Elections: Polling centres in Kenya close, early results expected from around midnight
Polling centres in Kenya have closed and counting is expected to start shortly after, election officials say. The polling stations, according to rules, will automatically convert into tallying centres. Early results are expected to start streaming in from 9pm East African time. Unconfirmed reports, quoting Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission...
South Sudan leaders face international wrath after extending mandate of transition regime
South Sudan’s leaders announced on Thursday that the country’s post-war transitional government would remain in power two years beyond an agreed deadline, in a move foreign partners warned lacked legitimacy. Martin Elia Lomuro, the minister of cabinet affairs, said the decision was taken “to address the challenges that impede the...
Democracy on trial in Kenya the country goes to the polls in region facing political turbulence
Kenya’s competitive presidential elections reflect hard-earned progress in establishing independent constitutional and judicial guardrails, though a history of electoral violence demands all sides show restraint. Kenyans will vote in August in their seventh presidential elections since the introduction of multiparty politics in 1991. The competitiveness of the elections, and uncertainty...
While Kenyan youths are averse elections, their Nigerian counterparts want to vote to fix corruption
On August 9, Kenyan voters will cast their ballots in what many are calling a two-horse race between the 77-year-old Raila Odinga and the 55-year-old William Samoei Ruto, the current deputy president. Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has also cleared two other candidates in the hotly contested race to...
African Union observers on daunting mission in Kenya, Senegal as the two countries go to polls
The African Union (AU) Election Observation Mission is in for a major month of work, with two teams dispatched to Senegal and Kenya where there are upcoming elections. Senegal held legislative elections on 31 July, while Kenya’s General Election is coming up on August 9. The polls, according to the...
Why China is a major talking point as Kenya holds elections on August 9 and President Kenyatta retires
As campaigning gears up for Kenya’s August 9 presidential elections, the two main candidates are both focused on one key talking point – the economy – and this inevitably means the country’s controversial relationship with China is coming under the spotlight. Deputy President William Ruto, a former chicken-seller who styles...
High number of youths expected to give Kenyan polls wide berth, terming them corrupt, pointless
As a familiar campaign jingle brings the Kenyan crowd to their feet, Hellen Atieno joins her compatriots and sways to the catchy tune at a political rally in the lakeside city of Kisumu. Just don’t expect the 23-year-old to vote; she is looking for money. “I have only come to...
Biden’s equivocation on abortion rights is snowballing into key campaign issue in 2024 US elections
The proclamation “I will aid and abet abortion” appeared across social media soon after Donald Trump’s Supreme Court justices did what they were appointed to do: overturn Roe v. Wade ruling on abortions rights. Leaving aside the question of whether it’s a great idea to advertise one’s intent to engage...
Ethiopia’s forgotten war: Oromo Liberation Army only responds to state terrorism, human rights abuse
In November 2020 an outbreak of violence in Ethiopia’s Tigray region captured worldwide attention. The conflict was between Tigrayan forces and the forces of the Ethiopian government and its allies. Since then, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been under increasing global pressure to negotiate with Tigrayan officials to stop the...
Outgoing Kenya president cut price of staple food to tip elections in favour of preferred successor – critics
The cost of maize flour, used to make Kenya’s staple food, has been cut in half less than three weeks before general elections. The measure aims to deal with the rising cost of living that has seen prices of basic commodities soar. A 2-kilogramme packet of maize flour will now...
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