World
How Putin Won March 2024 Presidential Election
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
After three days (March 15 to 17) of voting, Vladimir Putin is leading the Russian presidential election with 87.34% after 98% of ballots were counted, according to data from the Russian Central Elections Commission.
Undoubtedly it gives Putin, who has been in power since the last days of 1999, another six-year term (2024-2030) to lead Russia, and to pursue with much vigour its foreign policy ambitions in the international system and push forward the much-trumpeted multipolar configuration with a focus on Global South.
Putin’s assertive control over the political landscape has been solidified due to the relative absence of active opposition candidates. As a result, the other three candidates scored very weak points. The second is State Duma member from the Communist Party Nikolai Kharitonov with 4.3% of votes. State Duma deputy speaker and member of the New People party Vladislav Davankov is the third with 3.8%. Leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia Leonid Slutsky is the fourth with 3.17% of votes.
Putin considered meeting with the three candidates. At that meeting, Putin stressed their roles in the parliament and invited them to share their thoughts to achieve common national development goals. “That means that we need to continue working actively together in the country’s parliament, working together to advance the kinds of ideas that will help us solve the challenges the country is facing,” he told them during the meeting in the Kremlin.
Putin asked for sharing the understanding of certain things, such as the security of the Russian state, foreign policy issues, the importance of achieving sovereignty in defence, technology, and monetary policy, and be able to keep this constructive approach in parliament and on the interaction platform in State Duma (House of Representatives) and Federation Council (the Senate).
Local reports say Kharitonov, Davankov and Slutsky, the competing candidates, highly appreciated the results, that Russians have resoundingly voted for Putin for the fifth time. That, however, they have all conceded to the preliminary election results. Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) legal services chief Georgy Kamenev said that the party had not seen any significant irregularities or violations during the voting process, and that “no questions are pointing to the illegitimacy of the election.”
The significance of this election is that if Putin completes this six-year term, he will have stayed in power longer than any Russian leader since Catherine the Great in the 18th century. In a pre-election address Putin said Russia was going through a “difficult period” and called on the country to be “united and self-confident.”
Putin further reminded Russians of “the inviolability of the principle of holding regular elections which is one of the basic principles of a democratic state. The outcome will directly affect the country’s development in the coming years.”
The primary aspiration related to an election as a step into the future, embark on the next phase of economic development and to defend Russia’s freedom and sovereignty. “Today, it is critically important not to stray from this path, to achieve what we have set out to achieve, and to fulfil our ambitious goals,” emphasized Putin.
“All of us, the multi-ethnic people of Russia, are one big family. We want the standard of living and quality of life to improve. And so it will be. We want it to flourish, to be strong, free, and prosperous,” he the Russian people in a televised speech on March 15.
Moreover, Russian society readily accepted Putin who has been in power for 24 years, since after the first president Boris Yeltsin handed over to him the political power. He began his journey from a modest family to the KGB, and eventually to the presidency in 2000. With his ascendancy to power, Russia has transformed into a modern society with appreciable improvements in the economy and other aspects of social life.
Today’s Russia is distinctively different. Russians are great travellers across the world primarily due to a significant increase in regular income. Russia has also climbed into the international stage, performing wonderfully well and challenging for a new global order. This aims to construct the Global South, and its allies in this struggle are in Latin America, Asia and Africa.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
For transforming cross-border payments through its deployment with Global Money Exchange, Comviva has been named Best In-Class Cross Border Payments.
The global leader in digital transformation solutions clinched this latest accolade at the IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Innovation Award 2025.
The recognition highlights how Comviva’s mobiquity Pay is helping shape a modern cross-border payment ecosystem that stretches far beyond conventional remittance services.
Deployed as a white label Wallet Platform and launched as Global Pay Oman App, it fulfils GMEC’s dual vision—positioning itself as an innovative payment service provider while digitally extending its core money transfer business.
The solution allows GMEC to offer international money transfers alongside seamless forex ordering and other services. These capabilities sit alongside a broad suite of everyday financial services, including bill and utility payments, merchant transactions, education-related payments, and other digital conveniences — all delivered through one unified experience.
“This award is a testament to Oman’s accelerating digital transformation and our commitment to reshaping how cross-border payments serve people and businesses across the Sultanate.
“By partnering with Comviva and bringing the Global Pay Oman Super App, we have moved beyond traditional remittance services to create a truly inclusive and future-ready financial ecosystem.
