one reason he deserves another term.
But observers say Tanzania’s reputation for democratic ideals is crumbling, with Magufuli accused of severely stifling dissenting voices in his first five-year term. Opposition political gatherings were banned in 2016, the year after he took office. Media outlets have been targeted. Some candidates were arrested, prevented from campaigning or disqualified ahead of the vote. Africanewsguru update.

Human Rights Watch says justice and accountability for crimes carried out during Libya’s years-long conflict is “key” after the two main rival sides signed a ceasefire agreement.

Failure to see justice done will only hamper aspirations for a durable peace, warned the rights group’s senior Libya researcher, Hanan Salah, on Thursday.
Libya has been racked by violence since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 overthrew and killed veteran leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Since then, the North African country has been dominated by armed groups, riven by local conflicts, and divided between two bitterly opposed administrations: The UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj, and a rival administration in the east affiliated with renegade military commander Khalifa Haftar.

The GNA and Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army last Friday signed a permanent ceasefire accord after UN-sponsored talks in Geneva.
The deal came four months after Haftar’s Russian and Emirati-backed forces gave up their year-long attempt to seize the capital Tripoli, a battle that killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands.
Dozens of Libyan delegates opened on Monday a political dialogue via video conference as a step towards holding elections after the landmark agreement.
But the ceasefire does not provide a clear commitment and a pathway to accountability for the serious crimes perpetrated by the foreign-backed warring parties, Salah noted.
This includes indiscriminate attacks that killed civilians, destruction of critical infrastructure, disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and unlawful killings, she said.
Another challenge according to the rights group, is the absence of any commitment in the deal to holding accountable fighters who stand to be demobilised and integrated into state security forces.
On Wednesday, a committee tasked by the GNA to search for missing people said on its Facebook page that a dozen bodies had been unearthed in newly found mass graves in the Tarhuna region.
This brings the total number of bodies allegedly discovered in mass graves in that area to 98 since the withdrawal in June of Haftar’s forces from western Libya. Africanewsguru update.