Tuesday May 19, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s electoral commission on Monday put off the election of the speaker of Southwest State’s House of Representatives, saying it must first wait for the Supreme Court to review the region’s election results. The vote for speaker had been set for May 18, 2026. In a statement, the National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said it would not proceed with forming the new regional assembly leadership until the court had issued its decision. “Although the election schedule…

BAIDOA, Somalia — Pressure is building in Somalia’s South West State as leading presidential contenders accuse rivals of preparing to manipulate the vote, warning they will reject any outcome they believe is tainted by fraud. In remarks to reporters late Tuesday, candidate Ilyaas Ali Nuur singled out his opponent, Aden Madobe, saying any win for Madobe under the current setup would amount to nothing less than a "theft" of the electoral process. "If the results of the South West election are not what we expect, we will step…

Sunday May 10, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Somalia’s Southwest State opened a new chapter in its political history on Sunday as voters went to the polls for direct elections to choose members of the regional House of Representatives and district councils, a significant break from the country’s entrenched indirect voting system. The ballot was being conducted in 13 districts across Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions. The National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said 376,212 voters had registered to take part,…

Ireland would see it as a "big moment" if Iceland votes to resume negotiations on joining the European Union, Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne has said, as Reykjavik moves toward a fresh decision on its stalled membership bid. The Nordic island nation is expected to hold a referendum on 29 August on whether to reopen talks on entering the EU. Iceland first applied for membership in 2009, before the accession process was suspended in 2015 after a change of government. Its current administration, which took…

South Africa’s top court has struck down Parliament’s 2022 move to halt impeachment proceedings against President Cyril Ramaphosa, ruling the decision unconstitutional in a judgment that immediately reshapes the political landscape. The Constitutional Court sided with opposition parties, which argued that lawmakers from the ruling party improperly shut down a process designed to test grave allegations against the head of state. The dispute traces back to an independent panel’s findings that the President had a case to…

Millions of voters are heading to polling stations in a pivotal electoral test for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with Labour braced for what forecasters say could be a bruising night. Polling expert Robert Hayward has predicted Mr Starmer's Labour Party could lose around 1,850 council seats across England, underlining the scale of the challenge confronting the prime minister. Labour is also expected to suffer in Wales, where the party in government could lose the national vote for the first time in more than 100…

Romania was plunged deeper into political uncertainty on Monday after the country’s pro-EU government fell in a parliamentary no-confidence vote. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan, who leads the National Liberal Party (PNL), was defeated in the afternoon ballot, ending a four-party coalition that had been in office for 10 months. Mr Bolojan had been heading a minority government since 21 April, when the Social Democrats (PSD) — parliament’s biggest party — withdrew from the coalition and demanded his resignation. The centre-left…

Sunday May 3, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s Independent National Electoral and Boundaries Commission on Sunday unveiled the full calendar for the country’s 2026 regional elections, setting South West State on course to open the voting season later this month. Under the newly announced timetable, South West State will be first to vote. Local council and parliamentary elections are slated for May 10, the election of the state parliament speaker will follow on May 18, and the regional president is due to be chosen on May 23,…

Hungary’s election has delivered a sharp political jolt across Europe, and Polish Prime Minister ⁠Donald Tusk said the result shows the continent is not destined to slide toward authoritarianism after the centre-right Tisza party broke Viktor Orban’s 16-year hold on power. "Everyone feared there was a trend toward authoritarian, corrupt regimes," Mr Tusk said during an official visit to South Korea, according to Polish state-owned news agency PAP. "That's not the case. First ‌Warsaw, then Bucharest, Chisinau, ⁠now Budapest."…

Somalia: Hassan Sheikh’s 2019 Support for Jubaland Recalled Amidst Current Rejection of Southwest Vote MOGADISHU, Somalia — A political letter from 2019 has reentered Somalia’s public debate, drawing attention to the strikingly different positions President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has taken before and after returning to power. The document, a formal message of congratulations, records Mohamud—then a prominent opposition leader—welcoming the re-election of Jubaland President Ahmed Madobe. At the time, the federal government…