Wavel Ramkalawan received unanimous supportto be the SNP’s candidate in the Presidential election to be held May 19-21,2011. At an extraordinary convention held in the STC Conference Hall on SundayMarch 13, Mr. Ramkalawan’s nomination was presented by SNP Secretary-GeneralRoger Mancienne as a resolution for the approval of the convention.
Annette Georges, who has been Mr. Ramkalawan’s running mate for two previous elections, delivered an address in support of Mr. Ramkalawan. His nomination was adoptedunanimously by members.
Mr.Ramkalawan then named Nicholas Prea as his Vice-Presidential nominee. SNP MNA Gervais Henrie gave a speech in support of Mr. Prea, who received enthusiasticacclamation from the members.
The presentation of candidates marked the moment of departure in the SNP’s campaign for the Presidential election. Members were called upon to rally for the work ahead.
‘Ansanm Pouren Meyer Lavi ” is the slogan presented by Presidential candidate Ramkalawan for his campaign. He explained that this encapsulated the two overiding goals of his leadership which would be to bring the Seychellois people togetheras one nation and to improve life for everyone in Seychelles.
SNP Presidential candidate Wavel Ramkalawan has said that the SNP vision forGovernment included a new mission for leadership. State House will have adifferent role, he said.
The Presidential candidate stated that his choice of Nicholas Prea for Vice-President corresponded to the particular role that he wanted the President andVice-President to play in a new Government. They would not be Ministers,whether for tourism, finance or other portfolio, he said. Ministries would havecompetent people in charge of them and the role of State House will be lead,supervise and monitor the work of ministries.
Mr. Prea wasa man closely in touch with people who could listen and understand theirproblems and concerns, Mr. Ramkalawan said. He will be there for people andensure that their concerns are heard in the work of Government.
Mr. Prea’srole as Vice-President would also be to bring the Seychellois people togetherin unity. This reflected the aim of the SNP Government in eliminatingdiscrimination and allowing everyone in the country to play a full role.
SNP Presidential candidate Wavel Ramkalawan has called for a debate among the Presidential candidates for the May 21 election.
A debateamong national leadership contenders is now an accepted and necessary part ofthe political process. Voters want it and should have a right to see how thosewho want to lead the country deal with important issues and questions.
In the Sunday convention, Mr. Ramkalawan designated Bernard Georges, the SNP Liaison with the Electoral Commissioner’s Office, to take up the subject and press fora debate. Mr. Ramkalawan has said that everyone knows that Mr. Michel is alwayseager to be on television. This is an occasion he was being offered, the SNPleader said.
If James Michel does not accept the challenge, it will be because he is afraid of facing the Seychellois people on equal footing with his challengers.

In the aftermath of the announcement of the results by the Independent Electoral Commission of Cote d’Ivoire, which declared Dr Alassane Dramane Ouattara, leader of RDR, the winner of the Presidential Elections with 54% ofthe vote, please find below the following documents:

Leaders of Liberal International meeting in Brussels condemned attempts by incumbent President of the Ivory Coast, Laurent Gbagbo, to hold onto power after the independent electoral commission had announced a victory in the November 28th presidential poll for Alassane Ouattara, of the ‘Rassemblement des Républicains’ (RDR), a full member of Liberal International (LI), and the Africa Liberal Network.
LI is calling on the African Union and EU to remain firm in their support for Mr. Ouattara as the legitimate winner of the elections. A video of the press conference is available here:
ALDE-LI Press Conference
Louis Michel MEP (MR, Belgium), former commissioner for development policy, pointed out that Ouattara had legitimately won the election but, in an open and inclusive spirit, had offered to include members of the defeated ruling party in his government, once confirmed.
“The European Union and the wider International Community must be clear with Mister Laurent Gbagbo that we will not tolerate legitimate elections that have been conducted fairly and peacefully, to be overturned by vested interests clinging onto power. If necessary we should be prepared to use whatever measures we can to isolate the regime responsible for denying the results of democracy,” said Michel.
Hans van Baalen MEP (VVD, Netherlands) and President of Liberal International, had sent a delegation of Liberal International observers , led by Bulgarian parliamentarian Dzhevdet Chakarov, to the Ivory Coast in the run up to the November elections and expressed his disappointment that the regime was refusing to concede defeat to the Liberal challenger.
“We are determined that the solution to the political crisis in Cote d’Ivoire can only be the recognition of Alasane Ouattara as legitimate President of Cote d’Ivoire. Services by former South African President Thabo Mbeki are only of help if this is the outcome of the process he leads. It would be extremely unhelpful if Mr. Mbeki would try to broker a deal along the lines of Zimbabwe and Kenya, allowing a defeated President to remain in office”
Dr Lamine Bâ, Senegalese Minister (Parti Democratique Senegalais) and President of the African Liberal Network underlined that the Ivorian electoral commission had declared Ouattara the winner with 54% of the vote:
“It is unacceptable that the Ivorian Government refuse to acknowledge the outcome of the freely expressed will of the people. All democracies amount to a commitment, at some point, to give up power to someone else.”
“Western Governments must insist on the transition of power in Ivory Coast to the legitimate winner if we are to avoid continued tension and a repeat of divisions seen elsewhere in Africa when incumbents refuse to step down from power. Gbagbo must leave office. It is easier for the International Community to support a peaceful transition than deal with the consequences of a conflict if such issues remain unresolved.”

