Malawi president registers as voter

Malawi president Bingu Wa Mutharika on Monday set out an example to the country when he registered his name in the voters roll at the country’s registration centre in the capital Lilongwe.The president has been appealing to people during his rallies to go and register in order to vote in the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections next year.Mutharika’s registration gives an example to many people on the importance of voter registration.Malawi, which last held its elections in 2004, is set to hold the presidential and parliamentary elections on May 24, 2009.The president was quoted in the country’s local daily of the Daily Times on Tuesday after registration that it was important for people to register in order for them to vote next year.I would like to tell Malawians that it is very important to register. It is my right, it is the right of everybody to decide what kind of leaders they want, said Mutharika.Malawi Electoral Commission(Mec) started the voter registration last week across the country and is expected to wind up this Sunday.

Dawn of a new era for Cameroon, Nigeria

Things will never be the same again for Cameroon and Nigeria as president Paul Biya in an address to the nation on national television and radio broadcast on the occasion of the withdrawal of the Nigerian administration and police force from the Bakassi Peninsula recently.He announced the dawn of a new era void of the spectre of suspicion and wariness between both countries would hence take a turn for the better.President Paul Biya paid tribute to the Nigerian government for honouring its engagements, sovereign responsibilities and international obligations. He also paid glowing tribute to all those who in one way or another contributed to the Green Tree and final handing over success story, pointing out that it was time to acknowledge the friendly and brotherly gesture of the Nigerian government and reciprocally lay the blue print for a more practical brotherly relationship.It is reasonable that Cameroon and Nigeria must henceforth do everything possible to consolidate the settlement reached and seize the opportunities afforded them to develop their relations in other fields. In this regard I want to reaffirm that Cameroon will honour all the commitments made concerning our Nigerian brothers and sisters who have chosen to reside in Cameroon, that is, those living in Bakassi as well as those who have been living on Cameroonian territory.I want to reassure them their rights and security will be respected and guaranteed. There is therefore reason to believe that this is the dawn of a new era in the relationship between Cameroon and Nigeria, Biya said.

Terms Of New RelationsThough government still has to delimit the terms of the new era of relationship, it is no news that Cameroon and Nigeria in many cases share the same culture as well as common interest.According to some economic observers, it is time Cameroon acknowledges the economic might of Nigeria in Africa coming second after South Africa and seize the opportunity to formally and officially strengthen the economic relationship between both countries.As president Paul Biya said in his speech both countries are bound by history and geography to live together and by numerous links rooted in common culture. They thus have every reason to promote mutually beneficial ties of friendship and cooperation.The future he promised was bright, thus the need for both peoples to be happy.

Ghanaian opposition names VP in September

Dr. Edward Nasigrie Mahama, flag bearer of the Peoples National Convention (PNC), on Tuesday announced that he would name his running mate in September and said the his choice would come from southern Ghana.He said his running mate would be selected from the Brong Ahafo, Volta, Greater Accra or Ashanti regions to balance the political landscape as these four regions had been left out of mainstream political activity for Election 2008.The PNC flag bearer told the AfricaNews in an interview that, in our party we view leadership as the servant of the people and my running mate should have the temperament, ability to listen and complement the President in all spheres of governorship.He said: “My selection of a running mate is being guided by my declared intention to form a cabinet with 50 per cent gender sensitivity. The nation is ripe for a woman to be at the helm of political leadership.”Dr Mahama said voting in Election 2008 should focus on issues and the credibility of leadership instead of merely the savour of a political party, empty promises, emotional gymnastics and fanfare.He urged the electorate and the media to scrutinize all the flag bearers objectively on their ability to deliver, personality credentials and accomplishments, the genuineness of their messages and their international credibility.We should be careful about leaders with doubtful character, fraudulent and criminal image in the mind of right thinking people. Ghana deserves a leader who would project the image of the nation among the community of nations, he said.On the recent poll conducted by the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) which placed the PNC a distant fourth, Dr. Mahama said: “I am encouraged by the result of the poll as it calls for hard work and reveals that the PNC has made progress in projecting issues based politics in the country. What is left is to link the party with the projection.The NCCE survey statistics indicated that out of sample size of 5,520 respondents, 2,360 representing 42.9 per cent supported the main opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) to win the December general elections.The New Patriotic Party was rated second with 2,341 respondents, representing 42.6 per cent. The Convention People’s Party picked the third spot with 345 respondents representing 6.3 per cent and the PNC was rated fourth with only 60 respondents representing 1.1 per cent.Dr. Mahama said: We are the only party that has focused on the thematic areas that the Ghanaian electorate are calling for education, health care, agriculture, women and children, economy, youth development, national security, corruption, housing and social welfare.He said they needed to make more copies of their manifesto available to the people and propagandists who say that even though we have a fine message we cannot win the electionsWe are capable of winning the election and offer good leadership, Dr Mahama said. He said the PNC was offering Ghanaians leadership focusing on national agenda instead of personality agenda.Other flag bearers just copy our manifesto and our message and stand at the rooftops and announce it as their own, this is deceptive politics. We marketed the National Health Insurance, school feeding programme and the like. They hijack it without acknowledging its origin.Now we have talked about one computer to each child, university in each region and much more human centred policies. Our opponents have picked them and are now moving around with these issues.He called on the electorate to vote for a PNC-led government for real change in the fortune of national development. They (NPP) have not been able to move the country forward in the past eight years when they assumed leadership with fresh men. Now with tired hands, it would a political disaster to renew their mandate.Dr. Mahama said Ghana and Africa needed fresh leaders with courage, determination, track record of accomplishment, and clean image to stand up and be counted within the community of international leadership without looking behind.