Comoros: Key presidential poll runoff set for Sunday | Africa News

Presidential candidates are forming alliances ahead of the presidential runoff in the Comoros Island scheduled for April 10. A camp of the Juwa main opposition party has announced that it will support Azali Assoumani – a colonel who came third during the first round. The Juwa party did not make it to the second round and the controversial agreement is creating divisions within the opposition party. What we have just done today, is just the beginning, it shows that a single party cannot govern this country, We must unite to bring our country out of the abyss.

Benin: Businessman takes insurmountable lead in Benin presidential poll | Reuters

Benin’s prime minister conceded defeat to businessman Patrice Talon on Monday as preliminary results from a presidential run-off election gave the cotton magnate an insurmountable lead, paving the way for a peaceful transition of power. Talon faced off against Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou on Sunday in a poll to decide which of the two would replace President Thomas Boni Yayi, who is stepping down after serving two terms in office. The election was seen as reinforcing the democratic credentials of Benin, a bastion of stability in a troubled region where military coups are a regular occurrence and polls are often marred by violence. Preliminary results from the electoral commission put Talon ahead with 65 percent of votes, while Zinzou had 35 percent. Only votes from abroad were yet to be counted, the commission said.

Benin: Election Run-Off on Sunday | allAfrica.com

On Sunday 20 March, Benin’s citizens will choose their president in the second round of an open ballot. This election will consolidate the country’s democratic gains and mark the fourth democratic changeover in the country since the advent of multiparty politics in 1990. If the outcome of the first round were difficult to predict, expectations for the second round are even more uncertain. Given the results of the first round and the emergence of two candidates – Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou, who is also the candidate of the ruling coalition, and the businessman Patrice Talon – four key observations can be drawn. The first relates to the organisation of the first round by the Autonomous National Electoral Commission (Commission électorale nationale autonome, or CENA). The commission, which became permanent in 2013, seems to have taken on board lessons learnt in last year’s two elections.

Benin: Country heads to polls for presidential elections | The National

A so-called cotton king once accused of trying to poison his president could be about to take power in the tiny West African country of Benin. Cotton magnate Patrice Talon is the main challenger to Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou in the current presidential elections. The pair are due to face each other in the second round of voting on March 20 after the first round last week failed to produce a clear winner. Preliminary results showed that neither Talon nor French-born Zinsou had the majority of votes for an outright win with the former taking 24 per cent of the vote against the Prime Minister’s 28 per cent. Another businessman Sebastien Ajavon was a close third but if the preliminary results are confirmed Talon and Zinsou will vie against each other in a run-off on Sunday.

Comoros: Vice President wins first round of presidential vote | AFP

The vice president of the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Comoros, Mohamed Ali Soilihi, won the first round of the country’s presidential elections with 17.61 percent of the vote, preliminary results released late Tuesday showed. Soilihi edged ahead of Mouigni Baraka, the governor of Grande Comore island, who garnered 15.09 percent, ahead of Colonel Azali Assoumani, who placed third with 14.96 percent. The three candidates will now face off in a second-round of voting on April 10, with the winner succeeding outgoing President Ikililou Dhoinine.

Central African Republic: Court cancels legislative election, orders re-vote | Reuters

Central African Republic’s Constitutional Court has annulled the results of a legislative election, setting back a transition to democracy after years of conflict. Observers had praised the peaceful nature of the polls, meant to end a rocky transition punctuated by violence between militias drawn from the Christian majority and a mostly Muslim alliance of Seleka rebels. Although France and other international partners urged transitional authorities to hold the election, Some analysts had questioned whether Central African Republic was prepared for one. The Constitutional Court’s decision cited irregularities in the vote.

Central African Republic: Presidential runoff, new legislative poll on Feb 14 | AFP

Troubled Central African Republic said Thursday it will hold a deferred presidential runoff alongside a new legislative vote on February 14. The presidential run-off, originally due to be held on Sunday but delayed due to organisational problems, will see two former premiers — Anicet Georges Dologuele and Faustin Archange Touadera — compete for election. A presidential decree said a December 30 legislative election annulled due to irregularities will be held along with the runoff on February 14. The elections have been widely seen as turning a page on the worst sectarian violence in the traditionally unstable and dirt poor nation. Dologuele won 23.74 percent of the vote in the first round on December 30, trailed by Touadera, who picked up 19.05 percent.

Haiti: U.S. Presses for Haiti Runoff Vote Amid Fears of Violence and Fraud | The New York Times

After spending more than $33 million on a widely discredited election in Haiti, the United States has been pressing the country’s leaders to go ahead with a presidential runoff election this Sunday, despite a growing chorus of warnings that the vote could lead to an explosion of violence. Haitian leaders, political parties and others have denounced the first round of voting in October as a fraud-riddled fiasco and protested in the streets to stop the runoff. One of the two remaining candidates says he is boycotting, effectively making it a one-person race. President Michel J. Martelly took to the airwaves on Thursday to warn that protests on Election Day would not be tolerated. Civic, business and religious leaders are engaged in tense back-room negotiations to broker a deal in an effort to avoid violence and put off the race. Eight election observer organizations have pulled out over the fraud accusations and chaos, including a Haitian group funded by the United States.