Following the disputed election results in Cote d’Ivoire, there has been a wave of support for Dr Alassane Dramane Outtara in Malawi. The country’s President, Dr Bingu wa Mutharika, currently leads the African Union.
On 6 December, in the Malawian Parliament, Hon. Khwauli Msiska spoke out in favour of ADO and was duly seconded by Hon. Abubakar Mbaya of the United Democratic Front. He issued the following statement:
“Mr. Speaker Sir, I stand in this house today a very sad person, sad because of the way some governments in our continent are conducting themselves especially during elections where a genuine winner is robbed of victory. The trend is now gradually and steadily developing whereby voters are robbed of their democratic choices soon after elections by incumbent governments that refuse to accept defeat and handover power.
A case in point are the elections which have just been concluded in Ivory Coast where the opposition leader Dr. Alassane Ouattara won with 54% of the vote and the results were duly announced by the Independent Electoral Commission of that country only to be overturned by the Constitutional Council and declared the incumbent Laurent Gbagbo the winner.
The UN election observers alongside other international observers endorsed Dr. Alassane Ouattara as the winner. Hence, notable figures such as the UN Secretary General Dr. Ban Ki-moon congratulated the long time opposition leader on his poll victory and urged Gbagbo to “do his part for the good of the country and cooperate in a smooth political transition of the country.” Likewise, world leaders and bodies including US President Barrack Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, European Union, and ECOWAS echoed Ban’s support for Ouattara.
Mr. Speaker Sir, it is also pleasing that in an emergency meeting on Saturday, the African union (AU) backed Mr. Ouattara as President according to France 24 website. Further to this, the former South African President Thabo Mbeki was assigned by the AU to mediate on this matter, an initiative that we should all applaud.
Mr. Speaker, Sir, I, therefore, call upon this House and the AU Chairman our President Prof Dr. Bingu wa Muntharika to urge the leaders of Ivory Coast to respect and restore the democratic wishes of their people expressed through elections that made Dr. Alassane Ouattara emerge victorious in the Africa’s Cocoa rich nation.
I thank you Mr. Speaker Sir.”

Despite the remarkable evolution of human civilization and the extent of technical and scientific inventions; human rights remained the Achilles heel of a human society which recognises democracy as a mode of rational government. Human rights are often forgotten or neglected in the relations between states.
For many, if human rights are now the subject of political speculation, women’s rights and their observance and their violation has now acquired the status of a universal criterion by which could to measure the evolution of human society.
We Tunisian liberals, we have always believed that crimes against humanity and violations are the logical result of complacency by those who adopt humanitarian slogans for demagogic use, often attached to a election issue.
The awarding of the Prize for Freedom by Liberal International to Shirin Ebadi is a tangible proof of the inseparable nature between liberalism and modernity. This civil woman is the juridiquo-political synthesis of modernity.
The universal aspect of human rights leads us to reject the arguments of cultural specificity. No argument can waive these inalienable rights.
What young girls are forced to suffer in Pakistan, India, and Sudan … (to mention only a few regimes in the world) is simply unacceptable from the point of human dignity.
The forced marriage of under age girls, female circumcision, and organized rape, ignoring for a secong, issues such as female illiteracy and violence perpetrated against women, cause us to invoke the forces of civil society to conduct a global compaign on several fronts to stop this practice and to ensure that women regain their rights to dignity and freedom.
Several countries in which the rights of women have evolved, such as Tunisia, have found themselves today threatened by clear regression of social consciousness and the negative return of fundamentalism!
This phenomenon is reflected by increased graduate unemployment and the crisis of secular democracy.
This will, without recalling that the fundamentalist movement has the appearance of an international organization amplified by support from several states and has sources of funding likely to be significant.
Rawdha Seibi, Social Liberal Party, Vice-President INLW

