The chancellor said his party – the conservative People’s Party (ÖVP) – and the Social Democrats had failed to agree on key issues.

The liberal Neos, another party involved in the talks, also pulled out on Friday.

In September the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ) won an unprecedented victory in Austria’s general election, but the other parties ruled out forming a coalition with the FPÖ’s leader Herbert Kickl.

The collapse of the talks could lead to the conservatives negotiating with the far-right, or to a new election taking place, analysts have said.

The Russia-friendly FPÖ has been in a ruling coalition before. It would likely welcome a new election as opinion polls suggest its popularity has grown further since September.

The FPÖ has said in a statement on X that three months have been lost by the coalition talks and adds that “instead of stability, we have chaos”.

The party has called for Social Democrat leader Andreas Babler to also resign and said President Alexander Van der Bellen bears “a significant share of responsibility for the chaos that has arisen and the lost time”.

The FPÖ won almost 29% of the vote in September’s election, the People’s Party came second with 26.3% and the Social Democrats third, with 21%.

There was a high turnout of 77.3% as Austrian voters took part in an election dominated by the twin issues of migration and asylum, as well as a flagging economy and the war in Ukraine.

The FPÖ’s Kickl promised to build “Fortress Austria”, to restore Austrians’ security and prosperity.

The party wants firm rules on legal immigration and it has promoted the idea of remigration, which involves sending asylum seekers to their original countries.

The FPÖ was founded by former Nazis in the 1950s.

Two days before last year’s general election vote some of its candidates were caught on video at a funeral where an SS song was sung.

The party later denied the song, dating back to 1814, had any link to “National Socialist sentiments”.

By BBC News

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President Evariste Ndayishimiye has said that the East African nation will head to the ballot box in June to elect local officials.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) ruled late Tuesday that candidates belonging to a four-party Burundi for All coalition –- recognised by the interior ministry on December 17 — would be excluded from standing.

Candidates for the coalition would be unable to run because three of its members belong to the suspended opposition party, the National Freedom Council (CNL), in contradiction to electoral laws.

“The deputies in question are Agathon Rwasa, Euphrasie Mutenzinka and Anatole Karorero,” the CNL told AFP Wednesday, saying the candidates were just three from one province out of five, excluded from running.

A presidential runner-up and former militia leader, Rwasa was removed as leader of the CNL in March. He has challenged the decision in court.

A political analyst, who requested anonymity, said the government had “done everything in its power to keep Agathon Rwasa out of the electoral race”.

The move follows a December decree, in which independent candidates are only eligible to contest the polls if they have not been a political party member for at least one year.

Additionally, former members of a party’s governing body can only stand as independent candidates after the lapse of two years since their resignation or ouster from the party.

At the time, critics said the move had been “tailor-made” to prevent Rwasa from running.

He came second to Ndayishimiye in the 2020 election, which the opposition said was flawed.

Ndayishimiye has been praised for gradually ending years of isolationism under former president Pierre Nkurunziza’s chaotic and bloody rule.

But Burundi’s human rights record remains poor, with ongoing reports of repression against journalists, activists and opposition figures.

By AFP

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Speaking during the burial of Mzee Peter Nasong’o Nabwera in Lugari Constituency, Kakamega County, senior politicians emphasized the urgent need for the Luhya community to turn its numerical strength into decisive political power at the ballot box.

The gathering, attended by influential national and regional leaders, painted a picture of a region determined to break away from its historical struggles with disunity and fragmented political loyalties.

Despite being one of the most populous communities in Kenya, Western Kenya has long grappled with the inability to translate its numbers into political dominance. Fernandes Barasa, the Governor of Kakamega County, lamented the community’s failure to leverage its population for strategic gains in elections.

“We are the second-largest population in Kenya, yet our numbers don’t count during elections. We must change this narrative,” Barasa said. “Unity is the only path to commanding respect and securing our rightful place in national politics.”

Barasa called on leaders across the region to mobilize eligible voters, ensuring Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia, Vihiga, and Trans Nzoia counties match the voter numbers seen in regions like Nairobi, Kiambu, and Nakuru.

“We are not just aiming for participation but dominance. By the next election, Kakamega must join the ranks of counties with over one million voters,” Barasa declared.

Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula emerged as the consensus candidate for the presidency in 2032. Leaders pledged their support to Wetang’ula, describing his leadership as a source of hope for the region’s aspirations.

Jack Wamboka, the MP for Bumula, urged colleagues to rally behind senior leaders instead of undermining them. “We need to stop political strangulation within our ranks and support those with the potential to lead us to victory,” Wamboka said.

