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Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Military rulers in Mali dissolve all political parties
Mali's military junta has dissolved all political parties in the country amid a growing crackdown on dissent since the army seized power. "All meetings of members of political parties and organisations of a political character are dissolved across the national territory," a statement read on state TV on Tuesday said. The decision was validated by military leader Assimi Goïta, who seized power after coups in 2020 and 2021 and is due to stay in power for at least another five years despite pledges to hold elections. The move is expected to spark fresh resistance by political parties who have been demanding the country returns to democratic rule. Since last year, the military authorities have intensified a crackdown on political activity. Last week, following a rare pro-democracy protest, two opposition leaders were abducted by armed men saying they were police officers. The authorities have not commented on the reported arrests. A national conference organised by the regime - but boycotted by leading opposition parties - last month recommended naming Gen Goïta as president until 2030. The move sparked condemnation from opposition figures and human rights groups. The junta originally committed to holding elections in February 2022. The presidential decree read on Tuesday evening warned Malians not to ignore the dissolution of political parties but did not outline any penalties. It said that anyone working in a political or administrative role could "continue their duties without party affiliation". The main opposition coalition is yet to comment but one of its members, Nouhoum Togo, downplayed the move in a social media post. "No matter how hard they try to make you invisible, your value doesn't depend on their recognition," Togo, president of the Union for the Safeguarding of the Republic (USR) party, posted. The latest order follows the suspension of all political activity - another recommendation from the national conference - which sparked uproar from the opposition. A coalition of a hundred parties had planned a protest against the transitional authorities last week but postponed it following the suspension of political activities. Since taking power, the junta leader has formed an alliance with coup leaders in neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, pivoting the region towards Russia after drastically reducing ties with former colonial power France. Gen Goïta has also withdrawn Mali from the regional grouping Ecowas over its demands to restore democratic rule. Burkina Faso and Niger have also left the grouping. The region with more 'terror deaths' than rest of world combined Three military-run states leave West African bloc - what will change? Why young Africans are celebrating military takeovers Go to for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica Africa Daily Focus on Africa
The Mainichi
06-05-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Romania's hard-right candidate will face a pro-EU reformist in presidential runoff
Presidential candidate George Simion addresses supporters via video link after polls closed for the first round of the country's presidential election redo in Bucharest, Romania, on May 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru) BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) -- After decisively winning the most votes in Romania's first-round presidential election redo, hard-right nationalist George Simion will face a pro-Western reformist in a pivotal runoff in two weeks that could reshape the European Union and NATO member country's geopolitical direction. Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, far outpaced all other candidates in the polls with 40.96% of the vote, according to official electoral data, after all votes were counted from Sunday's election. In second place was reformist Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan with 20.99%. The runoff will be held on May 18 between the two staunchly anti-establishment candidates but ideological opposites, who have made their political careers railing against Romania's old political class. Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former anti-corruption activist who founded the Save Romania Union party (USR) in 2016, ran on a pro-EU ticket, told the media early Monday that "a difficult second round lies ahead, against an isolationist candidate." "This was a democratic process that Romania needed -- this won't be a debate between individuals, it will be a debate between a pro-Western direction for Romania and an anti-Western one," he said. "I call on all Romanians to be part of this battle, and I am optimistic that we will win." In third place was the governing coalition's joint candidate, Crin Antonescu, with 20.07%, and behind him Victor Ponta, a former prime minister from 2012-2015, with 13% of the vote, while Elena Lasconi, who came second in last year's first round ballot, only obtained about 2.6%. In response to Antonescu's poor showing, Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu announced his resignation on Monday. Final turnout stood at 9.57 million people -- or 53.2% of eligible voters, according to data from the electoral authorities. Last year's election was annulled after the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped the first round, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied. The election redo took place months after an annulled vote plunged the country into its worst political crisis in decades. Simion, who came fourth in last year's race and