THOUSANDS ACROSS HAITI DEMAND OUSTER OF PM IN NEW PROTEST — AP, Wednesday 7 September 2022
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Thousands of people in Haiti’s capital and other major cities organised new protests on Wednesday to demand safer streets, more affordable goods, and the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Haitians have organised a growing number of protests amid an increase in gang-related kidnappings and killings, a spike in the prices of basic goods, and a severe lack of fuel, amid an inflation rate that has hit 30%. On Tuesday the prime minister’s office issued a statement saying it was “aware of the seriousness of the situation” and that Henry would implement social programmes to alleviate extreme poverty and ensure more fuel is available. Haiti has grown increasingly unstable since the 7 July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, with gangs growing more powerful as Henry’s administration keeps pushing back the date for general elections.
RAILA ODINGA SHOULD BE THANKED: HIS ELECTION LOSSES HELPED DEEPEN KENYA’S DEMOCRACY — The Conversation, 6 September 2022
Kenya’s Supreme Court unanimously dismissed all claims raised in Raila Odinga’s petition challenging Deputy President William Ruto’s victory in the August 2022 presidential election. Chief Justice Martha Koome read the ruling on 5 September 2022; Ruto will be sworn in as Kenya’s fifth president on 13 September 2022. Odinga’s four legal petitions, though unsuccessful, have played an important role in helping improve, entrench and deepen democracy in Kenya. Thanks to his 2013 petition, the court ruled that results at the polling station were final — making it mandatory to post results publicly. His 2017 petition led to reforms that made the 2022 election more efficient and transparent. The 2022 election saw no internet shutdown, no arrest of opposition leaders, and results transmitted in record time. Kenyans now recognise the courts as the final arbiter of election conflicts, significant in a country where a 2007 post-election dispute killed more than 1,000 people. This article has been republished under Creative Commons licence.