From the beginning of the year 2024 to the days leading to July 2024, across the World, general elections have been held. In most countries, people are expecting changes, while in some, the situation has not improved and tough days may be coming. AfroAmerica Network has focused on a few elections held or planned in 2024. Controversial elections in Rwanda and UK were scheduled for July 2024. Now, during in the July 4, 2024 general elections, the Conservative party has suffered a major defeat. The Labour party had a landslide victory after the votes counts on July 5, 2024 with 412 out of 650 seats in the House of Commons and Sir Keir Starmer has become the UK's new Prime Minister. On his first day as Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer confirmed that the Rwanda deportation scheme was "dead and buried."
UK Elections: Worst Results in the History of the Conservatives
In the UK, the Conservative party had been ruling for the last 14 years. During that period, five Prime Ministers have succeeded each other. In the July 2024 general elections, the main competition was between the governing Conservative party led by Rishi Sunak and the opposition Labour party led by Keir Starmer.
The Conservatives, after the worst result in their history, will retain 121 seats. With 412 seats the Labour constitutes an absolute majority in the House of Commons, which only requires 326 to govern.
Sir Keir Starmer, a lawyer, as the new UK Prime Minister takes over after a period of major challenges that have led to public mistrust, due to the deleterious effects of Brexit, economic challenges, in terms of austerity, the increasing cost of living, the state of the public health system, and the migration issues due to the controversial law on the expulsion of illegal migrants to a small poor African country Rwanda, with a one of the most repressive regime in the World.
The United Kingdom has been going through rough times, which led to the decision by then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to call for new elections. The 2024 United Kingdom general elections were scheduled for Thursday, July 4, 2024. The general elections were the first since the UK withdrew from the European Union on January 31, 2020 and under the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act of 2022.
In his first speech in front of UK Prime Minister seat at 10 Downing Street, London on Friday noon, Sir Keir Starmer promised the withdrawal of the controversial law on the expulsion of illegal migrants to Rwanda, while mentioning “seriousness” and firmness on migration issues, telling the journalists that the Rwandan deportation scheme was "dead and buried before it started."
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UK - Rwanda: The Fate of the Controversial Rwanda Asylum Plan.
Rishi Sunak has been very controversial following his support for the Rwanda asylum plan, which provides that any asylum seeker entering the UK "illegally" after 1 January 2022, from a safe country could be sent to Rwanda and have their asylum claims processed there, rather than in the UK. On 15 November 2023, the UK’s Supreme Court declared the policy unlawful because Rwanda was not a safe country, even for asylum seekers.
In response to the judgment of the Supreme Court, the government led by Rishi Sunak published a new treaty with Rwanda. The new treaty allegedly provided for additional safeguards, despite the on-going war with the Democratic Republic of the Congo under the cover of M23 rebels and the Republic of Burundi, under the cover of RED TABARA. Hence the UK government introduced a new legislation, declaring that Rwanda was a safe country for asylum seekers. On April 25, 2024, the UK’s treaty with Rwanda was ratified and the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Act 2024 became law. Then, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that the first flights to Rwanda would take off by around mid-July 2024. But facing several challenges and opposition, the government led by Rishi Sunak called a general election for July 4, 2024. Now, with the loss of the elections, the controversial treaty with the Rwandan government is expected to fail.(see: Africa - America - Asia - Europe 2024 Elections: Infighting, Breaking Glass Ceilings, Tyrants, and Lost Leaders - Part 1)
The law was enacted based on the "outsourcing asylum" strategy of the previous Conservative party government led by Rishi Sunak and adopted by the British parliament on April 23, 2024. The bill was based on an agreement between Rishi Sunak's government and the Rwandan dictator Paul Kagame and allowed the UK government to relocate to Kigali, Rwanda all asylum seekers who would have entered the United Kingdom illegally, especially those crossing the Channel in boats and canoes.
The migration agreement between Rishi Sunak and Paul Kagame was planned for a five years period. The UK government has committed to provide an estimate of 500 million pounds (nearly 600 million euros) to Paul Kagame's government under what was labelled “economic transformation and integration fund” and to cover the cost of the flights to Kigali and three months of accommodation for the deportees.
5,700 asylum seekers, or 10% of people who arrived in the United Kingdom via the Channel , in 2022 and 2023, were already scheduled to be expelled to Rwanda by Rishi Sunak's government "by the end of the year" 2024. The first asylum seeker was already expelled to Rwanda at the end of April 2024.
Many human rights activists around the World and UK members of government and parliament had condemned the deal and showed their disapproval with protests, social media voicing, and other ways. But Rishi Sunak had expressed his resolve. Now that he and the Conservative party have suffered a historic loss, the deal appears to be ending in its doom. The question now is: What will be the relations between the new UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the Rwandan dictator Paul Kagame?
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