Kamala Harris secures delegate votes needed to clinch Democrats’ presidential nomination
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris on Friday secured the delegate votes needed to clinch the Democratic U.S. presidential nomination and become the first woman of colour at the top of a major party ticket.
Harris became the front-runner for the Democratic nomination after U.S. President Joe Biden bowed to pressure from within the party and dropped out of the race last month. Harris quickly won the support of party heavyweights and was the only candidate to qualify for the Democratic presidential ballot, which ensured the outcome of the delegate voting was never in doubt.
Party delegates voted virtually this week. Harris, who joined the livestream event where the announcement was made, said she would officially accept the nomination next week after the virtual voting period had closed.
“But already I’m happy to know that we have enough delegates to secure the nomination,” said Harris, the first Black and South Asian person to become U.S. vice-president.
“And later this month, we will gather in Chicago united as one party where we’re going to have an opportunity to celebrate this historic moment together.”
Harris needed to pass a 2,350-vote threshold from delegates to formally secure the nomination, her campaign said.
Democratic leaders had pledged to deliver a presidential nominee by Aug. 7, before the Aug. 19-22 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago.
The DNC had said a virtual vote was needed to ensure the nomination process was completed by Aug. 7, the date by which Ohio law required a nominee in place to make the state’s ballot.
Ohio lawmakers subsequently pushed back the deadline to Sept. 1, but party officials said they nevertheless wanted to meet the Aug. 7 deadline to avoid any legal risk in the state.
Published at Fri, 02 Aug 2024 19:28:47 +0000
Security officials kill 9 during protests over Nigeria’s economic crisis, Amnesty International says
At least nine people were killed in Nigeria by security forces as protesters clashed with police during mass demonstrations over the country’s economic crisis, a rights group said Friday, while authorities said a police officer was killed and several others injured.
Authorities said another four protesters were killed and 34 injured by a bomb in the northeastern state of Borno, where the world’s longest war on militancy has left millions displaced and hungry.
More than 300 protesters were arrested and curfews were imposed in four northern states after the looting of government and public properties, Nigerian police said.
National police chief Kayode Egbetokun said Thursday night that the police are on red alert and may seek the help of the military.
Protests over food shortages, corruption
Amnesty International’s Nigeria director Isa Sanusi said the group independently verified deaths that were reported by witnesses, families of the victims, and lawyers.
The protests were mainly over food shortages and accusations of misgovernment and corruption in Africa’s most populous country. Nigeria’s public officials are among the best paid in Africa, a stark contrast in a country that has some of the world’s poorest and hungriest people, despite being one of the continent’s top oil producers.
Carrying placards, bells and Nigeria’s green-and-white flag, the mostly young protesters chanted songs as they listed their demands, including the reinstatement of gas and electricity subsidies that were cancelled as part of an economic reform effort.
Police in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, turned to tear gas on Thursday as they faced crowds protesting economic reforms and rampant inflation.
Violence and looting were concentrated in Nigeria’s northern states, which are among the hardest hit by hunger and insecurity. Dozens of protesters were seen running with looted goods, including furniture and gallons of cooking oil.
Egbetokun, the police chief, said officers “aimed at ensuring peaceful conduct.” But, he added, “regrettably, events in some major cities today showed that what was being instigated was mass uprising and looting, not protest.”
The police chief’s claim was disputed by rights groups and activists.
“Our findings so far show that security personnel at the locations where lives were lost deliberately used tactics designed to kill,” Sanusi said.
Authorities feared the protests, which have been gathering momentum on social media, could be a replay of the deadly 2020 demonstrations against police brutality in this West African nation, or as a wave of violence similar to last month’s chaotic tax hike protests in Kenya.
However, the threats that emerged as the protests turned violent in some places did “not require that level of response” from police officers, said Anietie Ewang, a Nigerian researcher with Human Rights Watch.
Published at Fri, 02 Aug 2024 13:33:38 +0000
