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Presidential Elections
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Saturday sought nomination for a seventh term, a move that would bring him closer to five decades in power. Museveni, 80, has defied calls for his retirement, as critics warn that he as veered into authoritarianism with virtually no opposition even within his ruling National Resistance Movement party. He was welcomed by a large crowd of supporters as he went to collect nomination papers from the offices of the ruling party in Kampala, the Ugandan capital. Museveni first took power as head of a rebel force in 1986. He has since been elected six times, though recent elections have been marred by violence and allegations of vote rigging. His main opponent in the last election was the popular entertainer known as Bobi Wine, who has also declared his candidacy in the polls set for January 2026. Wine, whose real name is Kyagulanyi Ssentamu, has seen many associates jailed or go into hiding as security forces cracked down on opposition ...
Miguel Uribe, a conservative Colombian presidential hopeful, was in critical condition on Monday after being shot in the head from close range during a rally over the weekend. In a statement, doctors said the 39-year-old senator had "barely" responded to medical interventions that included brain surgery following the assassination attempt that has had a chilling effect on the South American nation. Uribe was shot on Saturday as he addressed a small crowd of people who had gathered in a park in Bogota's Modelia neighbourhood. On Sunday hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital where Uribe is being treated to pray for his recovery. Some carried rosaries in their hands, while others chanted slogans against President Gustavo Petro. "This is terrible," said Walter Jimenez, a lawyer who showed up outside the hospital with a sign calling for Petro's removal. "It feels like we are going back to the 1990s," he said, referring to a decade during which drug cartels and rebel groups ...
Romanians braced for the results of their closely-watched presidential election rerun after polls closed Sunday evening, in a race between a hard-right nationalist and a pro-European Union centrist that could determine the geopolitical direction of the NATO member country. The vote pitted front-runner George Simion, the 38-year-old leader of the hard-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians, or AUR, against incumbent Bucharest Mayor Nicusor Dan. The rerun was held months after the cancellation of the previous election plunged Romania into its worst political crisis in decades. When voting closed at 9 pm (1800 GMT), 11.6 million people or about 64 per cent of eligible voters had cast ballots, according to official electoral data. About 1.64 million Romanians abroad, who have been able to vote since Friday at specially set-up polling stations, participated in the vote. Turnout was significantly higher in Sunday's runoff and is expected to play a decisive role in the outcome. In th
South Korea's acting leader Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said Thursday he is resigning to take on heavier responsibility as expectation mounted he will run in next month's presidential election. Han has emerged as a potential conservative standard bearer as the main conservative People Power Party remains in disarray over the recent ouster of President Yoon Suk Yeol. Observers expect Han to officially launch his presidential campaign on Friday. I have two paths ahead of me. One is completing the heavy responsibility that I handle now. The other is putting down that responsibility and taking a heavier responsibility, Han said in a nationally televised announcement. I've finally determined to put down my post to do what I can and what I have to help overcome the crises facing us. Han, who Yoon had appointed prime minister, the country's No. 2 post, is expected to align with the People Power Party to launch a unified conservative campaign against liberal front-runner Lee Jae-myung, ...
Kamala Harris, the daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, failed to notch a big first in American politics when she lost to her Republican rival Donald Trump in the race to the White House. The Democratic leader's defeat to Trump in a bitterly contested election shattered her dream to become the first woman President of the United States. Harris, 60, has known other firsts, though. She has been the district attorney for San Francisco -- the first woman, first African-American and first Indian-origin person to be elected to the position. As vice president, she is the first woman to hold the post. Also, she happens to be the first African-American or Indian-American person to make it there. In an Op-ed published three days before the November 5 election, Harris recollected her frequent visit to India as a child and remembered her late mother, Shyamala Gopalan, a cancer researcher and civil rights activist. "Growing up, my mother raised my sister and me to appreciate and honour
Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Sunday was declared winner of the Sri Lankan presidential election by the country's Election Commission after an unprecedented second round of counting of votes. Dissanayake, 56, the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party's broader front National People's Power (NPP), defeated his closest rival Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). Incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe was eliminated in the first round after he failed to become within the top two in the vote list. NPP said Dissanayake will take oath on Monday. Earlier, the Election Commission ordered a second round of counting after no candidate secured over 50 per cent votes needed to be declared the winner of Saturday's election. Dissanayake will be the country's 9th president. No election in Sri Lanka has ever progressed to the second round of counting, as single candidates have always emerged as clear winners based on first-preference votes.
