Politics
Japan’s ruling coalition at risk of losing majority in election, exit polls show
Japan’s ruling coalition could lose its majority in parliament in Sunday’s general election, according to exit polls, after suffering losses amid voter anger over a funding scandal and the cost of living crisis in the world’s fourth-biggest economy.
A poll by the national broadcaster NHK showed that the Liberal Democratic party (LDP), which has ruled Japan almost without interruption since the mid-1950s, and its junior coalition partner, Komeito, were set to win between 174 and 254 of the 465 seats in the lower house of parliament.
The main opposition Constitutional Democratic party (CDP) is predicted to win 128 to 191 seats. The outcome may force the LDP or CDP into power-sharing agreements with other parties to form a government. The official result is not expected until Monday morning.
The LDP’s ability to form a government will depend on whether it can continue as the senior partner in a coalition with Komeito, a much smaller party that was also projected to lose seats. The two parties together need 233 seats to retain a majority.
While the result is not a repeat of the political seismic shock of 15 years ago – an unprecedented defeat for the LDP – it has left the party significantly weakened and will raise questions about the future of the recently installed prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba.
Ishiba had warned that the LDP had work to do to regain public trust after months of controversy over MPs’ undeclared slush funds. “We want to start afresh as a fair, just and sincere party, and seek your mandate,” he told supporters on the eve of the vote.
Ishiba, a former defence minister, became the party’s president – and Japan’s new prime minister – last month after his predecessor, Fumio Kishida, announced he was stepping down to take responsibility for the funding scandal.
Dozens of LDP lawmakers were found to have siphoned unreported profits from the sale of tickets to party gatherings into slush funds.
Several senior figures were disciplined, and the party withdrew its support for several candidates in Sunday’s vote – moves that failed to repair the damage inflicted by the funding scandal.
Ishiba, who is battling low approval ratings just weeks into his premiership, was wrongfooted days before the vote when the media reported that the party had given millions of yen in campaign funds to local party chapters whose candidates had lost the party’s endorsement.
Japan’s longsuffering opposition was pinning its hopes on the scandal triggering a repeat of the 2009 lower house election, the last time the LDP was deposed.
The CDP leader, Yoshihiko Noda, accused the LDP of ignoring the needs of ordinary people, as polls said most voters wanted action on rising prices, as well as tax cuts and wage rises. “The LDP’s politics are all about quickly implementing policies for those who give them lots of cash,” Noda told supporters on Saturday. “But vulnerable people have been ignored.”
Takeshi Ito, a 38-year-old voter, said he would support the LDP in the absence of a viable alternative.
“Even if I were to switch to an opposition party, it’s still unclear whether they could push forward reforms, and I don’t know if I can trust them or not at this point,” Ito said. “I want to see the party in power continue to move forward.”
A faction of Accord Party has held its own governorship primary, where Mr. Clement Bamigbola emerged as the faction’s governorship candidate for the 2026 Osun State election.
This is coming just four days after the emergence of Governor Ademola Adeleke as the party’s flag-bearer.
Recall that the party under the leadership of Maxwell Mgbudem, on Wednesday, held a similar exercise which produced Governor Ademola Adeleke as the party’s candidate.
However, a faction of the party rejected his emergence, insisting that Barrister Maxwell Mgbudem is not the legally recognized national chairman of the Accord Party.
In a fresh development on Sunday, about 300 delegates of the Accord Party from across Osun State elected Bamigbola as the factional candidate during a primary held at Regina Suite, Osogbo.
Bamigbola emerged through a voice vote conducted by the delegates, after which the Chairman of the Primary Committee, Hon. Olufemi Ogundare, declared him the party’s candidate for the 2026 Osun State governorship election.
President Bola Tinubu and leaders of ECOWAS countries are currently meeting in Abuja.
The 68th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government is taking place at the State House Conference Centre, in Abuja.
Leaders of West African countries at the meeting include President Julius Bio (Sierra Leone, ECOWAS Chair), President Patrice Talon (Benin), José Maria Neves (Cabo Verde) and Alassane Ouattara (Côte d’Ivoire).
Others are Adama Barrow (The Gambia), John Mahama (Ghana), Umaro Embaló (Guinea-Bissau), Joseph Boakai (Liberia), Bassirou Faye (Senegal) and Faure Gnassingbé (Togo).
The meeting is coming against the backdrop of five turbulent years for West Africa, which saw coups in Mali (2020, 2021), Burkina Faso (twice in 2022), and Niger (2023).
The latest incidents include an attempted coup in Benin on December 7, 2025, and renewed instability in Guinea-Bissau.
At the time of filing this report, details of the meeting are yet to be disclosed.
Politics
Breaking: Diri Orders Autopsy on Bayelsa Deputy Governor’s Death, Warns Against Politicisation
Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, has ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death of the state’s Deputy Governor, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo.
Governor Diri gave the directive on Saturday while receiving former President Goodluck Jonathan at the Government House in Yenagoa.
Reacting to the incident, the governor condemned what he described as widespread misinformation and speculation on social media, warning against any attempt to politicise the deputy governor’s death.
“I want to make an appeal. I have seen people politicise his death. In Ijaw land, there is no enmity in death. Let nobody politicise the passing of our dearly beloved deputy governor,” Diri said.
“If anyone truly loves him, this is the time to show it. I have directed that an autopsy be carried out to reveal the cause of his death. There is a lot of nonsense going on on social media.”
The governor further urged the public to focus on mourning and honouring the late deputy governor, noting that the state government had declared three working days of mourning in his honour.
“If anyone is issuing statements to eulogise him, let it end there. Let us mourn him because Bayelsa State is in a mourning mood,” he added.
Governor Diri also called for unity and love among the people, reminding them of the inevitability of death.
Speaking during the condolence visit, former President Goodluck Jonathan described the late Ewhrudjakpo as a committed and dedicated individual who played a key role in the activities of his foundation.
“For me, he was someone my foundation and I will never forget. He represented the governor in all our programs,” Jonathan said, adding that Ewhrudjakpo worked tirelessly in that role, even more than when he served as deputy governor.
The man who tackled a gunman to the floor and saved people from getting sh0t at Bondi Beach in Australia has been identified as Ahmed al Ahmed.
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