Global Investigative Journalism Network’s Post

Political killings rock South Africa as it heads into elections Washington Post article. 1️⃣ Summary: As South Africa heads to national elections on May 29th, the country has been rocked by a wave of political assassinations. Since the start of 2023, there have been over 40 recorded killings of local officials, politicians and activists. The murders have created a climate of lawlessness and paralyzed local governments, fueling voter anger at the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party's failure to stem the violence. The killings often target town councilors over disputes involving lucrative government contracts for basic services. They are part of a broader effort by criminal networks to seize control over local ANC branches which influence candidate selection and voter turnout. In the town of Nongoma, at least four councilors or relatives were killed after a new coalition took over the council and examined previous contracts. The violence has impacted diverse groups, including the shack dwellers' movement Abahlali baseMjondolo which has seen 25 members assassinated in recent years amid land disputes with the ANC. The killings have eroded ANC support, with polls showing it may not win a parliamentary majority for the first time since 1994. While arrests occur, the masterminds often evade justice . The assassinations underscore how criminal groups have infiltrated politics and undermine South Africa's democracy. As one activist stated, "There is an attitude here that if you are poor, you can be killed." The failure to stop the killings could shape the national election outcom 2️⃣ My take: Criminalization of the state is embedded. The governments of the Bantustans were criminal. So was that of Kwa-Zulu. All of it fostered by the NP. The ANC in exile depended on illegal activities. When liberation came, these elements were all combined, and the initial efforts to decriminalize society, notably by creating the Scorpions, were deliberately destroyed by the ANC to enable the looting of state resources and the farming of society. BEE was the exact wrong policy, as it embedded corruption and big business. From the intelligence services to the police to entire departments to municipal governments to SOEs: the goal of politics became to gain control of wealth and appropriate it. The economic collapse isn't just the result of bad policies badly implemented, but that of the destruction, willful and accelerating, of the rule of law. Here, the ANC is guilty like no single other organization in the country. As the ANC finds a way to stay in power by parsing out cabinet positions to small parties, expect the trend to continue. The future of SA is what has happened to Johannesburg under ANC-led coalitions: utter destruction. The goal isn't to govern but to plunder. https://lnkd.in/dj4ivtHg

Exciting developments from the Supreme Court of India just ahead of the upcoming elections! While the impact on the electoral outcome remains to be seen, one thing is for sure: leading parties will need to adapt their strategic planning in light of this significant decision. Furthermore, the ripple effects on the economy are imminent, as financial flows tied to the elections are set to undergo a transformation. Stay tuned for how this decision shapes the political and economic landscape in the days to come. #SupremeCourt #IndianElections #StrategicPlanning #EconomicImpact https://lnkd.in/g4F_t-3H

One of the compelling stories during India's ongoing general elections has been the debate over electoral bonds. On February 15, 2024, the Supreme Court struck down the electoral bond scheme for political donations as unconstitutional. For an expert analysis on this topic, read the article titled "Electoral Bonds Case: Do Not Nullify Past Transactions" authored by our partner Lalit Kumar and associate Muskaan Gupta, published in LiveMint. Read the full story here: #electoralbonds #politicaldonations #supremecourt #jsa #leadinglawfirm #leadinglawyers

"Makin' my way downtown walkin' fast, faces pass And I'm homebound" In these crazy times we live in, even a Vanessa Carlton love song has the ability to make one involuntarily think about South Africa's upcoming elections: The electorate travels slow and fast on long, bumpy roads that have some lightless lamp posts packed with poster-face politicians vying for power. Talking about poster-face politicians, there are some poster wars causing tension among political parties: https://lnkd.in/eveK5fh8 And, how much do you understand about South Africa's three-ballot system? If not too much, have a read here: https://lnkd.in/eFNEgZDD

A siege of sellouts The Cycle of Elections: Hypocrisy and Cowardice in Nigerian Politics. As Nigeria gears up for another round of elections every four years, the nation witnesses a recurring pattern of political hypocrisy and cowardice. The political landscape is heating up, but many are left questioning the authenticity of the process. Click on the link to read more as the drama unfolds in this crucial aspect of Nigerian democracy. #NigerianPolitics #ElectionDynamics #HypocrisyAndCowardice