later backed Georgescu, said in a prerecorded speech aired after polls closed Sunday that, "I am here to restore constitutional order. " "I want democracy, I want normalcy, and I have a single objective: to give back to the Romanian people what was taken from them and to place at the center of decision-making the ordinary, honest, dignified people," he said. After her poor showing in Sunday's vote, Lasconi announced her resignation on Monday as leader of the USR party, saying, "I fought with all my strength against a rotten, corrupt system that has kept us captive for 35 years." "Our efforts must be directed toward supporting a pro-European path and accelerating the transformation of a system that has proven dysfunctional and not in the citizens' interest," she said. The presidential role carries a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy. Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, said that Sunday's outcome will likely trigger a "crisis" within the mainstream parties, and the runoff will pit pro-Western ideas against "more conservative, patriotic messaging." "We'll have two anti-establishment candidates, one that is anti-establishment with a more conservative view of how Romania should advance, and a pro-Western anti-establishment," he told The Associated Press. "This is the most important thing to say: that it will be like a total anti-establishment movement on both sides of the road." In a speech conceding defeat, the governing coalition's candidate, Antonescu, distanced himself and didn't endorse either candidate in the runoff, saying, "I was not part of the coalition." "I presented a program, some ideas, and some people voted for me. I urge them to decide for themselves which of the remaining candidates best aligns with the ideas I put forward," he said. "I encourage everyone who voted for me today to show up and vote." Distrust in the authorities remains widespread, especially for those who voted for Georgescu, a sizable electorate that Simion has sought to tap into. Simion said that his hard-right nationalist AUR party is "perfectly aligned with the MAGA movement," capitalizing on a growing wave of populism in Europe after U.S. President Donald Trump's political comeback. AUR rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election, proclaims to stand for "family, nation, faith, and freedom," and has since doubled its support. "The antiestablishment sentiment is not like an anarchic movement, but is against the people who destroyed this country," Simion told the AP days before the rerun. "We are not a democratic state anymore."
Time of India
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Mali: Junta continues to undermine democracy
Mali's military junta has been in power for five years, now it wants to extend its rule on a more permanent basis: The current interim president, General Assimi Goita, has won the backing of central allies to be declared president, without democratic elections, until 2030. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now This would be the equivalent to a five-year extension of his term. This was the outcome of a "national conference" that was organized by the regime in Mali's capital Bamako, and boycotted by the opposition. More than 400 delegates voted in favor of a draft law that would dissolve the 2005 Political Parties Charter, which sets out the rules for the founding, funding and management of parties. Limiting number of political parties to 5 The conference proposed limiting the number of parties permitted in Mali to five and tightening the conditions for founding new parties. In future, 100 million CFA francs (ca. €52,000 or $174,000) would have to be raised. According to reports, it was suggested that the fee to stand as a presidential candidate should be 250 million CFA francs. Nouhoum Togo, the president of the USR (Union to save the republic) party, believes this would be disastrous: "You shouldn't compare the coup-hit countries Niger and Burkina Faso with Mali," he told DW. "Because they have no constitution, unlike Mali, which has a constitution that protects political parties. There is no example in the world where you have to raise 100 million CFA francs to found a political party." According to the conference in Bamako, an end should also be put to "political nomadism," that is changing party affiliation during a term in office. has condemned the move as a "proposal to dissolve all ." Ousmane Diallo, a senior researcher at the human rights organization's regional office for West and Central Africa, said it "would be a flagrant attack on the rights to freedom of expression and association." Tired of too many ads? go ad free now ' A disaster for Mali' Boulan Baro, a member of the CNID-Faso Yiriwa Ton party of former minister Mountaga Tall, spoke of an attempt at manipulation: "It is as if a legal vacuum were being created that will not foster the organization, functioning and activities of political parties." The draft is supposed to be submitted soon to the National Transitional Council, which the junta set up after its 2020 and 2021 coups. Since then, the army has ruled the country, which was destabilized by several Islamist attacks, with an iron fist. In June 2022, the junta had announced a return to civilian rule by March 2024, but it then postponed the elections for "technical reasons." In April of last year, all political activities were banned. Mali's political parties have reacted with indignation to planned changes and denounced the junta's repressive measures. "These consultations are not representative of the Malian people because we ourselves, who represent the political parties, did not participate in this meeting," Abdoulaye Yaro, chief of staff of former Prime Minister Moussa Mara's Yelema party, told the US news agency Associated Press this week. He said that implementing the recommendations would be "a disaster for Mali." 