Three Thematic Resolutions proposed by the Party for Peace, Democracy and Development of Mozambique and adopted by the Africa Liberal Network General Assembly
Democracy and Good Governance in Africa
The forefathers and fathers of independence of almost all African countries dreamt of building nations in which freedom, democracy, peace and stability were the guiding forces in order to achieve prosperity and social justice for the people.
In the initial conception, democracy was misinterpreted by the leaders of some countries to be a one party system where all components of the society could be represented in one single party.
Diversity of opinion, expression, thought among other types of freedom could be tolerated only within the boundaries of the governing party.
However, some other countries described and implemented democracy as an inclusive and participative system in which several parties were authorized to play their role under the limitations imposed by law to build an open society with equal opportunities for all.
According to the historical records, the reality of facts, have shown that suddenly the one party system has developed a growing tendency towards political intolerance and dictatorship.
This situation, as well as poverty and the concentration of political and economic power in the hands of the governing elite, while the population was left to starve, has led to desolation, dissatisfaction, riots and chaos.
Some of these situations challenged the public order and the military took power, through coups d’etat. This has been the common way of changing political power in many countries during the 70s and 80s.
The advent of the second wave of democracy during the 90s in the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall, gave rise to new signs of hope since the majority of the African counties have held elections, deemed in certain countries to be free, fair, transparent and credible by national and international observers.
Unfortunately, in many other countries, due the misconduct of the electoral bodies or an unfair electoral code, or even worse, owing to widespread levels of violence against the opposition candidates, ballot stuffing and other irregularities, the elections have been marred by accusations of fraud, having led to confrontations with a high toll of injuries and deaths.
The most recent cases of electoral violence have occurred in Kenya and Zimbabwe in which after difficult negotiations both parties obtaining the most votes agreed to form a power sharing government.
ALN congratulates the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union for brokering such peace deals in very difficult conditions.
To avoid the occurrence of future conflicts and wars related to the outcome of elections, ALN defends and encourages the African Union and the managing bodies to implement and monitor the African Charter on Democracy and Governance, the Guidelines for the Electoral Managing Bodies approved by SADC, and the AU declaration on Democracy and Good Governance.
ALN proposes that the African Union establish a panel of African experts to promote best electoral practices tasked to update the AU documents guiding the principles of democracy and good governance, bearing in mind that democracy is essential for peace and development.
For ALN, it is crucial in this endeavor to involve African Nobel Peace Prize holders, as African Union Ambassadors of Peace and Development with the mission of promoting good governance, tolerance, peace, stability and the fight against human hunger and disease.
Human Rights in Africa
The history of human rights is deeply rooted in the history of the humankind. Thus, it is common to refer to the human rights as natural laws, since they are inherited at birth.
However, an attempt to codify human rights has its origin in ancient times. One of most known code of human rights is the Code of Hammurabi. In more recent years, many more initiatives have been carried out to make human rights a reality.
Among the major sources that inspired the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations on the 10th December of 1948, special attention must be given to the Magna Carta (1215), the Bill of Rights (1689), the Declaration of American Independence (1776), the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizens (1789), a Memory of Solferino (written by Henry Dunant; 1828-1910), the Geneva Conventions and the Oxford Manifesto of 1947 also known as the Liberal Manifesto.
Africa benefited substantially from all of these initiatives, as witnessed by the abolition of slavery and the wave of independence in African since 1950s and the efforts for the protection of migrants and refugees.
Despite the great advantages provided by the several international instruments dealing with human rights, Africa is not doing enough to implement these legal tools within the national borders of the continent.
Africa is still facing the challenges of human trafficking, slave labour, child labour, gender based violence, and all types of discrimination against women, arrest and assassination of political opponents, denial of civic rights, persecution of minorities, nepotism and ethnic-cleansing.
