Somalia: Opposition Council Warns of Political Crisis as Election Deadlines Loom MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s Somali Future Council has raised the alarm over what it calls dangerous delays in the country’s electoral timetable, accusing the federal leadership of neglecting its constitutional responsibilities. In a sharply worded statement issued Wednesday, the council said the mandate of federal institutions is due to expire on April 14, 2026, under the provisional constitution. It warned that continued failure to put an…

Wednesday April 15, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — With Somalia already navigating deep political strains, the Somali Future Council on Tuesday raised the alarm over delays in the next round of national elections, accusing top government officials of abandoning constitutional deadlines and risking a wider crisis. In a statement, the council said the country’s Provisional Constitution is explicit: the mandates of federal institutions expired on April 14, 2026. Without an election process that follows constitutional requirements, it…

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…