'It is up to the president to protect the Constitution' According to Yelema spokesperson Hamidou Doumbia, the results of the "National Conference" violate the Malian constitution, which was adopted by the transitional government in July 2023. "A few people gathered in a room cannot give a mandate to a president. That has never been seen. As for the dissolution of political parties, there is no legal document, Malian law does not allow this," he told DW, saying that the recommendations were "anti-constitutional. " "The president is the guarantor of the constitution, and it is up to him to protect the constitution," he concluded. Many opposition parties fear that Mali's military-led government — like its West African allies in Niger and Burkina Faso — will try to strengthen its already harsh crackdown on political dissent. Yet, the existence of political parties was enshrined in the Malian constitution of 1992, well before the 2005 Charter of Politcal Parties, which is now to be dissolved, was established. 'Attempt to attack democracy' "We know what the aspiration behind this is," said Mohamed Cherif Coulibaly, the head of the national youth movement of the Alliance for Democracy in Mali – African Party for Solidarity and Justice (ADEMA PASJ). "This is why the political parties have long joined forces to oppose what is currently being prepared, which, for us, constitutes a simple attempt to attack the democracy that was so boldly obtained by the Malian people after the popular revolution of March 1991. Former minister Mohamed Salia Toure, who served in the first transitional government from September 2020 to May 2021, said that the abolition of the multi-party system would be a "historic mistake."
Belfast Telegraph
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Hard-right candidate to face pro-EU reformist in Romania's presidential run-off
The run-off in two weeks could reshape the European Union and Nato member country's geopolitical direction. Mr Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), far outpaced all other candidates in the polls with 40.96% of the vote, according to official electoral data, after all votes were counted from Sunday's election. In second place was reformist Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan with 20.99%. The run-off will be held on May 18 between the two staunchly anti-establishment candidates but ideological opposites, who have made their political careers railing against Romania's old political class. Mr Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former anti-corruption activist who founded the Save Romania Union party (USR) in 2016 and ran on a pro-EU ticket, told the media on Monday that 'a difficult second round lies ahead, against an isolationist candidate'. 'This was a democratic process that Romania needed… this won't be a debate between individuals, it will be a debate between a pro-western direction for Romania and an anti-western one,' he said. 'I call on all Romanians to be part of this battle, and I am optimistic that we will win.' In third place was the governing coalition's joint candidate, Crin Antonescu, with 20.07%, and behind him Victor Ponta, a former prime minister from 2012-2015, with 13% of the vote, while Elena Lasconi, who came second in last year's first round ballot, only obtained about 2.6%. Final turnout stood at 9.57 million people — or 53.2% of eligible voters, according to data from the electoral authorities. Last year's election was annulled after the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped the first round, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied. The election redo took place months after an annulled vote plunged the country into its worst political crisis in decades. Mr Simion, who came fourth in last year's race and later backed Mr Georgescu, said in a pre-recorded speech aired after polls closed on Sunday: 'I am here to restore constitutional order.' He added: 'I want democracy, I want normalcy, and I have a single objective: to give back to the Romanian people what was taken from them and to place at the centre of decision-making the ordinary, honest, dignified people.' After her poor showing in Sunday's vote, Ms Lasconi announced her resignation on Monday as leader of the USR party, saying: 'I fought with all my strength against a rotten, corrupt system that has kept us captive for 35 years. 'Our efforts must be directed towards supporting a pro-European path and accelerating the transformation of a system that has proven dysfunctional and not in the citizens' interest.' The presidential role carries a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy. Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, said Sunday's outcome will probably trigger a 'crisis' within the mainstream parties, and the run-off will pit pro-western ideas against 'more conservative, patriotic messaging'. In a speech conceding defeat, the governing coalition's candidate, Mr Antonescu, distanced himself and did not endorse either candidate in the run-off, saying: 'I was not part of the coalition.' 'I presented a programme, some ideas, and some people voted for me. I urge them to decide for themselves which of the remaining candidates best aligns with the ideas I put forward. I encourage everyone who voted for me today to show up and vote.' Distrust in the authorities remains widespread, especially for those who voted for Mr Georgescu, a sizeable electorate that Mr Simion has sought to tap into.