Wetang’ula, a seasoned politician with over three decades in Parliament, has been likened to the late President Mwai Kibaki, whose long legislative career culminated in a successful presidency.

National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah heaped praise on Wetang’ula, expressing confidence in his potential to rise to the highest office in the land.

“Speaker Wetang’ula has served in Parliament for over 31 years, second only to Mwai Kibaki, who served for 40 years. Where did Kibaki go after Parliament? He went to State House. Wetang’ula can do the same,” Ichung’wah said. “When that time comes, I hope he remembers me I could be a great deputy president,” Ichung’wah quipped, emphasizing the importance of inter-regional collaboration.

While much of the rhetoric centered on long-term goals for 2032, leaders emphasized the need to rally behind President William Ruto in the short term. Barasa, who also chairs ODM in Kakamega, noted that supporting Ruto’s administration would position the region favorably for future negotiations.

“We are fully behind President Ruto because his government has brought national unity. But we are also laying the groundwork to ensure that Western Kenya speaks with one voice in 2027 and beyond,” Barasa said.

Wetang’ula stressed the importance of structured political planning, warning against using funerals as platforms for strategy discussions. He called for a series of formal meetings to chart the region’s political future.

“Tomorrow’s strategies cannot be planned in funerals. We must organize ourselves, meet, and strategize effectively to position our region for success,” Wetang’ula said.

He also highlighted the need for robust voter registration drives across the region, urging counties to prepare for the next elections by mobilizing large voter bases.

The leaders announced plans for a series of rallies and meetings across Western Kenya to foster unity and mobilize voters. From Kakamega to Bungoma, Busia, and Trans Nzoia, the region’s leadership is determined to ensure that every eligible voter is registered and engaged in the political process.

“Our journey to unity has begun,” Barasa declared. “By the time we leave Western Kenya, we will be speaking with one voice, and that is the only way to achieve respect and influence.”

As 2027 approaches, the leaders remain focused on leveraging the elections as a springboard for 2032, where they hope to make history by propelling the Luhya community to the presidency.

“Our strategy is clear,” Barasa concluded. “We are laying the foundation for a united Western Region, and we are committed to ensuring that by 2032, the presidency is within our grasp.”

This renewed commitment to unity has set the stage for Western Kenya to become a significant player in national politics, with its leaders confident that their efforts will finally yield the long-awaited political breakthrough.

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The unit being led by a relative of a senior government official has abducted and tortured many, Gachagua claimed on Friday from his Nyeri home at a press conference.

Gachagua claimed the unit is led by a man he only identifies as ‘Abel’, who is related to a senior government official.

“There is a unit that is not under the command of the IG of Police. There’s a building in Nairobi the 21st floor at the city center, where the unit is operating from, led by a certain Mr. Abel. Abel is a cousin to a very senior official in this government,” Gachagua said.

“And if this unit is not dismantled we will be giving the name of the building and the full names of that officer and his cousin. Your guess is as good as mine as to who is the commander of that unit.”

He accused president William Ruto of remaining silent on the abductions.

He questioned the similarity between victims, who have been seen to criticize Ruto.

Gachagua argued Kenyans are angry with Ruto’s administration and “killing our children will not quell the anger of Kenyan people.”

“Abducting young people is not a solution, you must address the cause of discontent. Why are people aggrieved with this administration?”

Gachagua added that since independence, it is only Ruto’s administration that has targeted children.

“The question the President must address is – why has everybody turned against you and the administration in only two years. That is what you need to interrogate instead of persecuting these children,” he said.

The revelations by Gachagua follows unanswered questions about the persons behind the abductions.

On Thursday, Inspector General Douglas Kanja dismissed allegations that the National Police Service (NPS) had been conducting the abductions.

The IG warned the public against falling for malicious reports that are meant to taint the image of the police force.

“We therefore appeal to the public to refrain from spreading false, fabricated, malicious, distasteful, misinformed and unverified information aimed at tarnishing the reputation and image of the National Police Service,” he said.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) would later dismiss links to the abduction of cartoonist Gideon Kibet alias Kibet Bull.

Kibet is among six youths who have been abducted this month after making controversial social media posts targeted towards Ruto and his government.

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said that since June, 29 people have been reported missing from abductions.

The commission added that so far, there are 13 abduction cases have been reported in the last three months bringing to 82 the total cases since June 2024.

Steve Kavingo Mbisi, Billy Mwangi, Peter Muteti, Bernard Kavuli, Rony Kiplang’at and Gideon Kibet alias Kibet Bull have been abducted in December, bringing the total number of abductions since June to 82.