Haiti: Senate calls for a halt to Sunday presidential runoff | Miami Herald

Haiti’s Senate on Wednesday called on the country’s Provisional Electoral Council to cease all operations for Sunday’s presidential and partial legislative runoffs. The recommendation came after three hours of debate and as concern and uncertainty continue to dog the electoral process four days before the critical vote. A coalition of local observers have announced that they won’t participate, and the private sector has signaled its strong misgivings about the holding of the second round on Sunday. Before the Senate meeting, a group of business leaders from the Haitian-American Chamber met with senators, and soon went to meet with opposition presidential candidate Jude Celestin. Joined by other business leaders, they asked Celestin whether he was willing to sign an agreement negotiated by Roman Catholic Church Cardinal Chibly Langlois that would postpone the vote until next month and a new president’s swearing-in by March 29. President Michel Martely and his hand-picked successor, candidate Jovenel Moïse, have also been presented with the same question, sources familiar with the agreement said.

Haiti: Protesters vow to derail presidential vote; election offices burned | Reuters

Stone-throwing protesters took to the streets of Haiti’s capital on Monday to demand the suspension of a Jan. 24 presidential election over alleged irregularities, while in provincial areas unknown attackers burned several electoral offices. Haiti is due to hold a run-off vote backed by international donors on Sunday, but tensions have risen since opposition candidate Jude Celestin said last week he would withdraw, on grounds that electoral authorities favored the ruling party. Swiss-trained engineer Celestin, 53, came second in an October first round in the poor Caribbean nation, beaten by banana exporter Jovenel Moise, 47, the ruling party candidate.

Haiti: It’s official: Haiti presidential runoff in 17 days | Miami Herald

Haiti President Michel Martelly issued a presidential order Wednesday officially scheduling the country’s postponed presidential and partial legislative runoffs for Jan. 24. Martelly’s late night order came a day after the head of the Provisional Electoral Council reversed himself on the impossibility of staging the vote in time for Martelly’s Feb. 7 departure from office, and on the day that two top U.S. envoys arrived in Port-au-Prince to address an unraveling political crisis triggered by the Oct. 25 presidential and legislative elections. This [order] makes sense only if Célestin has agreed to participate in the second round. Robert Fatton, Haiti analyst Ambassador Thomas Shannon, counselor of the Department of State, and Haiti Special Coordinator Kenneth Merten, spent the first of two days meeting with key political actors including opposition candidate Jude Célestin. They had hope to convince Célestin to participate in the runoff. “This [order] makes sense only if Célestin has agreed to participate in the second round,” said Robert Fatton, a Haiti analyst and political science professor at the University of Virginia.

Central African Republic: Candidates now mostly support vote count: U.N. | Reuters

Almost all of the 30 candidates running for president of Central African Republic now support the election despite calls this week by 20 of them for the vote count to be stopped, the U.N. peacekeeping mission said on Wednesday. About 77 percent of votes have been counted in the Dec. 30 election that is hoped will mark the end of three years of conflict in which thousands have died. Two former prime ministers are in the lead, according to election authorities, and will likely contest a run-off election on Jan. 31.

Haiti: Elections Date Finally Set  | Latin One

The postponed presidential and legislative runoffs and elections in Haiti have finally been given a new date. According to Miami Herald, it is now set to take place on January 24, 2016. Head of the Provisional Electoral Council Pierre-Louis Opont shared the date in a letter to President Michel Martelly after the nine-member council meeting was finally dismissed. Just the day before, Opont told Martelly that it was impossible to organize the elections for January 17, and so the final date could be staged to guarantee the handover of power from one president to another in time to meet the imposed deadline for February 7.

Central African Republic: Election Likely to Go to Runoff | Bloomberg

Central African Republic’s presidential election will probably go to a runoff vote, partial results show, with the two front-runners set to fall short of an outright victory. With about three-quarters of the ballots counted, former Prime Minister Anicet-Georges Dologuele has won 259,327 votes, while former Premier Faustin-Archange Touadera has secured 228,453, according to the country’s election agency. Full results could be announced at the weekend. There’s “no doubt” that Dologuele and Touadera will go to the second round since 77 percent of the votes have already been tallied, Fernande Sakanoth, a spokesperson with the National Electoral Agency, said on Wednesday. A runoff would be held Jan. 31 if no candidate secures a majority in the first round.

