Friday, April 29, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Unity and Impunity: The Challenges for Ivory Coast's New President
Ouattara, a former deputy director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), had the support of a majority of voters in last November's election. Nevertheless, the vote split between Ouattara and Gbagbo ran along much the same lines as north-south alliances in the 2002–3 civil war.
Gbagbo posited the fight for the presidency—and his fight to stay on even after losing the election—as a battle for the nation itself for true Ivorians, accusing Ouattara of being a puppet of France and the West.
On April 1, with the support of France and the United Nations, Ouattara launched what became a 10-day final siege ending with the capture of Gbagbo and his wife, who had been hiding in a bunker beneath the presidential palace.
In his first statement to the Ivorian people since the arrest, Ouattara explained that the military operation was aimed at ending the security and humanitarian crisis plaguing the whole country, which he blamed on the obstinacy of the previous president.
Ouattara appealed to all Ivorians to uphold peace and to abstain from any acts of vengeance and repression and he announced plans to establish a National Trust and Reconciliation Commission to investigate crimes perpetrated during the years of war.
"All provisions will be made in collaboration with international tribunals and human rights organizations, to investigate, prosecute, judge and punish severely the perpetrators of these unspeakable acts," said Ouattara in a statement from April 12.
Many crimes perpetrated in Ivory Coast by both sides of the divide over the last months have come to light. Last week, a U.N. human rights team found over 100 bodies within 24 hours.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay condemned the series of vicious attacks on civilians, calling the reports he was receiving utterly horrifying. "They are finding more bodies every day," he said.
"The first priority is to do everything possible to stop further killings and violations. But equally important is to end impunity in Ivory Coast," stressed Pillay.
A report by Human Rights Watch from April 9 states that Ouattara's forces of killed hundreds of civilians, raped more than 20 alleged supporters of his rival, and burned at least 10 villages in the far western region of the country. Gbagbo's forces were likewise blamed for killing more than 100 presumed Ouattara supporters.
Although the death toll in the recent conflict is unclear, some organizations estimate it to be at least 1,500. U.N. aid officials say that up to 1 million Ivoirians have been displaced in the violence, including 135,000 seeking refuge in Liberia.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is also conducting steps toward a requesting it be allowed to start a full investigation into international crimes committed in Ivory Coast.
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Power and Pressure: The Media in Africa
A Special Program Sponsored by the Committee on Global Thought, the International Media, Advocacy and Communications specialization at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), and the Institute for African Studies. This half-day day conference at Columbia University taking place on April 27 2011 will look at the state of the media in Africa, as well as how the media is covering two of the most pressing issues currently facing the continent: the growing role of the extractive sector in the region's economy and the elections taking place this year. African Elections Project of Penplusbytes is expected to be presented at this conference.
visit http://cgt.columbia.edu/events/panel_on_africa_media/ for more details
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Nigeria selects a new President
Nigerians are preparing to go to the polls on Saturday 16th April to decide who leads Africa's most populous and oil-rich Nation for the next four (4) years.
Incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP is widely seen as the frontrunner even after his party had a cut in its majority in the National Assembly during the April 9th elections.
Former military ruler General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.) of CPC, poses the main threat to President Jonathan among the other leading contenders who include Mallam Nuhu Ribadu of (ACN) and Ibrahim Shekarau of ANPP.
About 73.5m are registered to vote and all eyes will be on Prof. Attahiru Jega and the Nigerian security to conduct free, fair elections devoid of violence.
AEP
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Nigeria Elections 2011 : Major upsets at National Assembly polls
According to Next 234 after 12 years in charge of the center and most states, the People's Democratic Party faced the judgement of voters nationwide yesterday as millions of Nigerians flocked to the polls to deliver a verdict on the party that fancies itself as Africa's largest. From the farthest corners of the land and most of its metropolitan areas, at least 75 percent of registered voters - according to election officials - participated in this most sacred of democracy's rituals. For the ruling party, the initial omen was not good. By Saturday evening, results had started trickling in, portending a tricky time for the ruling party. The Congress for Progressive Change had a strong showing in the north while the Action Congress of Nigeria and All Progressive Grand Alliance were leading in parts of the southwest and the southeast.
For provisional results updates visit Nigeria Elections Coalition
Nigeria 2011 Elections : Interim Statement on the National Assembly Elections by Project 2011 Swift Count
Interim Statement on the National Assembly Elections
Sunday April 10, 2011 by Project 2011 Swift Count,
Delivered at the Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria
Summary
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, on behalf of the National Steering Committee (NSC) of Project 2011 Swift Count, it is our pleasure to welcome
you to this press conference to report on our initial observations concerning yesterday's National Assembly elections.
Let me state up front, on behalf of all of the partner organisations, we condemn the bombing of the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) office in Suleja, Niger state on Friday as well as the bombing in Borno and other incidents of violence that occurred in different parts of Nigeria on
election day. We call on all Nigerians to reject violence and work together for peaceful elections as we commiserate with the families of the deceased.
