opposition

Mozambique’s memory of election violence tests trust in courts and rights to protest When former presidential contender Venancio Mondlane publicly disavowed calls for street demonstrations this week, he was trying to steer what has become an anxious ritual in Mozambique away from confrontation and toward commemoration. “I did not call for demonstrations,” he told supporters; “I called for a day of reflection” to honour those killed in the unrest that followed last year’s disputed election — among them his lawyer, slain…

Behind closed doors in Villa Somalia: former foes, fragile alliances MOGADISHU — In a sign of how fragile and fluid Somali politics remain, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud convened a private meeting at Villa Somalia this week with a who’s who of figures who recently left the Somali National Salvation Council. The gathering — attended by former Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid Ali Sharmarke, ex-Parliament Speaker Mohamed Mursal Sheikh Abdirahman, and Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden, the one-time president of SouthWest State — has…

Zanu PF moves to extend Mnangagwa’s rule to 2030, sparking fierce opposition and constitutional questions In a decision that could reshape Zimbabwe’s immediate political trajectory, the ruling Zanu PF party has instructed the government to begin legal and constitutional changes to extend President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s tenure by two years, to 2030. The resolution, adopted at Zanu PF’s 22nd Annual People’s Conference in Mutare, has drawn sharp condemnation from opposition figures who say the move threatens the country’s…

Mogadishu on edge: security, protests and the shrinking space for dissent in Somalia When Somalia’s defence minister publicly warned this week that the government will not permit opposition demonstrations in the capital, it was more than a rebuke to critics — it was a message about who will set the rules of political engagement as the country heads into an election season. Ahmed Moalim Fiqi, a close ally of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, accused opposition figures of being backed by “saboteurs” and of mobilising the poor…

Namibia’s president reaches across the aisle — but will words turn into action? President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah is sitting down with leaders of the opposition this week in a gesture she said was promised during her State of the Nation address in March: an exchange of views intended to “move the country forward.” The meeting, part of a series of conversations with political rivals, is both plainly practical and highly symbolic in a country where the politics of cooperation have often been fragile. "We may belong to…

Protests Ignite in Côte d'Ivoire as Election Day Approaches As Côte d'Ivoire braces for a presidential election on October 25, a palpable tension fills the air, marked by the recent announcement from the country’s leading opposition parties. On the heels of their leaders, Laurent Gbagbo and Tidjane Thiam, being barred from contesting, a call for daily nationwide protests rings through the streets of this West African nation. The situation has quickly escalated into a scenario that echoes the political turmoil of…

Puntland State’s opposition rejects reported North Western State of Somalia understanding — and the political ground shifts In Garowe, the political heart of Puntland State, four opposition parties walked into a hastily called meeting and walked out with a message sharper than usual for Somalia’s notoriously tempered political language: whatever “understanding” was reportedly reached between Puntland State and neighboring North Western State of Somalia, they want no part of it. The parties — Ifiye, Mustaqbal, Mideeye, and…

Somali Politics Spill Into Nairobi Again — And Mogadishu Pushes Back It is a familiar scene in East African diplomacy: Somali politicians gathering in a Nairobi hotel to hash out the country’s future far from Mogadishu’s checkpoints and political heat. This week, that well-worn script met a forceful rebuttal from Somalia’s defense minister, who said enough is enough. In a sharply worded post, Defense Minister Ahmed Macallin Fiqi condemned a Nairobi meeting of opposition figures and regional leaders — among them Puntland…

Somali opposition forms “Somalia Future Council” as political clock ticks In a conciliatory — and potentially combustible — move, prominent Somali leaders gathered in Nairobi this week to unveil a new opposition coalition they call the “Somalia Future Council.” Brought together by regional heavyweights and veteran national figures, the alliance aims to shape the country’s fraught political transition as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term edges toward its final months. Who’s in the room matters The coalition combines…

Somalia’s opposition takes the fight to the courts — and the country risks paying the price Somalia’s fragile political equilibrium rattled further this week when a coalition of opposition figures lodged a formal legal complaint accusing President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and senior officials of corruption, human-rights violations and unconstitutional power grabs. What began as a paper filing in Mogadishu is best read not merely as another courtroom drama, but as a symptom of a deeper crisis in a state still stitching itself…