To curb the damaging effects of internal conflicts related to the denial of basic human rights, ALN calls on the African counties to sign and ratify the key instruments of international humanitarian law and related conventions in order to make Africa a more secure, peaceful and stable continent.
One of the meaningful steps, to fight against impunity in the field of human rights is the full implementation of the Rome Statute that establishes the International Criminal Court.
ALN calls on African countries, as sovereign states to take bold decisions to sign and ratify the Rome Statute in defence of human dignity and with the purpose of protecting the people they represent.
This strategy will allow in the short term to improve the poor human rights records that characterize many African countries and in the long term to build the culture of respect of human rights in Africa.
ALN promotes and supports any initiative of the African countries aiming to end the suffering and losses of innocent human lives caused by the endless violation of human rights throughout the African Continent.
ALN supports the on-going investigations of cases of violation of human rights and launches an appeal to the AU competent bodies to use the appropriate continental and international institutions to fight against impunity in cases where individuals stand accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and human rights violations.
For the sake of human dignity and integrity ALN invites its partners not to spare efforts to invest in human rights education in Africa.
ALN is firmly convinced that teaching human rights will prevent the politicization of the civil service, one of the major source of divisions, conflicts and inequalities in Africa, as well as will enable a more strong commitment of all actors for peace, stability and human rights.
50 Years of African Independence
The entire world celebrates this year of 2010 the 50th anniversary of the “Year of Africa”.
As matter of facts, excluding Liberia and Ethiopia which were never colonies, all other African countries reached their independence in the aftermath of the World War II.
During the 50s, Africa welcomed the independence of several countries, namely Libya (26.7.1951), Tunisia (1.1.1956), Sudan (1.1.1956), Morocco (7.4.1956) in North Africa, followed by Ghana on the 6 March 1957, the first country in Sub-Saharan Africa to become independent and the Republic of Guinea on 2 October 1958.
In 1960, a new chapter has been inaugurated in the history of decolonization of Africa with the proclamation of independence of 17 African countries, covering the nations listed below: Cameron (1.1.1960), Senegal (4.4.1960), Togo (7.4.1960), Mali (20.6.1960), Madagascar (26.6.1960), DR Congo (30.6.1960), Somalia (26.6.1960/1.7.1960), Benin (1.8.1960), Niger (3.8.1960), Burkina Faso (5.8.1960), Cote d’Ivoire (7.8.1960), Chad (11.8.1960), Central African Republic (13.8.1960), Congo (15.8.1960), Gabon (17.8.1960), Nigeria (1.10.1960) and Mauritania (28.11.1960).
This was a special achievement for the African people, and successful political negotiation or armed conflict, ensured that the will of the people was fulfilled, and the countries concerned became free and self-ruled. This initiative was made possible by the signing of the Atlantic Charter by the US President Roosevelt and the UK Prime Minister Churchill in 1941, which layed the framework for the constitution of the United Nations. As a result of the large number of new independent states which emerged in the year 1960, this has been since then coined as the “Year of Africa”.
The Africa Liberal Network (ALN), an association of political parties guided by liberal principles and ideals, such as freedom of: religion, press, opinion, choice, association, movement; rule of law, respect of human rights, free market economy, free trade, and private property, warmly congratulates all African countries that have celebrated or are still to celebrate their 50 years of independence.
It is a sincere desire of ALN that despite the challenges that those African countries have faced in the past, the next 50 years to come, should be fully dedicated to prosperity and wealth of each of the countries concerned, including the fight against hunger, disease, illiteracy, corruption and injustice.
Taking into account the advantages provided by initiatives related to the Millennium Development Goals, NEPAD, Poverty Reduction Strategic Papers and other national or regional agendas for development, Africa must stand, grow and compete in the community of the Nations.
To ensure the transformation of the available natural renewable and non-renewable resources into capital that can fund infrastructure and job creation strategies, continental or regional agreements must be promoted, to build coordination development communities and negotiate appropriate trade arrangements.
ALN calls upon the AU to assure support to the member countries, aiming to transform Africa into a strong and prosperous continent.
The African Union should celebrate the 50th anniversary of independence of numerous African countries, recalling the year 1960 as the “Year of Africa”.
Cape Town, 13 November 2010