As you already know, Project 2011 Swift Count is jointly carried out by the Federation of Muslim Women's Associations in Nigeria (FOMWAN), Justice
Development and Peace/Caritas (JDPC), the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Transition Monitoring Group (TMG). Thus reflecting the rich diversity of
Nigeria, it brings together Christians and Muslims, as well as organizations with citizen election observation and legal expertise.
Based on the information of our 762 observers, who reported from 741 local government areas where elections were held yesterday, Project 2011 Swift
Count finds that while the election was not perfect, it provided a meaningful opportunity for Nigerians to exercise their right to vote.
Despite the bombings and the delays in the elections, Nigerians who went to the polls did so enthusiastically. Project 2011 Swift Count commends
Nigerians for their resilience and commitment to the democratic process. We also recognize the dedication of the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC)
members who served as polling officials despite the many challenges they faced and turned out in mass to perform their national duty.
The Presidential election and State elections will be held on April 16 and 26 respectively. While progress has been made by INEC, logistical problems
continue to plague the election administration. Further improvements must be made so that polling officials and voting materials arrive on time. Challenges
with the register of voters remain, and INEC should continue to take steps to ensure that all registered voters are able to cast their ballots in the upcoming
elections. Yesterday, we were fortunate that incidents of violence and electoral malfeasance were not widespread and did not spiral out of control. The efforts
of the security forces to support the process are commendable. But, they mustdo even more to ensure a secure environment for polling.
read Full report at http://pscnigeria.org/pdf/PSC_Press_Statement_10_April_2011_FINAL.pdf
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Nigeria 2011 : INEC issues emergency phones numbers, BlackBerry PIN
Friday, April 8, 2011
Nigeria Elections 2011 : 20 Online spaces to watch
On the eve of Nigeria parliamentary election, taking place on 9th April 2011, African Elections Project www.africanelections.org news editors' pick of 20 online spaces to watch:
1. Nigeria - The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) http://www.inecnigeria.org/
2. This day live elections 2011 http://www.thisdaylive.com/elections-2011
3. Next 234 Elections Centre http://election.234next.com/
4. The Guardian http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/
5. Nigeria Election Watch, 2011 http://www.ndi.org/nigeria
6. EU Election Observation Mission to Nigeria 2011 http://www.eueom.eu/nigeria2011/home
7. Nigeria elections 2011 http://crowdvoice.org/nigeria-elections-2011?u=1#
8. Sahara reporters http://www.saharareporters.com and http://www.saharareporters.com/spotlight/Nigerian-Election-2011
9. RFI www.english.rfi.fr/Nigeria
10. The Punch http://www.punchng.com/
11. BBC Hausa Service http://www.bbc.co.uk/hausa/
12. News Agency of Nigeria http://www.nanngronline.com
13. Radio Nigeria Online http://ww2.radionigeria.gov.ng/home2.php
14. Project 2011 Swift Count http://pscnigeria.org/swiftcount.php
15. NG 2011 Elections: Polling station locator http://ngpollingstations.appspot.com/
16. Enough is Enough(EiE) http://eienigeria.org/revoda and www.rsvp2011.org
17. Nigeria Elections http://www.nigeriaelections.org/
18. Voter Quench http://www.voteorquench.org/
19. Reclaim Naija http://www.reclaimnaija.net/
20. The Nigerian Television Authority, (NTA) http://www.nta.com.ng/
Tweets -Hash tags
#Naijavotes2011
#nigeridecides
#africanelections
#nigeria
#nigeriavotes
#naja
#nigeria
Nigeria - The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) TWITTER http://twitter.com/#!/inecnigeria
We'd Like to Hear from You!
Do you know of any interesting online space covering Nigeria Elections 2011 send us a mail at info@africanelections.org
Friday, April 1, 2011
Nigeria 2011 Elections : Candidates employ the use of New Media in campaigns
Candidates in the upcoming elections have employed the use of new media technologies in reaching out to the electorate to canvass for their votes.
Incumbent President and the flag bearer for the PDP party Goodluck Jonathan first made his intention to contest the April 2011 elections via his facebook page, where his tally of fans now exceeds 500,000. His website explicitly outlines his plans and projections on issues from peace, development, power and energy, through transportation, industry, human rights issues and corruption, to oil & gas development, corruption, foreign policies, education and the economy. His twitter, blog and voicemail on mobile phones is evident that Goodluck Jonathan realizes the efficacy of the new media in connecting directly with citizens.
The three main opposition candidates also seem to have caught the new media bug. Nuhu Ribadu of The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) also has a web page, an interactive facebook page with fans exceeding a little over 170,000, a streaming twitter page, a linked in contact and a YouTube page which streams videos of Ribadu on platforms and Muhammadu Buhari of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) is also reaching out to the electorate via his web page, facebook page with fans a little over 11, 000, twitter and a you tube page. Ibrahim Shekarau of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) on the other hand has just a web page.