Gambian Communication Minister Sheriif Bojang has left his post in protest at President Yahya Jammeh’s refusal to concede defeat in last month’s election. Bojang’s resignation is the first high-profile cabinet defection since Jammeh refused to accept the outcome of the presidential election held in December 2016. In a statement, Bojang said Jammeh’s defiance was an attempt to subvert the will of the Gambian people, adding that the voters’ decision had to be respected.

Bojang has fled The Gambia to neighboring Senegal. Jammeh, who has been in power for 22 years, lost last month’s vote to the opposition coalition’s candidate Adama Barrow by a thin margin. The veteran leader initially conceded, but later changed his mind and called for a new vote, saying he would challenge the result in the Supreme Court. Barrow has nevertheless asserted that his inauguration will go ahead regardless of the court case.

Back in October, Bojang announced that The Gambia had decided to withdraw from the International Criminal Court, calling the body the “International Caucasian Court” and accusing it of racism and bias against Africa. The news made headlines as The Gambia was following in the footsteps of South Africa and Burundi.  Several officials have already either fled the country or resigned fearing a crackdown by Jammah who is notorious for stifling his opponents. Early in January, the electoral commission’s chairman fled the country after he received threats for declaring Jammeh as the loser of the election. Foreign minister Neneh Macdouall Gaye also resigned in December.

On Wednesday, three leaders from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), led by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari, will visit The Gambia to mediate a solution to the country’s political impasse. This is going to be the second visit by ECOWAS leaders to The Gambia in less than a month. West African leaders have repeatedly pursued mediation to ensure a peaceful transfer of power in The Gambia. Last month, after a visit to the country, they declared that ECOWAS did not yet intend to deploy its standby military force and sought a peaceful transfer of power.

Nevertheless, if Jammeh refuses to step down by January 18, when his term expires, ECOWAS may use military intervention. Jammah has already dismissed ECOWAS mediation efforts and accused the body of declaring a war against his country. The Gambia’s army announced loyalty to Jammah last week, going back on its initial pledge of allegiance to President-elect Adama Barrow.

Presstv

Ivory Coast Prime Minister Daniel Kablan Duncan has resigned along with his cabinet amid political tensions in the West African country. “I have tendered my resignation and that of the government,” Duncan said Monday, two days later than he was expected to step down based on the standard procedure for changing the government in the country.

Duncan made the resignation announcement after a meeting with President Alassane Ouattara, who kept hold of his majority in the December 18 parliamentary elections. However, the government was expected to resign by Saturday to give leeway to a new government which could allow the implementation of measures contained in a new constitution, signed by Ouattara in November.

Ivory Coast’s presidency announced that Ouattara had accepted Duncan’s resignation. The two-day delay in the announcement of the government’s resignation came after a group of dissident army soldiers took over army bases in cities across Ivory Coast, demanding bonus payments. The government then reached an agreement with the army for the revolt to end. Reports said former premier and current Parliament Speaker Guillaume Soro was behind the mutiny as he is believed to be seeking the post of premiership or vice presidency. Some also said that the revolt could have been masterminded by Ouattara.

State employees also began a five-day strike on Monday, demanding that the government scrap pension cuts and another plan to increase the retirement age from 55 to 60. Ivory Coast, the world’s top cocoa producer, is West Africa’s largest and most prosperous economy.The French-speaking country emerged from nearly a decade of short wars and a protracted crisis in 2011. However, the factionalized, ill-disciplined military and increasing political divisions have sparked fresh concerns about the state of security in the country and how the government could continue to realize its economic objectives in the future.

Presstv

The government of the Congolese President Joseph Kabila has reportedly reached an agreement with opposition parties to end the current political crisis in the Congo over his refusal to step down following a defeat in recent polls.

Under the last-minute accord struck Friday by political parties in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), Kabila will leave office following elections due to be held by the end of 2017, press reports said citing the nation’s Catholic Church leaders who were mediating the negotiations.

“The government is asked to take all steps so that the elections are organized by the end of 2017 at the latest,” said Marcel Utembi, the president of the Congo’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

Kabila’s presidential term expired on December 19, but ruling officials have effectively prolonged his mandate until 2018, claiming that the government would not be able to arrange elections before then.

Under the reported accord, which is expected to be officially signed on Saturday, Kabila will not be able to revise the constitution to allow him to remain in office for a third term. The parties further agreed that Kabila will appoint a prime minister from the Central African nation’s main opposition bloc to oversee the transition, a key point of contention in the final stages of negotiations. However, neither Kabila nor the country’s leading opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi are expected to sign the accord, press reports note, raising concerns about whether it would be honored.

Spokesmen for the government and Kabila’s ruling coalition were not available for immediate comment on the reported agreement. The development came as negotiators spent weeks in tense talks seeking to ensure the first peaceful transfer of power in the impoverished nation since its independence in 1960. It remains unclear, however, if polls can be arranged by the end of the upcoming year, or if leading politicians, including Kabila, will live up to the terms.

Meanwhile, Kabila’s extension of his rule has sparked bloody clashes in the country. Security forces killed nearly 40 protesters last week as they rallied against the continuing tenure of a ruler who rose to power in 2001 following his father’s assassination. There are growing concerns that the current standoff could lead to a repeat of clashes seen between 1996 and 2003 in eastern Congo in which many died, mainly due to starvation and disease.

Presstv

The opposition and the government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo have agreed on a deal to allow President Joseph Kabila remain in office for an additional year in return for not seeking a third term, the opposition has announced. “Kabila stays for one year,” opposition leader Martin Fayulu said on Friday, adding, “He will not try to stand for a new term.”