La participation du candidat du Rassemblement Des Républicains (RDR), Dr Alassane Dramane Ouattara, au deuxième tour de l’élection présidentielle en Côte d’Ivoire, est un grand espoir de voir un parti libéral à la station présidentielle, pour mettre fin, dans ce pays, à plusieurs décennies de violations des droits fondamentaux de l’Homme et des grands principes de la démocratie, hypothéquant sérieusement le développement de la Côte d’Ivoire.
 
C’est pourquoi le Réseau Libéral Africain (RLA) :
· Affirme son soutien sans réserve au candidat Dr Alassane Dramane Ouattara
· Félicite les partis politiques membres du RHDP, pour leur report de voix annoncé en faveur de Dr Alassane Dramane Ouattara
· Appelle tous les libéraux et démocrates de Cote d’Ivoire, d’Afrique et l’Internationale Libérale, à lui apporter leur appui constant pour que triomphent la démocratie et la justice, afin que la Côte d’Ivoire sorte de ce cycle infernal d’instabilité et renoue avec le développement.
· Exige de la Commission Électorale Indépendante, et du Président candidat Laurent GBAGBO, l’organisation d’un deuxième tour transparent, régulier dans le respect des règles démocratiques, et à date échue.
· Appelle l’Union Africaine et la Communauté internationale, à jouer pleinement leur rôle de veille pour que soit scrupuleusement respectée le verdict des urnes qui reste l’émanation de la volonté du peuple frère de la Côte d’Ivoire.
 
Fait à Cape Town, 13 novembre 2010

The participation of the candidate of the Rassemblement Des Républicains (RDR), Dr Alassane Dramane Ouattara, in the second round of presidential elections in Côte d’Ivoire, is a great chance for us to end in this country decades of human rights violations and undermining of the principles of democracy, seriously jeopardizing the development of Cote d’Ivoire.
That is why the Africa Liberal Network (ALN):
· Affirms its support for the candidate Dr Alassane Dramane Ouattara.
· Congratulates political parties which are members of RHDP for their decision to support Dr. Alassane Dramane Ouattara
· Calls all liberals and democrats from Côte d’Ivoire, Africa and Liberal International, to give him their continued support for the triumph of democracy and justice so that Côte d’Ivoire can escape this vicious circle of instability and once again begin to develop.
• Demands the Independent Electoral Commission, and Presidential candidate Laurent Gbagbo, to organise a transparent second round, scheduled in accordance with democratic rules, and the date due.
· Calls for the African Union and the international community to fully play their role in monitoring so that the verdict of the ballot box is respected and remains the emanation of the will of the people of Cote d’Ivoire.
Cape Town, 13 November 2010

