International
Elections: Learn From Ghana’s Democratic Practice, Tinubu Urges ECOWAS Leaders
by Wale Ewedimi
President Bola Tinubu has urged leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to emulate Ghana’s democratic practice following a successful presidential and parliamentary elections in the country.
Former President John Mahama was reelected to lead Ghana once again last Saturday, defeating the incumbent Vice President, Mahamud Bawumia, who called to congratulate the winner even before the official results were declared.
In his opening speech at the 66th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja on Sunday, Tinubu who is the Chairman said that what happened in Ghana is worthy of emulation by other countries in the region.
He hailed the incumbent President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, who is attending the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government for the last time as President, for the successful election.
“Just a week ago on the 7th of December 2024, presidential election and parliamentary elections took place in Ghana which is the second largest democracy in our region.
One of the leading candidates who happens to be the incumbent Vice President, His Excellency Mahamud Bawumia, together with the leading party, New Patriotic Party (NPP) conceded defeat and accepted the outcome of the election by congratulating the President-elect, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama of National Democratic Congress (NDC) for his victory even before the announcement of the official results.
“This gesture as it happened in Nigeria in 2015 demonstrated political maturity and respect for the wish of the people of Ghana.
Today, we have the man I will refer to as Mr Democrat, I congratulate the President Nana Akufo -ddo and the people of Ghana for the successful elections and urge all of us in the region to learn from this good democratic practice and prioritise our countries’ national unity to ensure political stability of the region that this manner of peaceful transition recalls the culture of democracies not only in West Africa but also in the entire African continent,” Tinubu said.
The Nigerian leader also commended Senegal for a successful conduct of parliamentary elections recently.
Tinubu called for cooperation among the ECOWAS member states in protecting their citizens and providing an enabling environment for the citizens to thrive.
He said raising the living standards of the citizens is an obligation on the part of the citizens.
The ECOWAS chairman, however, noted that the economic cooperation has been bolstered by the various ECOWAS policies.
The meeting went into a closed door session after the speeches.
International
Trump Annex Strait of Hormuz “New US Territory”
The development follows Trump’s recent comments that he would declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory after defeating Iran.
US President Donald Trump has declared the Strait of Hormuz a “new US territory.”
Trump on Tuesday shared a map graphic on Truth Social, a social media platform he owns, labelling the Strait of Hormuz a “NEW U.S. Territory”.
The same graphic was also posted by the official White House account on X.
The image shows a blue-highlighted map of the strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, with a circle around the narrow passage and the words “NEW U.S. Territory” displayed prominently.
The development follows Trump’s recent comments that he would declare the Strait of Hormuz US territory after defeating Iran.
Speaking at a political rally in New York State on Friday, Trump said,
“After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated — pretty soon I’ll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States.”
International
Zambia’s Hichilema leads presidential vote count
Hichilema had 54.82% or 1,056,812 of the declared votes, figures showed, putting him on track for re-election without a second-round runoff if he keeps the overall majority.
Photo: Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema greets United Party for National Development (UPND) supporters during their election campaign launch in Lusaka, Zambia, June 28, 2026. Credit : REUTERS
Zambia’s President Hakainde Hichilema was well ahead in counting for national elections on Sunday with nearly half the constituencies declared, the electoral commission said.
Reuters reported that Hichilema had 54.82% or 1,056,812 of the declared votes, figures showed, putting him on track for re-election without a second-round runoff if he keeps the overall majority.
His main challenger, Brian Mundubile, was in second place with 43% or 830,841 of the declared votes, with 105 out of 226 constituencies announced by around 1500 GMT.
The presidential vote — held alongside parliamentary and local elections on Thursday — is seen as a test of whether Hichilema’s economic gains since a pandemic-era debt crisis are enough to win him a second term in Africa’s second-largest copper producer after the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Electoral Commission of Zambia temporarily halted vote counting on Friday, citing violence against officials and the theft of ballot papers.
International
Millions Rushing To Watch Solar Eclipse in Europe
Mainland Europe has not experienced a total solar eclipse for 20 years while Spain has not witnessed one in more than a century.
• Solar Eclipse 2026
Millions of people are turning their gaze skywards in the hope of witnessing one of nature’s greatest spectacles, a rare total solar eclipse, as it sweeps over mainland Europe to briefly turn day into night.
The Moon is first expected to blot out the Sun, leaving only the shimmering glow of its outer corona, in Russia’s remote Arctic north, before parts of Greenland and Iceland are enveloped in the arc of its eerie shadow.
Excitement is highest in Spain, where tourists thronged the streets of normally quiet villages to experience the dramatic natural phenomenon as the eclipse’s narrow path cuts across the Iberian Peninsula from the northern Atlantic coast to the Mediterranean Sea in the south.
Mainland Europe has not experienced a total solar eclipse for 20 years while Spain has not witnessed one in more than a century.
Iceland’s capital, Reykjavik, however, has not seen a total solar eclipse since 1433.
Supplies of special viewing glasses were in high demand as a partial eclipse will be visible for millions more in most of Europe, Canada, the northern United States and northwest Africa.
However, a total eclipse of the Sun is expected to only be visible in a handful of places.
Credit: EURO NEWS
Bayelsa Assembly Approves Removal Of Sagbama Council Chairman, Vice
Trump Annex Strait of Hormuz “New US Territory”
2Baba’s wife Natasha emerges Edo Assembly Minority Leader
Tech Expert, Zuckerberg trains with UFC champions, Adesanya, Alexander
Organ Trafficking: Ekweremadu bags 10 years in UK prison
SAINT OBI: Between his marriage and his death
-
Politics1 day agoKebbi Governor picks new running mate , Ibrahim Augie
-
Politics1 day agoOsun poll: ADC’s Salaam, Tambuwal Hail Adeleke for Second Term Win
-
Politics1 day agoBREAKING: Edo Assembly Speaker Agbebaku Resigns
-
News1 day agoEdo Assembly Speaker Agbebaku Resigns Amid Impeachment Plot (Video)
-
Politics3 days ago
BREAKING: INEC declares Adeleke winner of Osun gov poll
-
Business2 days agoNaira Exchange Rates Monday,17 August
-
Sports1 day agoCameroon Win First WAFCON Cup Title
-
Entertainment1 day agoUS Actress Hayden Panettiere Dies At 36