Time of India
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Romania's hard-right candidate to face pro-EU reformist in presidential runoff
BUCHAREST: After decisively winning the most votes in Romania's first-round presidential election redo, hard-right nationalist George Simion will face a pro-Western reformist in a pivotal runoff in two weeks that could reshape the European Union and NATO member country's geopolitical direction. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, far outpaced all other candidates in the polls with 40.96% of the vote, according to official electoral data, after all votes were counted from Sunday's election. In second place was reformist Bucharest Mayor with 20.99%. The runoff will be held on May 18 between the two staunchly anti-establishment candidates but ideological opposites, who have made their political careers railing against Romania's old political class. Dan, a 55-year-old mathematician and former anti-corruption activist who founded the Save Romania Union party (USR) in 2016, ran on a pro-EU ticket, told the media early Monday that "a difficult second round lies ahead, against an isolationist candidate." "This was a democratic process that Romania needed ... this won't be a debate between individuals, it will be a debate between a pro-Western direction for Romania and an anti-Western one," he said. "I call on all Romanians to be part of this battle, and I am optimistic that we will win." In third place was the governing coalition's joint candidate, Crin Antonescu, with 20.07%, and behind him Victor Ponta, a former prime minister from 2012-2015, with 13% of the vote, while Elena Lasconi, who came second in last year's first round ballot, only obtained about 2.6%. Final turnout stood at 9.57 million people, or 53.2% of eligible voters, according to data from the electoral authorities. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Last year's election was annulled after the far-right outsider Calin Georgescu topped the first round, following allegations of electoral violations and Russian interference, which Moscow has denied. The election redo took place months after an annulled vote plunged the country into its worst political crisis in decades. Simion, who came fourth in last year's race and later backed Georgescu, said in a pre-recorded speech aired after polls closed Sunday that, "I am here to restore constitutional order. " "I want democracy, I want normalcy, and I have a single objective: to give back to the Romanian people what was taken from them and to place at the center of decision-making the ordinary, honest, dignified people," he said. After her poor showing in Sunday's vote, Lasconi announced her resignation on Monday as leader of the USR party, saying, "I fought with all my strength against a rotten, corrupt system that has kept us captive for 35 years." "Our efforts must be directed toward supporting a pro-European path and accelerating the transformation of a system that has proven dysfunctional and not in the citizens' interest," she said. The presidential role carries a five-year term and significant decision-making powers in national security and foreign policy. Cristian Andrei, a Bucharest-based political consultant, said Sunday's outcome will likely trigger a "crisis" within the mainstream parties, and the runoff will pit pro-Western ideas against "more conservative, patriotic messaging." "We'll have two anti-establishment candidates, one that is anti-establishment with a more conservative view of how Romania should advance, and a pro-Western anti-establishment," he told The Associated Press. "This is the most important thing to say: that it will be like a total anti-establishment movement on both sides of the road." In a speech conceding defeat, the governing coalition's candidate, Antonescu, distanced himself and did not endorse either candidate in the runoff, saying, "I was not part of the coalition." "I presented a program, some ideas, and some people voted for me. I urge them to decide for themselves which of the remaining candidates best aligns with the ideas I put forward," he said. "I encourage everyone who voted for me today to show up and vote." Distrust in the authorities remains widespread, especially for those who voted for Georgescu, a sizable electorate that Simion has sought to tap into. Simion said that his hard-right nationalist AUR party is "perfectly aligned with the Maga movement," capitalizing on a growing wave of populism in Europe after US President Donald Trump's political comeback. AUR rose to prominence in a 2020 parliamentary election, proclaims to stand for "family, nation, faith, and freedom," and has since doubled its support. "The antiestablishment sentiment is not like an anarchic movement, but is against the people who destroyed this country," Simion told the AP days before the rerun. "We are not a democratic state anymore."
