Politics
Belarus’ Lukashenko to face only pre-approved challengers in presidential election
Belarus’ election commission on Monday allowed only seven politicians loyal to leader Alexander Lukashenko to start collecting signatures to oppose him in upcoming presidential elections.
Lukashenko, who has led the country for over 30 years, is set to seek a seventh term in January.
The authoritarian ruler faced criticism after he was elected in 2020 in a vote that was rejected by the country’s opposition and the West as rigged with fraud.
The election results triggered nationwide protests and resulted in the arrest of around 65,000 people — many of them opposition figures.
Human rights groups say Belarus holds around 1,300 political prisoners who are denied adequate healthcare and are often forbidden from contacting their families while in prison.
Last week, the country’s election commission registered an initiative group for Lukashenko to prepare for the upcoming election.
Sergei Syrankov of the Communist Party, Oleg Gaidukevich, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, and former Interior Ministry spokeswoman Olga Chеmоdanova are three of the seven candidates chosen to start collecting signatures.
The candidates are each required to collect at least 100,000 signatures by 6 December in order to qualify to run in the race.
“Those are alternative candidates, and I believe they just want to safeguard the incumbent,” Lukashenko said of his challengers.
The commission rejected two opposition politicians who requested to register initiative groups.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, a key figure of the Belarusian opposition who is currently living in exile, has denounced the upcoming elections as a farce.
“This is not an election but an imitation of an electoral process held amid terror when alternative candidates and observers aren’t allowed,” Tsikhanouskaya said.
In February, when the country held parliamentary and local elections, independent Western observers were not invited to monitor the vote for the first time since the country’s independence in 1991.
In a heartwarming gesture, Hon Success Opara, former councilorship candidate for Ikenegbu Ward 2, has shown love and appreciation to the women of ST Peter Anglican Church, Ikenegbu, on the eve of Mothering Sunday.
The visit was a wonderful opportunity to bond and celebrate the selfless love of mothers in the community.
Opara, who worships at ST Peter’s, took time to fellowship with the women, sharing words of encouragement and praying for their well-being.
His gesture is seen as a testament to his commitment to uplifting and empowering women.
The ST Peter women appreciated his thoughtful gesture, wishing him continued success in his endeavors.
President of the Nigerian Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio says when the opposition expresses anger over any law made in the Senate, he gets excited.
Akpabio spoke on Saturday in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, while addressing the audience in reception of the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
According to him, anger from the opposition signals to him that the right law has been made.
He declared that opposition figures threatening to boycott the 2027 presidential election are just not ready for the contest.
He said, “Each time we make a law and the opposition frowns, I get excited that I’ve made the right law”.
“Yesterday I saw one man shouting on TV because of the Amended Electoral Act, saying we’re likely to boycott elections.
“My response was tell the truth, you’re boycotting the elections because you’re not ready. If you are ready you won’t boycott.”
Federal lawmaker, representing the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, in the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, has said that the six special seats for women in the Nigerian Senate will not change anything.
According to her, the Senate will still remain overwhelmingly male-dominated.
She lamented that reducing the special seats to 6 does not solve the problem, adding that it does not fundamentally change representation or the balance of voices in the Senate.
Ireti, who is the Chair, Senate Committee on Women Affairs, pointed out that until there are deliberate measures to increase women’s representation, the situation would remain the same.
Speaking on Arise News, the lawmaker was asked whether the political setting in Nigeria is not rather too hostile for women.
She said, “No, it’s only because the men choose to make it so. In the National Assembly, outspoken men are described as just outspoken. Outspoken women like me are described as troublesome.
“Now I’ve even asked some men to define what the difference is between an outspoken female parliamentarian and why do you describe them differently? Now, the gender equal opportunity bill has gone to first reading. I’ve been struggling for it to go to second reading.
“Whenever I lobby some of my colleagues, especially the older ones, it is ‘why do you need that? Does it not contravene the Constitution?’ I said no, the Constitution says 50% and I’m asking you to enforce 35%.
ADC calls on women to lead, shape Nigeria’s future
Hon Success Opara Wishes ST Peter Women Ikenegbu a Blessed Mothering Sunday
‘I get excited when we make law that angers opposition’ – Akpabio
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