CategoryElections

Brinkmanship in Bujumbura: a struggle for power at all costs? by Mimmi Söderberg Kovacs

 On Saturday 25 April, the ruling party in Burundi, the CNDD-FDD (The National Council for the Defense of Democracy–Forces for the Defense of Democracy) – a formerly armed group turned political party after the end of the civil war – held its much awaited party congress at the party headquarters in the capital of Bujumbura. As widely anticipated, the party officially designated the sitting President Pierre Nkurunziza as their presidential candidate in the upcoming elections on 26 June this year. The announcement became the triggering event for the escalation of protests and demonstrations in several suburbs surrounding the city center [for more on the street protests see blog post by Jesper Bjarnesen here]. During the week that followed, similar protests were reported from other urban centers in the country too. A coalition of civil society organisations officially took the lead in organising the post-announcement protests, but in cooperation with several political parties in opposition. The ruling party responded heavy-handedly by closing down several radio stations, blocking social media networks, and banning participation in the protests. In the last few days, tensions have increased and violence escalated between the protesters and the police. Continue reading

Bujumbura Burning: Public Protests and Youth in Burundi’s Emerging Electoral Crisis by Jesper Bjarnesen

Thomas searches half-heartedly for the SIM card he discarded yesterday. He is exhausted. Worn out after three days of protests. He has only been home once to change his clothes since the beginning of the protests against President Nkurunziza’s decision to run for a third term, which was announced at the ruling party’s long-awaited congress on Saturday. Thomas is being watched. Sitting in his sofa in a modest but tidy room in Kamenge, a northern suburb of Bujumbura, Burundi’s capital, he seems to be running out of steam. He discarded the SIM card after receiving threatening phone calls. “We know what you are doing”, they said. “The next time you go out onto the street, you’d better bring flowers to honour the president, or else…” Continue reading

Defeating the power of incumbency in the 2015 Nigerian presidential election, by Henrik Angerbrandt

While the presidential election was anticipated to be close, there were still doubts that it would be possible to unseat an incumbent president in Nigeria. So when Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives’ Congress (APC) was declared as winner of the election, Nigerian democracy has entered a new stage that will contribute to set the standard for coming elections in Africa.  Continue reading

Is the struggle against Boko Haram entering a new phase? By Henrik Angerbrandt

A week and a half before Nigeria’s presidential election was scheduled, the military declared in a letter to the chairman of the electoral commission that they would not be able to assist with security measures for another for six weeks due to a major offensive to be concluded in the north-east. As a result, the elections were postponed for six weeks. Observers posed the question on what could be done in six weeks when the insurgency has lasted for close to six years. Now it seems like President Jonathan has intensified the struggle and at the moment gives the insurgency the priority he has been criticised for not showing before. Continue reading

Postponed Nigerian elections: Less about security than about politics, by Henrik Angerbrandt

Since 2009, Boko Haram attacks and military counterattacks have created widespread insecurity in Nigeria, killing more than 13 000 people. Since mid-summer, Nigeria has lost a territory by the size of Belgium to the insurgents. The military has proven unable to both prevent and withstand attacks. Soldiers unwilling to meet better equipped insurgents have been sentenced to death in a court martial. Last week, the military realised they need six weeks to conclude “a major military operation” against the insurgency in the northeast. Continue reading

Nigerian elections: Will demands for postponement be heeded? by Henrik Angerbrandt

As the Nigerian presidential election is less than two weeks away, matters come to a head. Calls for a postponement of the election was written off as dubious months ago but have now intensified again as the outcome of the election gets ever more unpredictable.

In September last year, there were some voices connected the Nigerian PDP government that suggested that the elections coming up next week should be postponed considering the security situation in the country with frequent Boko Haram attacks and the loss of territory to the group. “There is no question of election, it is not even on the table. We are in a state of war”, Senate President David Mark declared. Facing fierce resistance, the government later dissociated itself from the statement. Continue reading

Monsters of Our Own Creation: How Nigerian Corruption & Climate Change Gave Rise To Boko Haram, by Andrew Gibson

40 years ago, the town of Baga was bustling with an industry and a commerce born of the body of water that had given its residents life for as long as anyone could remember. Nestled in the most northeasterly corner of Nigeria along the shoreline of Lake Chad, Baga served as the piscine midwife for tens of thousands of fishmongers all across the country, providing roughly 135,000 tons of smoked and dried fish a year. Today, thanks to the construction of dams on the lake’s feeder rivers, excessive irrigation and the effects climate change, Lake Chad has shrunk to less than one-fifth of its original size. The massive body of water that locals used to refer to as “an ocean” is now a shriveled imitation of its former self and Baga, which used to sit right on the water, is now twelve and a half miles away from its shores.The fish, which used to be so plentiful and served as the lifeblood of the community, have all but vanished from the Nigerian side of the lake, leading many locals to give up fishing and try their hand at farming or finding work in the city of Maiduguri, more than 120 miles away. Left in dire straits, the people of Baga hoped that the Nigerian government would come to their aide and try to replenish the lake by pumping water up from the nearby Congo River, enforcing more water-efficient irrigation methods and rebuilding wasteful dams. Put simply, Baga needed water. It would get only fire. Continue reading

How seven Norwegian small warships ended up in the hands of a former Niger Delta militant, by Morten Böås

Norway is rarely an issue of debate in Nigeria, but on Sunday 14th December 2014, every major online newspaper in the country published articles about the sale of Norwegian warships to a security company controlled by a former Niger Delta militant. The main issues raised was not only why Norway had sold seven warships to former Niger Delta militant, but equally important what consequences this would have for the tense and possibly violent elections 14th February next year. Continue reading

Hereditary Office and the Tribulations of Power: A View from Togo, by Nadia Lovell

Togo seems to be next in line, after Burkina Faso and Mali, to flare up in violence and instability, albeit so far on a limited scale. Old conflicts relating to the political legitimacy of power holders, and perennial questions over the establishment of fairer democratic institutions, have led to vociferous demonstrations in Lomé, the capital and, particularly, in the Quartier de Bé, a known hotbed of trouble-making for the regime, as it houses not only some of the poorer strata of the population, but also religious leaders, students, and other political activists and opinion makers. The Quartier de Bê often acts as a barometer of political tension. Violent clashes between thousands of pro-democracy advocates and security forces took place last week-end. The protests were very efficiently and quickly quietened through the use of force. Riot police intervened to squash what could herald the beginning of renewed long-term political unrest. Continue reading

Nigeria’s 2015 elections and the politics of (avoiding) violence, by Henrik Angerbrandt

The opposition is called “cockroaches” to be “crushed” by a governor. The speaker of the House of Representatives is teargased by the police. Security agents raid a party data office. Several events last week indicate that Nigerian elections are approaching. When the president and 28 (out of 36) governors are to be elected in February next year, more than who will be voted into office is at stake. The elections are anticipated to be more competitive than previous ones, and there are concerns that violence will erupt in relation to the elections. Apart from the Boko Haram insurgency, the behaviour of the political elite contributes to raise tension. Continue reading

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