In a historic first, Sri Lanka's presidential election on Sunday went into a second round of counting after no candidate secured over 50 per cent vote needed to be declared the winner. As per the election results, Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party's broader front National People's Power (NPP) topped in the first round of counting by securing 5.63 million votes or 42.31 per cent, followed by Opposition leader Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) with 4.36 million votes or 32.8 per cent of the total polled. Incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe polled only 2.29 million votes or 17.27 per cent. Election Commission Chairman R M A L Rathnayake said though Dissanayake and Premadasa have secured maximum votes in the 2024 presidential election, neither of them has secured more than 50 per cent votes, so the second preference votes are being counted and added to these two candidates. President Wickremesinghe was eliminated in the first ro
Sri Lanka will hold its presidential election on Sept. 21 in a crucial vote that will decide the future of the South Asian nation still struggling to recover from its economic collapse in 2022, which provoked mass protests and forced the former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to flee the country and later resign. The election is seen as a referendum on President Ranil Wickremesinghe's two-year-long rule that has overseen a fragile recovery of the country's economy. He faces a tough challenge from the leader of the opposition in parliament, as well as from a left-leaning politician with a powerful alliance, who is gaining popularity among young voters. Almost 17 million of Sri Lanka's 22 million people are eligible to vote, and 38 candidates are running for office. Who are the main candidates? Wickremesinghe, whose United National Party has been weakened by a split, is running as an independent candidate. Even though Wickremesinghe remains unpopular for carrying out austerity measures
The nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris as Democratic presidential candidate has brought tremendous energy and enthusiasm into the presidential elections, a top party leader said Sunday, adding that she has brought in a lot of joy and hope. Madam Vice President Kamala Harris as a nominee of the Democratic Party has brought such tremendous energy and enthusiasm into the presidential elections. She's bringing in so many young folks into this campaign and people from different backgrounds. They're really interested in her, Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison told PTI in an interview. She has brought a lot of hope and joy into this election, which is so necessary, particularly when you're running against somebody like Donald Trump, who's about fear, who's about dividing the country, not bringing us together. And so, Kamala Harris is just a tremendous figure and she's running one of the most amazing campaigns I've ever seen, Harrison said. In his capacity as the cha
Venezuelan opposition leader Mara Corina Machado on Thursday rejected a proposal from Brazil's president that Venezuela hold a new presidential election following the contested results of last month's vote. Her comments came shortly after Brazilian President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva said that he still doesn't recognize Nicols Maduro as the winner of last month's presidential election in Venezuela, and that his counterpart could call for a new vote if he has good sense". US President Joe Biden also expressed support for new elections. Lula said that Maduro still owes an explanation to Brazilians and the rest of the world. Machado said during a virtual press conference with Argentine media that redoing the election would be an insult to the people, and she asked if second election were held and Maduro still didn't accept the results, "do we go for a third one? Brazil is by far South America's largest nation and shares one of Venezuela's longest land borders. Unlike many other nations
Former President Donald Trump invited reporters to his New Jersey golf club Thursday for his second news conference in as many weeks as he adjusts to a newly energized Democratic ticket ahead of next week's Democratic National Convention. Trump will meet the press as he steps up his criticism of Vice President Kamala Harris for not holding a news conference or sitting down for interviews since President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign and endorsed her to replace him. The vice president has barely engaged with reporters since becoming the Democratic nominee, though she travels with journalists aboard Air Force Two and sometimes answers shouted questions while boarding or leaving the plane for campaign stops. In one brief interaction last week, she told reporters she wants to get an interview together by the end of the month. Trump on Wednesday made little effort to stay on message at a rally in North Carolina that his campaign billed as a big economic address, mixing pledges
President Joe Biden is zeroing in on the policy goals closest to his heart now that he's no longer seeking a second term, visiting New Orleans to promote his administration's "moonshot" initiative aiming to dramatically reduce cancer deaths. The president and first lady Jill Biden on Tuesday toured medical facilities that receive federal funding to investigate cancer treatments at Tulane University, where researchers demonstrated using a piece of raw meat how they are working to improve scanning technology to quickly distinguish between healthy and cancerous cells during surgeries. The pair then championed the announcement of $150 million in awards from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. Those will support eight teams of researchers around the country working on ways to help surgeons more successfully remove tumours from people with cancer. It brings the total amount awarded by the agency to develop breakthrough treatments for cancers to $400 million. Cancer surgery .
The presidential election in Sri Lanka is to take place on September 21, the independent elections commission announced today. The announcement ended months long speculation that the election would be postponed to extend the term of the incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe. The government gazette no 2394/51 issued today said in terms of article 31 (3) of the constitution the election would take place on September 21 while the nominations would be accepted on August 15. The election announcement set to end the balance term of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who was ousted mid 2022 in a popular public uprising. Rajapaksa had been elected with a record near 7 million votes in November 2019 when the last presidential election was held. Tens of thousands who got into the streets early 2022 demanded Rajapaksa to step down for his failure to tackle the island's gravest economic crisis since 1948. Rajapaksa was forced to flee the country on July 9, 2022 and incumbent Ranil Wickremesinghe who was
Venezuela's government and opposition closed the official presidential campaign season Thursday with demonstrations that drew thousands of people to the streets of the capital. The events three days before the highly anticipated election on Sunday encapsulated the massive disparities between the top contenders, including their resources. President Nicols Maduro, who is seeking a third term, appeared before supporters on a massive stage set up on one of the city's main roads and rallied attendees with musical intermissions and dances throughout his speech. He told the crowd, part of it transported to Caracas on state-owned buses, his opponents are promoters of violence and described himself as a man of peace. Who of the 10 candidates guarantees peace and stability? Maduro asked the crowd. Yet it was he who in recent days spoke of a possible post-election bloodbath. Meanwhile, former diplomat Edmundo Gonzlez Urrutia, who is representing the Unitary Platform coalition, and opposition