democracy

CHICAGO — Former President Barack Obama warned that the United States is facing “daily assaults” on democracy as he honored the life and legacy of civil rights leader Jesse Jackson at a packed memorial service on Chicago’s South Side. The Trump White House swiftly criticized Obama after his remarks, underscoring the political stakes running through a ceremony that doubled as a call to action. Obama joined former Presidents Joe Biden and Bill Clinton, along with former Vice President Kamala Harris, at the House of Hope, a…

Somalia’s constitutional crisis has moved from a simmering dispute to a direct test of the country’s democratic commitments, as a recent bid to amend the Provisional Federal Constitution triggered accusations of procedural violations, executive overreach and erosion of federal norms. The constitution is meant to be Somalia’s stabilizing contract: a framework that binds clans, regions and political actors to shared rules. Changing it is not a technical exercise. It requires transparent debate, broad-based political consensus…

Mogadishu’s municipal elections are more than a local contest; they are a stress test for Somalia’s long-promised transition from elite bargaining to citizen-driven governance. If they hold, they could become the clearest step yet toward the country’s first direct national elections in more than half a century. For decades, Somalia’s political order has been defined by indirect electoral arrangements and power-sharing formulas negotiated among clans and political elites. Those frameworks helped stabilize a state battered by…

No democracy without a free press: Somalia’s fragile transition under threat On the International Day of Democracy this year, Somalia’s journalists — battered, detained and censored — were given a blunt reminder of what is at stake. The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ) recorded 59 incidents of assaults on media freedom across the country in 2025 alone, and warned that Somalia’s long-promised democratic transition will be hollow if those who inform the public cannot work without fear. That message should…

In commemoration of International Day of Democracy, UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered an insightful message highlighting the critical need to safeguard free expression. He also raised an alarm about the lurking dangers posed by Artificial Intelligence (AI). Guterres cautioned that if left unchecked, AI could wreak havoc on democratic frameworks, primarily by disseminating misleading information and inciting animosity among different groups. He pointed out that this year, the stakes are particularly high, as…

Zambian incumbent President Hakainde Hichilema on Monday cracked down on the South African country's outgoing "brutal regime" while promising "better democracy" in his debut speech to the nation, hours after winning the top job in a landslide. Speaking shortly after his predecessor Edgar Lungu admitted defeat, the business magnate and veteran opposition leader said…

Tonight the millionaire `` cattle boy '' who won Zambia's presidential election - our team tells more. In Nigeria, a partial curfew is imposed after more than 20 Muslim travelers were killed on Saturday and Cameroon ready for the African Cup of Nations in just a few short months.…

On Thursday, Tunisian President Kais Saied asked Ridha Gharsallaoui, a former national security adviser to the presidency, to temporarily take charge of the Interior Ministry until a new government can be formed. The…

Poland is locked in a legal battle with the European Union over the legitimacy of legal and constitutional reforms exercised by its Conservative ruling party that could trigger Poland's withdrawal from the EU bloc. Under the leadership of the Populist Party for Law and Justice (PiS), the Polish government has pursued extensive reforms that it says are necessary to fight corruption, but critics say they are expanding the government's powers and defying the democratic values ​​that EU law upholds. Poland's abortion rights…

M2D staged demonstrations on Friday, June 11 in Dakar, Diourbel and Ziguinchorp to demand the release of detainees following the riots in March last year. Violence that had left at least 13 dead in connection with the trial against Ousmane Sonko. The coalition between political parties and civil society organizations supporting him, the demonstrations were suspended after mediation by the caliph general…