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Gachagua said Ruto should take full responsibility and address the issue, lest the cases continue to happen unchecked.

“To remain silent or inactive is to suggest that these actions are being carried out with his knowledge and consent,” he said.

Gachagua further argued that it is impossible to ignore the fact that the victims are only linked by the criticism against President Ruto and his administration, noting that the state cannot afford to distance itself from the vice.

The president has not said anything on the issue since the trend re-emerged.

He blamed the police for being complacent in addressing the alarming issue, noting that it is incongruous for the police to deny being aware of the abductions despite the existence of sufficient evidence.

“How can the police still be in denial when there are witnesses, CCTV footage and countless grieving families coming forward,” he said.

“Our security agencies are either complicit or profoundly incompetent and unable to take decisive action on one of the most significant crises the country has faced under this administration.”

The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) said that since June, 29 people have been reported missing from abductions.

The commission added that so far, there are 13 abduction cases have been reported in the last three months bringing to 82 the total cases since June 2024.

Police have denied involvement in the incidents amid calls for action on the same.

Gachagua also fingered the government for victimizing him after he called out the National Intelligence Service (NIS) for being incapacitated and posing a threat to national security.

The remarks invited a lawsuit against him, seemingly prompting the move to oust him from office.

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Justice Bahati Mwamuye sitting at the Milimani law Courts said Kawira has satisfied the court that the case will be rendered useless if the interim orders are not confirmed.

Mwamuye in confirming and extending the ex parte orders he had issued on 21 August this year said the orders will be in place for a period of 120 days.

“The respondent’s notice of motion is dismissed, ex-party orders are confirmed and extended for a period of 120 days and at that time she will continue to serve as the Governor.”

“…in that time, the petitioner will continue to serve as governor with a provision that the judgment in this case may be rendered before lapse of the 120 days,” he said.

The court further noted that public interest warrants the extension of the orders, adding that there’s if the orders are not extended then the petition will be rendered nugatory if Mwangaza wins the case.

The court was told that Mwangaza would suffer prejudice and that the petition would be an academic exercise.

This means that the case will be heard fully. The matter will be mentioned on December 20.

Mwangaza unsuccessfully faced her third impeachment on August 21 after a contentious late-night voting session at the Senate confirmed all three charges against the embattled Governor.

On the first charge of gross violation of the Constitution and other laws, the Senate found Kawira guilty, with 26 Senators voting to confirm the charge, 4 voting against it, and 14 abstaining.

The Senate had asked the court to set aside the orders saying it has far-reaching implications that encroach on their mandate.

They also faulted Kawira for suing the wrong party saying she ought to have sued the Senate and not the speaker.

The speaker they said has no vote in matter of the house.

But the Judge in confirming the orders said some of the issues raised will be dealt with during the main hearing of the matter.

“Not confirming the orders would mean there will be a succession in the officer of Meru Governor. Those changes will not be easy to undo if Kawira’s petition succeeds,” the Judge said.

The judge said that prudent use of scarce resources is more relevant in such a case as gubernatorial succession in the county would trigger events and changes that would be funded from the public coffers.

“Public interest in this case favors the continuation and subsistence of the orders issued in August pending determination of the case,” said the Judge.

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Brian Nyamweya alias Ensaria Mache reported injuries to his head and torso during the Monday noon incident at Mashauri area in Central Kisii.

The youthful politician doubles up as a bodaboda leader.

He has been conducting door to door campaigns setting sights on Nyaribari Chache parliamentary seat.

“I have already reported the matter to the police and expects them to undertake through investigations into the attempted assassination on me,” Nyamweya told journalists outside the Kisii Teaching and Referral Hospital where he had sought treatment and discharged.

He later visited the Kisii Central Police Station and filed a complaint.

And speaking to journalists, Ensaria said he has been targeted about ten times with hired goons as he goes about his business .

“They (goons) were invoking the name of some politician asking to know why i am going round the constituency tarnishing his name” he disclosed.

The politician had been decampaigning Nyaribari Chache MP Zaheer Jhanda.

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Mudavadi said that there had been a multi sectorial and political agreement on the rebuilding of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and any attempts to halt the process using courts was misguided.

Speaking at the launch of the Information and Communication Technologies Digital Hub and Digital Economy Conference at Kakamega County Polytechnic Mudavadi said President William Ruto and former Prime minister Raila Odinga had agreed for the creation of the IEBC and wondered why some politicians were keen on scuttling the process.

“Majority of the leaders and Kenyans are keen on a new commission and led by President Ruto and Raila have agreed, but there are a few leaders who are hellbent on seeing the country without the election body, their move is driven by malice,” said Mudavadi.