The unexpected deal between the opposing sides came after dozens of people were killed in anti-government protests this week. The United Nations (UN) said on Friday that some 40 people were killed. A government spokesman declined to comment on the specifics of the deal, which requires final approval by all the delegates at negotiations mediated by the country’s Catholic Church. Jean Marc Kabund, the secretary general of the DR Congo’s largest opposition party, the UDPS, warned that the deal was not yet closed. “Today is the last day (of talks),” he said, adding, “It’s make it or break it.”

President Kabila’s second term in office expired on Tuesday. According to the constitution, a new president must be elected now. However, Kabila has remained in office as a presidential election scheduled for last month was postponed because of what the government said were delays in registering voters.

Kabila has been accused of trying to cling on to power. His supporters, however, say that he is committed to the constitution but stepping down from power would possibly spark a power struggle that could put his life in danger.

His father, former president Laurent Kabila, was assassinated in 2001 in the country, which has never witnessed a peaceful transition of power.He took office just ten days after the assassination of his father.

The protests and killings this week have raised fears that the African state is headed toward more instability and a major conflict.

Presstv

Political parties in the Democratic Republic of Congo have stopped negotiations before finalizing a power transition agreement, under which President Joseph Kabila will leave office next year. Participants in the negotiations said the talks between the opposition and the government in the DR Congo, which lasted for 12 hours, came to an end at about 5:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) on Saturday.

The negotiations were set to resume at 11 a.m. local time. “At that time … it will be possible to propose a final document that can be signed this afternoon,” opposition delegate Francois Mwamba said. Mwamba noted that the negotiating parties had failed to agree on some points of the deal, which was recently brokered by the country’s Catholic Church. The deal would allow President Joseph Kabila to remain in office for an additional year but the constitution could not be changed to let him run for a third term.

Under the agreement, presidential elections would also be held in 2017. The unexpected accord came after dozens of people were killed in anti-government protests this week. The United Nations put the death toll at some 40. Opposition leaders Martin Fayulu and Jose Endundo said a prime minister would be chosen from the main opposition bloc and veteran opposition leader Etienne Tshisekedi would supervise the implementation of the agreement.

Kabila has not immediately commented on the news. President Kabila’s second term in office expired on Tuesday. According to the constitution, a new president must be elected now. However, Kabila has remained in office as a presidential election scheduled for last month was postponed because of what the government said were delays in registering voters.

Kabila has been accused of trying to cling on to power. His supporters, however, say that he is committed to the constitution but stepping down from power would possibly spark a power struggle that could put his life in danger. His father, former president Laurent Kabila, was assassinated in 2001 in the country, which has never witnessed a peaceful transition of power. He took office just ten days after the assassination of his father.

Presstv

Zimbabwe’s ruling party, ZANU-PF, has endorsed President Robert Mugabe as its candidate for the upcoming presidential election. Mugabe was endorsed at a party conference held on Saturday in Masvingo, located about 300 kilometers southeast of the capital Harare.

Deputy Secretary Eunice Sandi Moyo said the party’s congress had voiced “its support to the president and first secretary comrade Robert Mugabe as the sole candidate for the forthcoming 2018 elections.” The endorsement of the incumbent president was met with resounding applause from supporters attending the annual conference.

Thousands of cheering supporters chanted slogans in Shona language meaning, “Rule, Rule Father.” Mugabe, 92, has ruled the African country for more than 36 years and won the most recent election in 2013. He has been in power since the country’s independence from the British colonial rule in 1980. In April, thousands of supporters of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, attended a demonstration in Harare, calling for the resignation of the president.

Zimbabwe has seen a surge in public discontent with an economic crisis that has left banks short of cash and the government struggling to pay its workers. Many have taken to the streets over the past weeks, protesting against the failure of the Mugabe administration in addressing economic woes. ZANU-PF is also in turmoil over a successor for the ailing president, which has triggered more concerns that the country, known for its rich resources, would slide deeper into chaos.

Presstv

West African regional leaders have failed to convince Gambia’s President Yahya Jammeh, who has lost and rejected the results of a recent presidential election, to allow power transition. Political upheaval erupted in Gambia after the presidential election on December 1, when opposition leader Adama Barrow was declared the winner. Incumbent Jammeh, who has ruled Gambia for 22 years and was seeking re-election, first conceded defeat but then backtracked, calling for a re-vote.

Gambian military forces, professing loyalty to the president, seized the headquarters of the national elections commission on Tuesday and blocked staffers from entering the office. Leaders from a regional bloc known as the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, traveled to Gambia in a failed attempt to strike a deal with the president to make him leave power. “It is not time for a deal. It is not something that can happen in one day. It is something that we have to work on,” said Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who led the ECOWAS delegation.

The regional leaders will meet again on Saturday, in the Nigerian capital of Abuja, to further seek a solution to the crisis. ECOWAS president Marcel Alain de Souza warned on Tuesday that military intervention could be considered if the Gambian president avoided to step down. Head of the president’s party, the Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction, has filed a petition with Gambia’s Supreme Court demanding a fresh vote with a re-validated voter registry.

The document, which was filed against the election commission and Gambia’s attorney general on Tuesday, said the recent election should be invalidated because, it said, the vote was not conducted fairly. “The petition prays that it be determined that the said Adama Barrow was not duly elected or returned as president and that the said election was void,” read the petition.

But it was not clear what the filing of the petition with the Supreme Court would entail, as some of the institution’s judges have been dismissed by Jammeh himself in a previous row. “The only recourse when you have any problems with the results of the elections… one has to appeal to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court has been dormant since May 2015,” said the election commission’s chairman, Alieu Momar Njie, referring to the time when Jammeh dismissed the judges.

Barrow has denounced Jammeh’s rejection of the vote results and said the president lacks the constitutional authority to call for a new vote or to invalidate the election. The United States, the United Nations Security Council, and international organizations have also called for a peaceful transition of power.

Presstv