Breaking News: AISF MLA Naushad Siddique Said Will Contest Against TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee From Diamond Harbor In 2024 | WB Politics: AISF's only MLA staked claim to contest elections against Abhishek Banerjee, said . . . #viralnews #viral #news #trending #viralpost #india #breakingnews #maharashtra #explorepage #tv #viralphoto #trendingnews #maharashtranews #viralcypher

Electoral bond funding has become an inevitable part of elections. It is a significant aspect of political financing. It is believed to promise transparency and accountability, but there are concerns about the transparency. The decision to issue electoral bonds was made to ensure transparency in political funding. The parties are required to give the details of everyone who contributes more than ₹20000 in cash. However, this mandatory declaration becomes void with the electoral bond. The scenario changed when the Supreme Court ruled that political parties can no longer raise funds anonymously via electoral bonds. Know more about electoral bonds in our article: https://lnkd.in/dE6aHA7R

SHOULD RAMAPHOSA RESIGN TO SAVE MANDELA'S PARTY...? The South African elections have concluded, with the Africa National Congress (ANC) winning 40% of the vote, short of the 50% majority. This marks a decline from the ANC's previous performances, including the 2019 elections where President Cyril Ramaphosa won 57% of the vote. Former President Jacob Zuma's new party (MK) gained 15% of the vote, surpassing the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party led by Julius Malema, which secured 9% of the vote. Both parties have roots in the ANC. As coalition talks begin, some analysts suggest an ANC-MK alliance as a possible outcome, given their shared history and similar manifestos. This partnership would combine 40% and 15% of the vote, respectively. An ANC-DA alliance is also feasible, despite differing manifestos, with a combined 62% of the vote. An ANC-EFF alliance would require a third party to reach the threshold. The ANC's poor performance has sparked calls for President Ramaphosa to resign as party leader, allowing a new leader to unite the party and regain its majority in the next election.

🇿🇼Zimbabwe heads to the polls on 23 August to elect its president and cabinet 🇿🇼Zanu-PF, which has governed for 43 years, won 50.7% of the vote in the 2018 elections 🇿🇼6.6-million people have registered to vote, the most of any election in the country’s history Zanu-PF has led Zimbabwe since its independence in 1980. In the last general election in 2018, it won by a slim margin, achieving 50.7% to the Movement for Democratic Change Alliance’s 44.4%. Incumbent Emmerson Mnangagwa’s main challenger in this year’s election is expected to be Nelson Chamisa, who left the MDC-A to found the Citizens Coalition for Change. The ruling party lost ground to the MDC-A in eight provinces in 2018. A record 6.6-million people have registered to vote in this year’s poll on 23 August. Click here for more charts: https://lnkd.in/dfwhcXVh

August will witness a Zimbabwean ZEC aegis Potemkin Election How comfortable do our commitments to Civil Electoral Democracy fit with our convictions about social electoral justice? This question is rooted in two observations about our circumstances. First, in spite of democracy’s unexpected triumph in much of the world since the 1980’s currently unfortunately regressing, little attention has been paid to civic electoral democracy’s rightful place in a just social order, or even to what democracy is and what it requires. Perhaps this is inevitable. Those who fight for civil social electoral democracy often define their goals reactively. Assured as they are about the fine details of what they are against, they are less clear about the texture of what they hope to create.  I advance the claim that a suitably developed ‘leitmotiv’ of civic electoral democratic governance offers the most attractive political basis for ordering social relations in an ontologically normative way. This is notoriously difficult to pin down, as has been revealed in heated debates over the past decades between proponents of ‘de facto’ and ‘de jure’ standards for civic electoral standards and remedies. Similarly, those people who defend civic electoral process and procedure by appeal to Kant in the doing least harm find themselves unable to agree on what system of civil electoral procedure, if any, the categorical imperative can be argued to entail. Because the civic electoral process boundaries are themselves politically constituted and change over time, no argument for an ‘a priori’ distinction between what is feasible and what is prescriptively right can be sustained culminating in the forthcoming potemkin election conducted under aegis ZANU-PF concluding why ZANU-PF will not adhere to an electoral process procedure conducted by an Election Management Body--ZEC impartial, professional ethical.