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If Libya's national elections scheduled for December are delayed, the war-torn country will return to "square one" and unrest in 2011, the speaker said, with a new rival government likely to set up in the east. The election is seen in the West as a critical step in efforts to create stability in Libya, which has been in chaos since the NATO-backed uprising in 2011 against Muammar Gaddafi. Libya, a major oil and gas producer, was divided in 2014 between an internationally recognized government in the…

Elections in Somalia "delayed", said a spokesman for the federal government, Mohamed Ibrahim Moalimu without leaving any details. The election would begin on Sunday after months of political crisis in the deeply unstable Horn of Africa country, officials told Agence France-Presse (AFP). Indirect parliamentary and presidential polls were to open on July 25 with a four-day vote for the upper house by state delegates. The election cycle was to end with a presidential poll on 10 October. "Even if the…

Ethiopia's ruling prosperous party on Saturday was declared the winner of last month's national election in a landslide, guaranteeing a second five-year term for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The Ethiopian National Electoral Commission said the ruling party won 410 seats out of 436 in the federal parliament, which will see dozens of other seats left vacant after a fifth of constituencies did not vote due to unrest or logistical reasons. Ethiopia's new government is expected to form in October. Abiy on…

The long-delayed presidential election in Somalia will finally be held on October 10, the country's political leaders agreed on Tuesday after months of stalemate that sometimes turned violent. The Prime Minister's Office, Mohamed Hussein Roble, presented the timetable for indirect parliamentary and presidential elections in a statement on Twitter, saying that stakeholders had agreed on a roadmap for voting after two days of talks in the capital Mogadishu. President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed and the leaders of Somalia's…

Libyan delegates began four days of UN-facilitated talks on Monday aimed at creating the legal conditions for elections that they hope will usher in a "new era" for the war-torn North African country. Some 75 representatives hope to reach agreement during the talks in Geneva on the constitutional basis for presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for December 24 in Libya. UN Special Envoy for Libya Jan Kubis said it was regrettable that the issue had not been resolved and added that there was no alternative…

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Saturday began talks to form a new government following a parliamentary election marked by low turnout, a statement from his office said. Algeria's incumbent National Liberation Front (FLN) won the most seats in the June 12 vote, which saw record-breaking votes, with a turnout of just 23%. On Thursday, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Jarad presented the resignation of his government to Tebboune, who asked him to continue to address current issues. "In the context of…

Ethiopians voted Monday in national and regional elections overshadowed by the devastating COVID-19 pandemic and conflicts in the war-torn Tigray region, as many see the vote as the biggest test so far for Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. The election, delayed from last year, is at the heart of a reform drive by Abiy, whose rise to power in 2018 seemed to signal a breach of decades of authoritarian rule and led to him winning the Nobel Peace Prize the following year. He described the vote as "the country's…

Algeria's largest Islamist party, the Movement of Society for Peace, claimed that its candidates had topped the results of parliamentary votes both inside and outside the country and warned of "attempts to change the results." The claim for a win came before any official results from Saturday's polls. A statement on the official website of Abdel-Razzaq Makri, the movement's leader, said: "We extend our warmest regards and appreciation to the citizens who voted on our lists." "However, we warn that…

Algeria goes to the polls on Saturday for a new parliament that is intended to meet the demands of democratic protesters and turn a new leaf for the troubled, albeit gas-rich, country. Not everyone is happy about the election, as many activists are planning boycotts. Authorities have tightened the grip on Hirak's protest movement in recent weeks, and police have arrested a politician and journalist who are prominent opposition figures ahead of the vote. The early election is intended to exemplify…

Jubaland submits the names of election officials when the elections gather in Somalia MOGADISHU, Somalia - The reality of holding elections in Somalia continues to gather momentum after some hiccups that were necessary from a dead end that was accused of Villa Somalia but which has since been fixed after the signing of the agreement before the election. Last week, leaders of the federal…