South Sudan: Voting will continue until Saturday, 15 January
The SPLM Deputy Secretary General for the Southern sector, Ann Itto, said that more than 60 percent of the registered voters already cast their ballots during the first 3 days of voting, crossing the threshold needed for the vote to be valid.
“On the part of the voters’ turnout, though I’m unable to give you concrete results, I know very well that by the third day of voting, the 60% turnout line has been passed. The threshold number is 2,253,308. That is the threshold for us because if that many people vote, it means the 60% requirement of the voter turnout has been met,” said Ann Itto. Voting will continue until Saturday the 15th of January.
Kenya launches anti-ICC offensive across Africa
The Kenyan government has launched a continental diplomatic offensive to win backing from Africa Union (AU) members in dissuading the International Criminal Court (ICC) from prosecuting six Kenyans named in connection with the 2007 post-election killings in Kenya. The government has already dispatched six cabinet ministers, led by Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, to various African capitals to solicit support for its position. The ICC Prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo announced last year that he would open charges against six top Kenyan officials he implicated in the violence. The ICC rules require that any such deferral to local courts must be preceded by the establishment in the cited country of a judicial tribunal that meets international standards of independence and seriousness.
Benin election scheduled for February 27
The President of Benin said that, the presidential elections in his country would take place on 27 February this year.
"The first round of presidential elections will be held on February 27," he said in a statement and added that if need arises for a second round of balloting, it would be staged two weeks later. Legislative polls to elect a new parliament have been scheduled for 17 April. This will be the fifth presidential contest since Benin introduced multiparty politics in 1991.The election will be the first organised by the government of President Boni Yayi, a former international banker who came into office in 2006. He replaced General Mathieu Kerekou, who had dominated the political scene in Benin for 30 years, first as a military ruler and then as a democratically-elected head of state in the country of 8.9 million people. A coalition of opposition parties recently selected Adrien Houngbeji, a veteran politician and lawyer, to face President Yayi in the election.
Raila briefs AU boss ahead of Cote d'Ivoire visit
Kenya’s Prime Minister Raila Odinga held talks on Wednesday evening with the African Union (AU) Commission chairman Jean Ping on the Cote d'Ivoire's crisis. During the two-hour meeting, the Prime Minister reassured Mr. Ping that he intends to stay on course in Cote d'Ivoire and plans to return to the West African country at the weekend. Mr Ping said the AU is grateful that Mr Odinga agreed to take up the task regarding Cote d'Ivoire and wished him success. The two leaders agreed that the situation in Cote d'Ivoire is a tough assignment but Mr Odinga confirmed that he would give it his best effort. He reiterated that force should be the last option in dealing with the problem. Mr Odinga, who was appointed to lead the mission in the West African nation late in December, ruled out a vote recount as suggested by incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo, saying the atmosphere is already tense and whatever the results of the recount, they will remain disputed. Mr Ping said that he viewed Mr Odinga's appointment to lead the AU mission in Cote d'Ivoire as an honour to Kenya. He said that they are also confident that so far the PM is on the right track.