Read a little. Learn a lot. • Tightly-written news, views and stuff • Follow us on TwitterBe a Facebook FanTumble us!

20 Feb 2011 11:03

tags

World: Ugandan election results favor dude already in office for 25 years

  • 68% the share of votes Yoweri Museveni, in office 25 years, got in Uganda
  • 26% the share of votes his closest rival, Kizza Besigye, received
  • 6% the share of votes everyone else received in the election source
  • » The opposition says it’s “illegitimate”: Besigye’s Inter-Party Cooperation is one of a couple of groups who have thrown up question marks about the electoral results. European Union observers, for example, say the elections are “marred by avoidable and logistical failures, which led to an unacceptable number of Ugandan citizens being disenfranchised.” A group of African-based election observers gave a statement claiming, however, that the election was “conducted in conformity with minimum international benchmarks for free elections.” Hopefully this doesn’t turn into the kind of mess that has marred the Ivory Coast over the last few months.

16 Feb 2011 14:03

tags

World: Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni plays the robocall game

  • This is Y.K. Museveni. I greet you. Vote for the old man with a hat.
  • Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni • In a phone call to potential voters. With elections looming on Friday, the longtime President’s voice was racing across phone lines everywhere as robocalls, unheard of in African politics, went out to the Ugandan citizenry, referencing his iconic hat. A win Friday would mean his fourth term in office (with no limits), amidst concerns about repression of democratic opposition. Of additional note, as it’s probably what Uganda is most known for internationally right now, the American evangelical group “The Family,” heinously tied to Uganda’s anti-gay (seriously) legislation, is led by a man named Doug Coe. As reported by Jeff Sharlet, Coe has referred to President Museveni as the group’s “key man in Africa.” Take that for what you will. source