Hungary’s nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has acknowledged defeat in parliamentary elections, ceding power to conservative challenger Peter Magyar — a former government insider turned political newcomer who campaigned on a promise of “system change”. “The election results, though not yet final, are clear and understandable; for us, they are painful but unambiguous,” Mr Orbán said after overseeing the central European country for 16 years. “We have not been entrusted with the responsibility and opportunity to govern.…

Polling stations in Benin have officially closed following a significant turnout, with nearly eight million voters participating in the presidential election. Finance Minister Romuald Wadagni is anticipated to emerge as the victor. Patrice Talon, the current president, is concluding his tenure after serving two five-year terms and navigating a coup attempt last December. Talon has publicly supported his 49-year-old finance minister, Wadagni, as his successor to guide the next administration. The primary opposition party,…

In a region where almost every election is billed as a defining post-1989 moment, Hungary’s parliamentary vote appears to stand apart. That phrase — the "most important election since '89" — is often overused in Central and Eastern Europe, only to be recycled at the next trip to the ballot box. But Hungary’s vote tomorrow makes a strong case for the title. The outcome could shape not only the country’s political course, but also its standing inside the European Union. Tisza leader Péter Magyar, a 44-year-old lawyer and…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Djibouti went to the polls on Friday in a presidential election that is all but certain to hand longtime leader Ismaïl Omar Guelleh a sixth term, after lawmakers removed presidential age limits last year. Guelleh, 78, has governed the Horn of Africa nation of roughly 1 million people for more than 20 years. In the 2021 vote, he won nearly 99% of the ballots cast. This time, he faces just one opponent, Mohamed Farah Samatar, a former member of the ruling party, in a contest analysts describe as lacking…

Wednesday April 8, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — A fresh political row has broken out over seat HOP204 in Somalia’s House of the People after incumbent lawmaker Isaaq Ali Subag said the post was put to vote while he was still serving in office and had never stepped down. The indirect election, held Tuesday in Baidoa, produced Minister of Ports and Maritime Transport Abdulqadir Mohamed Nur Jama as the winner with 96 votes from delegates. But the result has quickly raised questions about whether the seat was properly declared vacant…

With Hungary heading into a pivotal election, US Vice President JD Vance arrived in Budapest and launched a blistering attack on the European Union, denouncing what he described as "disgraceful" meddling while praising Prime Minister Viktor Orbán as a key Donald Trump ally in the fight to defend Western civilisation. Mr Vance's trip to the Hungarian capital, coming only days before a vote that independent polling suggests Mr Orbán is on course to lose, highlights how vital the nationalist leader's re-election is seen to be…

Tuesday April 7, 2026 Djibouti (AX) — With Djibouti’s presidential vote just days away, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has sent an Election Observation Mission to the country to track the April 10, 2026 poll, the regional organization said Monday. The delegation was invited by the Djiboutian government and the National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI), according to an IGAD statement released Tuesday. The observer team is headed by former Ethiopian President Mulatu Teshome and includes 17…

Friday April 3, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia on Thursday crossed a long-awaited threshold toward universal suffrage, with 390 newly elected members of the Banadir Regional Council sworn in at the Banadir Regional Court in Mogadishu. The ceremony marked the capital’s first one-person, one-vote local election in more than half a century. The council members were chosen in December 2025 from Mogadishu’s 16 districts and represent 20 political parties, reflecting a notable break from Somalia’s traditional clan-based political…

Somalia has used an indirect election system, built around clan and delegate representation, for much of the past two decades. Under this approach, national leadership is chosen through layers of representation rather than direct ballots cast by the public. Somali lawmakers and political leaders are now debating a shift toward direct voting and "one person, one vote" universal suffrage. This explainer sets out the difference between Somalia's indirect system and direct voting, what the change would mean, and why the…

BAIDOA, Somalia — Armed tension surged across southern Somalia on Saturday after federal forces started moving from Buurhakaba toward defenses near Baidoa, raising the specter of a direct confrontation tied to a widening dispute over the Southwest State’s election schedule. The operation follows the arrival of roughly 2,000 federal soldiers in Buurhakaba. Some contingents reportedly came from the Lower Shabelle region, traveling through areas controlled by militant groups without meeting resistance—an itinerary that has…