Tag Archives: vote

Washington, United States | AFP | “I don’t see Joe Biden as a threat.” It was with these words that Donald Trump earlier this month summarily dismissed the challenge posed by the former vice president, who on Thursday announced his long-expected decision to run for the Democratic nomination in 2020. …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | The election 25 years ago of South Africa’s first black president, the late Nelson Mandela, who inspired the struggle against apartheid, was a time of soaring hope that the bruised country would reconcile after decades of discrimination and inequality. “You have mandated us to …

Kiev, Ukraine | AFP | Ukraine’s election has catapulted Volodymyr Zelensky, a 41-year-old standup comedian and television star with no political experience, into the nation’s top job. As leader of a country dependent on international aid and battling separatists, Zelensky will have to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, deep …

Paris, France | AFP |  Black South Africans voted for the first time in April 1994, turning out in droves for a jubilant election that was the final death blow to centuries of white domination. Here is an account of that historic event, based on AFP reports from the time. …

Paris, France | AFP |  South Africa’s first all-race vote 25 years ago turned the page on an oppressive system of racial segregation called apartheid that for roughly 50 years privileged whites over blacks. Here is a reminder. – Races apart – Apartheid — an Afrikaans-language word meaning the state …

Kiev, Ukraine | AFP |  Comedian Volodymyr Zelensky has been elected president of Ukraine twice — first as a character in the popular TV show “Servant of the People”, now for real. The 41-year-old performer’s bid started out as a long shot but, on the back of popular discontent with …

Cairo, Egypt | AFP | Egyptians voted Saturday in a referendum that aims to cement the rule of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the former coup leader who presents himself as a rock of stability in a turbulent region. Voters were being asked to back amendments to the constitution to allow Sisi, …

Johannesburg, South Africa | AFP | A large portrait of a bright-eyed young woman draped in a black graduation robe looms over a spotless, tiled lounge in Protea Glen, a suburb of Johannesburg’s Soweto township. It is a constant and gnawing reminder of potential that has gone unrealised for 10 …

Alexandra/Welkom, South Africa | AFP | “In 1994 we voted for Nelson Mandela, then for Thabo Mbeki, then again for Jacob Zuma. But nothing has changed,” sighed Aubrey Kutlawano after attending an election rally by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. Aged 42, Kutlawano has no job and lives in a …

Pilani, India | AFP | One of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s signature policies has been protecting cows, but for Raghuvir Singh Meena — a Hindu farmer struggling to protect his crop of chickpeas from roaming cattle — it has gone too far. Farmers overwhelmingly supported Modi’s nationalist party when …