On 12 January 2016 Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara announced a Cabinet reshuffle that was broadly anticipated after Cabinet collectively resigned on 6 January 2016 to support Ouattara’s expressed intent to reinvigorate government and improve efficiency. Coming close on his near 84% electoral dominance in October 2015, Ouattara changed some core posts while keeping numbers …
Rwandans will go the polls on 18 December to decide on a constitutional amendment that will allow President Paul Kagame to run for a third consecutive term in office. The constitutional amendment was passed in the Rwandan senate in November and reduces the presidential term from seven to five years while still maintaining a two-term …
After a tumultuous year that saw Burkina Faso depose its former leader and stave off a military coup, the country has elected Roch Marc Christian Kabore as its new president. On 1 December 2015 the Independent National Electoral Commission said Kabore won 53.5% of the ballot to secure a first-round victory and become only the …
The nearly 500 Belgian citizens in Burundi have been advised by the Belgian government to leave amid rising tension and escalating violence. The move comes after recent anti-Belgian demonstrations in Bujumbura, mainly by members of President Pierre Nkurunziza’s youth wing, in response to Belgium’s insistence that Nkurunziza was in power illegally after serving his last …
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari finally inaugurated 36 new ministers on 11 November 2015, after the country spent the last five months with no cabinet. The former military ruler beat former president Goodluck Jonathan at the polls in March, and pledged to fight entrenched corruption that is seen as one of the biggest challenges to the …
With results in the Tanzanian national presidential race due on Thursday 29 October, doubt has been cast over the whole election after the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar had its polls annulled on 28 October. The Zanzibar electoral commission cited “violations of electoral law” in its decision and ordered a rerun of elections that also saw …
On 11 August 2015 Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi replaced Nelson Ocuane, the Chairperson of the National Hydrocarbons Company (Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos ‒ ENH), with the former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Oscar Mitha, who was relieved of his ministerial duties at the same time. Mitha was appointed Deputy Minister by Nyusi in January …
Former prime minister Edward Lowassa ‒ once seen as a leading contender for the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party nomination ‒ had been invited to join the opposition coalition Ukawa ahead of October’s general elections, the four opposition parties announced Lowassa as their joint presidential candidate . This comes close on the heels of …
The Tanzanian Coalition of Four Opposition Parties, Ukawa, has officially invited former Prime Minister, Edward Lowassa, to join them ahead of the general elections in October. At a press conference on 27 July 2015, the national chairpersons of all political parties forming the coalition announced that they officially welcomed the former premier to the camp, …
The Burundi Election Commission has announced that President Pierre Nkurunziza has won the presidential election with 69.4 percent of the vote, handing him a first-round victory amid fears that his winning a third term in office will unleash widespread violence. This landslide victory is hardly surprising given a voting boycott by the opposition and civil …