16, February 2026
Joshua Osih: going, going, gone!! 0
The Social Democratic Front (SDF) faced open internal dissent within its governing bodies. Stéphane Rivel Nguemalieu and Charlie Tchikanda, respectively shadow cabinet ministers for water and energy, and for social affairs, sports, and youth development, signed on January 26, 2026 a “motion calling for the resignation of the national president of the SDF for poor results and opaque party management.”
The two officials blamed Joshua Osih for what they described as a “derisory result” in the 2025 presidential election and for “multiple failures” during the campaign. They summarized their assessment: “In October 2025, our candidate-president secured only 1% of the vote, a derisory result that reflects a lack of strategy, preparation, and lessons learned from the 2018 failure.”
According to the signatories, the result confirmed the failure of a commitment Joshua Osih made in October 2023 during the party’s 10th Congress. At that time, he pledged to “build a strong, conquering SDF capable of winning the 2025 presidential election, or at least improving on the 2018 result.”
Campaign Described as “Approximate”
Stéphane Rivel Nguemalieu and Charlie Tchikanda first criticized a gap between assurances and operational reality. They recalled that the candidate-president claimed that “everything was fully ready in terms of logistics, resources, and human capacity,” but they pointed to operational failures during the campaign.
They cited the late formation of the campaign team, partial coverage of polling stations, and unfulfilled promises to polling station representatives, whom they said leaders “abandoned at the mercy of regional presidents.”
They also cited the absence of large rallies to test popular support and described a campaign director limited to an administrative role at headquarters.
The criticisms extended to political positioning. They cited a lack of solidarity with opposition parties “victims of regime abuses,” insufficient support for victims of arbitrary arrests and detentions, ambiguous messaging on the party’s opposition stance, and a narrative rejecting coalitions that they said resulted in lost votes.
Allegations of Opaque Financial Management
Beyond strategy, the signatories targeted internal management, which they described as opaque. They denounced the absence of a formal budget and administrative and financial procedures manual, as well as repeated violations of the separation between authorizing officers, cash handlers, and spending executors.
They also questioned the transparency surrounding the use of state subsidies, among other governance-related “failures.” Based on these elements, they called on Joshua Osih “to take responsibility and resign from the leadership of the party.”
Failing that, they urged the National Executive Committee (NEC) “to adopt a resolution declaring you ineligible for the 2032 election, as well as for any potential early election.” This move revived the debate over succession at the head of the SDF, which opened after the death in June 2023 of John Fru Ndi, the party’s founding president. That period already led to the exclusion and voluntary departure of several senior party figures.
Source: Sbbc





















23, February 2026
Kim Jong Un re-appointed leader of North Korea’s ruling party 0
North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party has again chosen Kim Jong Un to be its general secretary, state media report.
The announcement by the rubber-stamp party congress on Sunday comes as little surprise given the Kim family has ruled the dictatorship since the late 1940s.
State-run KCNA said that under Kim’s leadership North Korea “radically improved” its “war deterrence”, “with the nuclear forces as its pivot”.
Despite long-standing international sanctions, North Korea has continued to build its nuclear capabilities, regularly testing banned intercontinental missiles. But the secrecy of the regime makes it harder to evaluate how much progress the military has made.
Kim, who took over control of the regime after his father’s death in 2011, has invested heavily in the nuclear weapons programme, turning Pyongyang into a far bigger challenge for the West, and especially the US.
He is expected to announce the next phase of the country’s weapons programme during the congress, which is now in its fourth day. Before it started, North Korea unveiled what it said was a range of nuclear-capable rocket launchers.
The congress, which has been held once every five years in the last decade, began on 19 February.
With some 5,000 party members in attendance, according to KCNA, it offers a rare glimpse into the structure of political power in North Korea, which remains quite opaque even to the keenest watchers.
The meetings are considered to be the most important political event and provide insight into where the country’s priorities lie, from foreign policy to its nuclear ambitions.
While Kim has remained at the top of North Korean leadership, the party congress’ presidium, or executive committee, has been reshuffled since the last meeting in 2021. More than half of its 39 members have been replaced, according to state media.
In his opening speech last week, Kim vowed to boost the country’s economy and people’s standard of living, which he described as “heavy and urgent historic tasks”.
And all eyes are on whether Kim’s daughter, Ju Ae, will make an appearance.
Earlier this month, South Korea’s spy agency said that Kim had chosen Ju Ae as his heir. Kim Ju Ae, believed to be 13 years old, has become an increasingly prominent figure at official events – inspecting missiles and attending Beijing’s military parade with her father.
Source: BBC