Haiti: Election chief says runoff can’t be held by Jan. 17 | Associated Press

Haiti’s outgoing leader met with election authorities Tuesday in search of a solution to the country’s deepening electoral impasse, after an official said it would be impossible to hold a presidential runoff in time for a transfer of power by the constitutional deadline. President Michel Martelly announced last week that Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council was warning that the runoff must be held by Jan. 17 to fulfill the constitutional mandate of inaugurating a new president Feb. 7.

Haiti: Run-off vote to go ahead despite irregularities | AFP

An independent commission on Sunday reported that the first round of Haitian presidential elections on October 25 were “stained by irregularities” but claimed problems were not serious enough to void the poll or further delay a run-off. The panel found that poll watchers intervened to help several candidates in the October ballot, and recommended possible legal action against poll workers and others involved in a fresh blow to a country long crippled by political instability. It also urged measures to improve the transparency in the contest to choose a successor to President Michel Martelly.

Haiti: Electoral council postpones Sunday’s presidential vote | Reuters

Haiti’s Provisional Electoral Council on Monday postponed until January this Sunday’s scheduled presidential run-off election amid accusations by the opposition candidate of fraud and irregularities. “The Provisional Electoral Council informs the general public, political parties and candidates in particular, that the elections of local authorities as well as the partial legislative and presidential elections that were to be held December 27, 2015 are postponed,” the council said in a statement. Ruling party candidate Jovenel Moïse and former government executive Jude Célestin were due to face each other on Sunday. Instead, the vote will take place in January, possibly on Jan. 10, two of the council members said.

Seychelles: Voting starts in presidential run-off | AFP

Victoria (Seychelles) (AFP) – Residents in the Indian Ocean archipelago of the Seychelles voted Thursday, the second of three days of polls, with incumbent president James Michel facing the first serious challenge to his decade-long rule. Michel, 71, who is seeking a third five-year term, was forced into a second-round run-off against opposition leader Wavel Ramkalawan after falling short of an outright majority in the first round in early December, winning just under 48 percent. Ramkalawan, 54, an Anglican priest who took 34 percent of the vote on his fifth run at the country’s top job, now has the backing of the second runner-up, Patrick Pillay, a former foreign and health minister, who won almost 15 percent.

Seychelles: Voting starts in Seychelles presidential run-off | Reuters

The Seychelles voted on Wednesday in the second round of a presidential election in which incumbent James Michel is seeking a third term by touting the Indian Ocean archipelago’s economic expansion under his watch. It is the first time a run-off ballot is being held in Seychelles, where voting runs over three days because of huge distances between some of the 115 islands that are home to 93,000 people. Results are expected late on Friday. Michel, 71, who whose ruling Parti Lepep party, or People’s Party in Creole, has been in power for 38 years, is seen having an edge over Wavel Ramkalawan, a 54-year-old Anglican priest-turned-politician.

Seychelles: Electoral Commission Outlines Changes to Second Round of Presidential Vote | allAfrica.com

Seychellois voters who cast ballots in the second round of the presidential vote next week may see more electoral workers at their polling station. The country’s electoral commission said Friday that it has discussed concerns after the first-round ballots were cast earlier this month. Election observers noted in their reports that some voters had to wait several hours in line before casting their ballots. The commission’s chief registration officer, Lorna Lepathy, said there would not be more polling stations for the second-round vote next week, but that more electoral officers would be placed at stations with a large number of voters.

Haiti: Many in Haiti Expect to Sit out Presidential Runoff Election | Associated Press

Protesters have streamed into the capital’s streets in recent weeks in sometimes violent rallies to back opposition demands for an independent recount of the first round of Haiti’s presidential vote and immediate changes to an electoral council. That fervor isn’t shared by many in this impoverished country, however, and analysts worry widespread voter apathy is threatening the latest attempt to shore up Haiti’s fragile democracy. The malaise during this year’s three-round electoral cycle is occurring while nearly all public offices are up for grabs. Food vendor Minouche Jean didn’t vote in the first round of the presidential election in late October and won’t cast a ballot in the runoff that is scheduled for Dec. 27. She has no interest in a process that seems to matter so little in her daily life.

Seychelles: Observers Say Vote ‘Peaceful, Orderly,’ but Long Lines, Register Should Be Improved | allAfrica.com

The two Seychellois observer missions that monitored the first round of the presidential elections this month say some residents could not cast ballots because of problems with the vote register. The problems with the voter rolls resulted in some registered voters being turned away, “impacting the fairness and credibility of the current voters’ roll,” Jules Hoareau, deputy chief of mission for the Association for Rights Information and Democracy, said at a news conference Wednesday. That analysis echoed a report released Monday from Citizens for Democracy Watch Seychelles. “Some voters were unable to cast their ballot because their names did not appear on the voters’ register or on the approved supplementary list of voters in special voting stations,” said Eline Moise, CDWS’ chairwoman.

