ICC to proceed with Bemba war crimes trial
The International Criminal Court (ICC) decided on Tuesday 19 October 2010 to pursue the war crimes trial of Jean-Pierre Bemba, the former Vice President of Democratic Republic of Congo. The Court rejected an appeal by his lawyers to dismiss the case. Mr Bemba is accused of leading militias into Central African Republic in 2002 and 2003 that murdered and raped civilians. The defence lawyers had argued that Mr Bemba had already been investigated in CAR and could not be prosecuted twice for the same crime .One of his defence lawyers has suggested that the charges against him may be politically motivated to remove Mr Bemba from future elections.
Guinea’s Troubled Elections
Gen Sekouba Konate, the junta leader named Gen Siaka Toumany Sangare as the new head of the Electoral Commission. Gen. Sangare is a Malian national working in Guinea with the Organisation International de la Francophone. In the meantime, the presidential run-off that was scheduled to take place 24 October 2010 was called-off by the new Electoral Commission chief. This is the third time that the elections have been called-off since the first-round vote was held in June 2010. It was first called-off in July because of investigations into electoral fraud and again in September due to clashes between rival supporters. Gen Tounmay announced that election materials had not been distributed, and vote-counting computers had been stolen hence the delay. No new date for the run-off was announced. It is feared that the long delay could destabilise the State further.
Kenyan Cabinet Minister William Ruto is suspended
The Kenyan coalition leaders, President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga suspended Higher Education Minister William Ruto after the Constitutional Bench ruled that the minister had a criminal case to answer. Mr. Ruto who has fallen out with his part leader Prime Minister Odinga is facing corruption-related charges relating to a forest land transaction where he is alleged to have defrauded a State corporation of $1.2m (£750,000) in the latter days of the KANU regime where he served as one of former President Moi’s key point men. Under the new Constitution, any public Officer who is found to be in violation of the law is required to vacate office.
South Sudan referendum vote to take place as scheduled
The spokesman of the Commission organising the referendum on independence of South Sudan, Jamal Mohamed Ibrahim confirmed that voting will held on 9 January 2011 as planned. He stated that voter registration would begin on 14 November 2010. However, the Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein hinted that the referendum could be delayed due to logistical challenges on the ground such as the disagreement on where the border between the North and South should be drawn. Nevertheless, he too was optimistic that the outstanding disputes could be resolved before the scheduled date of the vote and expressed his support for the holding of the referendum on time.
Parliament in Somalia fails to approve Prime Minister
The parliament of Somalia failed to endorse the newly nominated PM Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed. The speaker of parliament, Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden, postponed the vote to approve the PM after the assembly descended into disarray. Lawmakers got into a commotion over whether the vote should be conducted openly or through secret ballot.
Manual counting for presidential elections in Ivory Coast
The Independent Electoral Commission of Ivory Coast (CEI) has ruled in favour of the use of manual counting after a three-day row among the members, which was sparked by the contracting of a planned computerised counting to a firm that the opposition party members said was headed by President Gbagbo’s collaborator. However, Gbagbo’s party FPI has rejected the ruling of the CEI and says it will not accept manual counting, stating that it is susceptible to manipulation. Observers say that both manual and computerised counting may be eventually adopted.