Soutenu par le Président de l’Internationale Libérale, Hans van Baalen MEP, l’Assemblée Générale du Réseau Libérale Africain (RLA):
Tenant compte des informations des différentes sources indépendantes telles que les organisations des droits de l’homme œuvrant dans la Région des Grands Lacs d’Afrique en l’occurrence Human Rights Watch et Amnesty International ; les organisations de protection du métier de journalisme tel que Reporters Sans Frontières ; les organisations de lutte contre la corruption tel que Transparency International etc. ;
Considérant le rapport de la Commission de l’Union Européenne sur les élections qui viennent d’avoir lieu au Burundi ;
Vu l’état de la dégradation de la situation sécuritaire et la croissance de la violation des droits humains où les éléments des forces de l’ordre public sont impliqués ;
Tenant compte que le désordre sociopolitique au Burundi risque d’embraser toute la Région des Grands Lacs d’Afrique ;
Considérant que cette situation déplorable résulte d’un contentieux électoral non encore élucidé ;
Tenant compte des éléments d’un témoignage aussi éloquent que vient de faire l’Honorable Alice Nzomukunda, ancienne Vice-Présidente de la République du Burundi, ancienne Vice-Présidente de l’Assemblée Nationale, actuelle Vice-Présidente pour l’Afrique Centrale du Réseau Libéral Africain, et actuelle Présidente du Parti Alliance Démocratique pour le Renouveau (ADR), parti membre de l’Internationale Libérale ;
Le Réseau Libéral Africain réunit en date du 11 au 13 novembre à Cape Town en Afrique du Sud vient d’adopter une résolution pour le Burundi. Les éléments qui la composent sont les suivants :
1. Le Réseau Libéral Africain regrette que les élections communales au Burundi aient été marquées par l’impossibilité des partis d’opposition de vérifier la régularité du processus à cause « de l’absence d’affichage public des résultats du bureau de vote, et par l’impossibilité pour les mandataires des partis politiques d’obtenir une copie des procès-verbaux. »(1).
2. Il regrette que le pouvoir en place et la Commission Électorale Nationale Indépendante n’aient pas écouté l’opposition pour résoudre le contentieux électoral à temps ce qui a exacerbé les tensions politiques dont les conséquences sont visibles à l’œil nu ;
3. Il regrette que le processus électoral entamé le 24 mai 2010 se soit poursuivi en l’absence totale de l’opposition ;
4. Le Réseau Libéral Africain regrette aussi que même après la période électorale, le pouvoir de Bujumbura ait rejeté toute proposition des partis d’opposition d’entamer un dialogue entre les partenaires politiques bien que le pays sombre dans la violence ;
5. Il regrette que le pouvoir de Bujumbura use de la force pour résoudre un problème à caractère politique ;
6. Il regrette que le Burundi reste un des pays où la corruption est très importante, ce qui contribue à entraver gravement tout effort d’attirer les investissements et de lutter contre la pauvreté (4) ;
7. Le Réseau Libéral Africain condamne les arrestations des militants de l’opposition et la restriction des activités des partis politiques qui ont marqué la période pré- électorale et électorale et qui se poursuivent jusqu’à ce jour ;
8. Il condamne avec énergie la torture et les exécutions extrajudiciaires dénoncées par la Communauté Internationale et les organisations de défense des droits de l’homme ; (2,3)
9. Il condamne la persécution dont sont victimes les leaders des partis de l’opposition les contraignant à l’exil ou à une vie clandestine ;
10. Le Réseau Libéral Africain exige l’arrêt des arrestations arbitraires, emprisonnements, assassinats des militants de l’opposition et la libération sans condition de tous les prisonniers politiques et d’opinion ;
11. Il exige qu’une commission internationale soit mise en place pour enquêter sur les exécutions sommaires observées dans toutes les régions du Burundi ;
12. Il exige la levée d’interdiction de toutes les activités politiques des partis d’opposition et la création d’une atmosphère rassurante permettant le retour des leaders en exil ou en clandestinité ;
13. Le Réseau Libéral Africain demande au gouvernement burundais d’entamer des négociations avec les partis d’opposition afin de trouver des solutions aux problèmes de sécurité, des droits de l’homme, et de vider le contentieux électoral ;
14. Il demande aux bailleurs de fonds de suspendre toute aide directe au gouvernement burundais tout en intervenant directement auprès des populations burundaises à travers les ONG, en attendant que des négociations véritables soient réellement entamées avec la coalition des partis de l’opposition : ADC-IKIBIRI.
15. Le Réseau Libéral Africain demande en fin à la Communauté Internationale notamment les Nations Unies, l’Union Européenne, l’Union Africaine et les organisations régionales de continuer à suivre avec attention la situation politique et sécuritaire au Burundi.
 
Fait à Cape Town, le 13 novembre 2010
 
(1) Rapport Final Mission d’Observation Electorale (MOE UE)- Burundi 2010
(2) L’UE préoccupée par des cas d’exécutions extrajudiciaires au Burundi ; AFP 21 octobre 2010.
(3) Burundi : « Un pas en arrière » : Torture et autres mauvais traitements aux mains du Service National de Renseignement Burundais ; www.Amnesty.org/fr
(4) Bribery Index 2010 by Transparency International