Seychelles: Run-Off Election Set After Inconclusive Presidential Poll | allAfrica.com

Seychelles is set for a run-off on 16-18 December after no presidential candidate amassed enough votes to be declared outright winner following elections held in early December. According to final results announced by the island nation’s Electoral Commission, incumbent President James Michel of the Parti Lepep and Wavel Ramkalawan of the Seychelles National Party led the first round of presidential polls, with 47.76 and 33.93 percent of the vote, respectively. The President in Seychelles is elected by an absolute majority vote to serve a five-year term. However, if no candidate receives at least 50 percent plus one vote, a second round of voting is conducted involving the top two contestants, and the winner of this round is declared elected.

Seychelles: Seychelles heads for an election runoff | News24

The Seychelles will go to an unprecedented presidential election runoff after all six candidates in the first round failed to secure a 50 percent share of the vote, the electoral commission said on Sunday. “We will have to go into a second round,” said Hendrick Gappy, chairperson of the Seychelles Electoral Commission. The next vote begins on December 16. The Indian Ocean archipelago nation of 115 islands and 93 000 people went to the polls to pick a new president on December 3 in the three-day vote.

Seychelles: Presidential race heads into second round | Reuters

The Seychelles will go into a presidential election runoff on Dec. 16 after all the six candidates in the first round failed to secure a 50 percent share of the vote, the chairman of the electoral commission said on Sunday. The Indian Ocean archipelago nation of 115 islands and 93,000 people went to the polls to pick a new president on Dec. 3 in the three-day vote. The incumbent President James Michel, 71, won 47.76 percent of the 62,004 votes that were cast, while his closest challenger, Wavel Ramkalawan, a 54-year old Anglican priest, scored 33.93 percent. “We will have to go into a second round,” said Hendrick Gappy, the chairman of the Seychelles Electoral Commission.

Egypt: Election wrapped up for pro-Sisi parliament | AFP

Egypt wrapped up Wednesday a legislative election that spanned over six weeks but failed to mobilise a high turnout for a parliament expected to firmly back President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s iron-fisted policies. The election was marred by apathy in the absence of any opposition after Sisi crushed all forms of dissent since ousting his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi in July 2013. Polling in a run-off for the second phase of voting in 13 of the country’s 27 provinces closed at 9:00 pm (0700 GMT), bringing an end to a weeks-long marathon electoral process.

Haiti: Concerns widen over Haiti presidential elections impasse | Miami Herald

Concerns over Haiti’s disputed presidential elections widened Monday when Catholic bishops and a group of pastors joined an alliance of opposition presidential candidates in demanding an inquiry into the vote. The alliance of eight candidates, led by second-place finisher Jude Célestin and dubbed the G8, reiterated its demand for an independent commission to verify the Oct. 25 presidential vote amid allegations the balloting was tainted by “massive” fraud and irregularities on behalf of frontrunner Jovenel Moise, the government-backed candidate, and his party. The group in a signed communique issued late Sunday also is demanding sweeping changes in the police hierarchy and electoral system ahead of next month’s planned presidential runoff. Should those changes not occur, they said, they will be left with no other choice but to force a transition government to oversee new elections in Haiti.

Argentina: Mauricio Macri wins presidential runoff as Argentina shifts to the right | The Guardian

After 12 years of leftist government, Argentina shifted towards the centre-right on Sunday by giving a presidential victory to Buenos Aires mayor Mauricio Macri of the Cambiemos (Let’s Change) party. With 98.87% of the vote counted, the former chief executive of the Boca Juniors football club was on 51.44%, nearly three points ahead of his rival Daniel Scioli of the Peronist Victory Front who was on 48.56%. The result is likely to reverberate across Latin America.

Egypt: Women in parliament polls: Hopes and hurdles | Ahram Online

With a high turnout of women voters in Egypt’s parliamentary elections, the fact remains that the number of women candidates is relatively low in a field already stacked with political hurdles against female hopefuls. “I wish there was a woman candidate in my constituency, but all the candidates were men,” said Noha, a 35-year-old woman who cast her ballot in Giza during the first stage of the elections, which took off on 17 October and its run-offs on 27 and 28 of the same month. Wafaa Ashrey, the first female candidate yet to submit her papers in the Upper Egyptian city of Aswan, was unable to secure a seat in the first stage, said that “there was a great decline in women running in my constituency due to their fear of failure and the experience as a whole.”

Haiti: Government candidate advances to presidential runoff | Reuters

Ruling party candidate Jovenel Moïse and former government executive Jude Célestin led voting in Haiti’s Oct. 25 presidential election and will face each other in a run-off next month, according to official results announced on Thursday. The winner will succeed President Michel Martelly next February at the head of the Western Hemisphere’s poorest country. Moïse, representing the…