He called on the leaders at had gone to court some using proxies to drop the cases and have the country get a new leadership for the IEBC.

“Apart from any by elections, there is also the need for the country to begin the review of boundaries ahead of the elections,” said Mudavadi.

Mudavadi called on leaders to work had and implement their manifestos in the remaining two year noting the electorates will make their decision based on the remain 24 Months.

“We have already finished two years and there is another two before the electorates make the final decision,there no leader should waste time on unnecessary bickering and empty politics,” said Mudavadi.

He said that the Kenya Kwanza government was on the right track trying to improve the livelihood of Kenya and the country’s economy.

Mudavadi”s issue on the IEBC, echoed by Kakamega governor Fernandez Barassa who called on the need tor the recommend.

During the meeting Mudavadi said the government had put 22000 government services online and noted that he would consider having the recruitment of police be done online as the first stage.

“In the spirit of transparency, we will have the first stage of police recruitment through a digital platforms to cut off middlemen who were making money from the recruitment process.

Mudavadi said also on the pipeline is the having Occurrence Book (OB) at the police done digitally to remove the possibility cases of people plucking pages with the reporting.

“We need to fully embrace online services on all fronts to ensure that we simplify how people work but also weed corruption through the interaction of paper work,” said Mudavadi.

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Addressing a press conference from his residence, Bawumia said he had called Mahama to congratulate him, adding that Mahama’s National Democratic Congress (NDC) also won the parliamentary election.

“Let me say that the data from our own internal collation of the election results indicate that former President John Dramani Mahama has won the Presidential election decisively,” Bawumia said.

“The NDC has also won the parliamentary election. Even though we await final collation of a number of seats, I believe ultimately these will not change the outcome.”

Bawumia said he conceded before the official results to ease tensions.

Before his concession, scuffles had been reported in several local constituency centres where results were still arriving from polling stations.

“I am making this concession speech before the official announcement by the Electoral Commission to avoid further tension and preserve the peace of our country,” Bawumia said.

“It is important that the world investor community continues to believe in the peaceful and democratic character of Ghana,” he added. “The people have voted for change at this time, and we respect that decision with all humility.”

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Speaking on Thursday December 5 after gracing the first joint graduation ceremony of Kericho County Vocational Training Centres, Murkomen slammed the church, media, and government critics accusing them of being tribal in their evaluation of the President’s performance so far.

Terming the current Kenya Kwanza fault-finding by Kenyans as unfair, the CS denounced the attacks directed at the President saying they were not issue-base.

Murkomen took issue with why Ruto is constantly only being compared to Kenya’s second president Daniel arap Moi, who was also from the Kalenjin community, and not other past Heads of State like Jomo Kenyatta, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta who were all Kikuyus.

“I find it unfair that many people especially the church, the media and our critics are criticising President William Ruto not based on facts of the things we are doing but a criticism laced with tribalism,” he stated.

“I find it unfair that President Ruto is not being compared with former President Uhuru Kenyatta or Mwai Kibaki or Jomo Kenyatta because of the disease and mentality of tribalism. Every critic of Ruto is comparing him with Daniel Moi, as if there was one president before him.”

The former Elgeyo Marakwet Senator argued Ruto’s detractors are unfavourably weighing him up with the former Heads of State who have already completed their terms, instead of only focusing on the two years he has been in office.

He argued that the late former President Mwai Kibaki, who is acclaimed for turning the Kenyan economy around, also faced the same criticism as Ruto in his first two years.

Murkomen stated that, in that same way, President Ruto will with time muffle his critics by revamping the economy.

“It is unfair to find fault the President based on where he comes from or comparing with a President who came from this community before. Let’s criticize him on facts as they are; compare Ruto with his predecessor in the first two years or with Kibaki in the first two years,” he said.

“In 2003 or 2004 everybody was crying that President Kibaki amemaliza uchumi, but in 2007, if not for post-election violence, he was being celebrated for turning around the economy.”

“That is why we want to say confidently that we have confidence in President Ruto, if we give him the necessary time and criticize him fairly we are going to get proper results for our country,” he said.

His remarks attracted condemnation online with many dismissing him.

Lawyer Ahmednasir Abdulahi termed his remarks utter rubbish.

“Kenyans are criticizing President William because they want him to succeed/deliver on his promises…his TRIBE is totally irrelevant and diversionary bwana Waziri @kipmurkomen. Deliver and Kenyans will dance on the street and name their newborn kids after H.E (Ruto),” he said in a post.

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