“This innovation is not only enhancing convenience and transparency for our customers but is also supporting Oman’s broader vision of building a digitally empowered economy,” the Managing Director at Global Money Exchange, Subromoniyan K.S, said.
Also commenting, the chief executive of Comviva, Mr Rajesh Chandiramani, said, “Cross-border payments are becoming a daily necessity, not a niche service, particularly for migrant and trade-linked economies.
“This recognition from IBS Intelligence validates our focus on building payment platforms that combine global reach with local relevance, operational resilience and a strong user experience. The deployment with Global Money Exchange Co. demonstrates how mobiquity® Pay enables financial institutions to move beyond remittances and deliver integrated digital services at scale.”
“The deployment of mobiquity Pay for GMEC showcases how scalable, API-driven digital wallet platforms can transform cross-border payments into seamless, value-rich experiences.
“By integrating remittances, bill payments, forex services, and AI-powered engagement into a unified Super App, Comviva has reimagined customer journeys and operational agility.
“This Best-in-Class Cross-border Payments award win stands as a testament to Comviva’s excellence in enabling financial institutions to compete and grow in a digitally convergent world,” the Director for Research and Digital Properties at IBS Intelligence, Nikhil Gokhale, said.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
At the end of an extensive consultation with African foreign ministers, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has emphasized that Moscow would advance its economic engagement across Africa, admittedly outlining obstacles delaying the prompt implementation of several initiatives set forth in Strategic Action Plan (2023-2026) approved in St. Petersburg during the Russia-Africa Summit.
The second Ministerial Conference, by the Russian Foreign Ministry with support from Roscongress Foundation and the Arab Republic of Egypt, marked an important milestone towards raising bilateral investment and economic cooperation.
In Cairo, the capital city of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Lavrov read out the final resolution script, in a full-packed conference hall, and voiced strong confidence that Moscow would achieve its strategic economic goals with Africa, with support from the African Union (AU) and other Regional Economic blocs in the subsequent years. Despite the complexities posed by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, combined with geopolitical conditions inside the African continent, Moscow however reiterated its position to take serious steps in finding pragmatic prospects for mutual cooperation and improve multifaceted relations with Africa, distinctively in the different sectors: in trade, economic and investment spheres, education and culture, humanitarian and other promising areas.
The main event was the plenary session co-chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptians Abroad Bashar Abdelathi. Welcome messages from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdelhak Sisi were read.
And broadly, the meeting participants compared notes on the most pressing issues on the international and Russian-African agendas, with a focus on the full implementation of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan for 2023-2026, approved at the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg in 2023.
In addition, on the sidelines of the conference, Lavrov held talks with his African counterparts, and a number of bilateral documents were signed. A thematic event was held with the participation of Russian and African relevant agencies and organizations, aimed at unlocking the potential of trilateral Russia-Egypt-Africa cooperation in trade, economic, and educational spheres.
With changing times, Africa is rapidly becoming one of the key centers of a multipolar world order. It is experiencing a second awakening. Following their long-ago political independence, African countries are increasingly insisting on respect for their sovereignty and their right to independently manage their resources and destiny. Based on these conditions, it was concluded that Moscow begins an effective and comprehensive work on preparing a new three-year Cooperation and Joint Action Plan between Russia and Africa.
Moreover, these important areas of joint practical work are already detailed in the Joint Statement, which was unanimously approved and will serve as an important guideline for future work. According to reports, the Joint Statement reflects the progress of discussions on international and regional issues, as well as matters of global significance.
Following the conference, the Joint Statement adopted reflects shared approaches to addressing challenges and a mutual commitment to strengthening multifaceted cooperation with a view to ensuring high-quality preparation for the third Russia-Africa Summit in 2026.
On December 19-20, the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was held in Cairo, Egypt. It was held for the first time on the African continent, attended by heads and representatives of the foreign policy ministries of 52 African states and the executive bodies of eight regional integration associations.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Social media platform, TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with United States and global investors to operate its business in America.
Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo sent by chief executive, Mr Shou Zi Chew.
The deal, which is set to close on January 22, 2026 would end years of efforts by the US government to force ByteDance to sell its US operations over national security concerns.
It is in line with a deal unveiled in September, when US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law that would ban the app unless it was sold.
In the memo, TikTok said the deal will enable “over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community”.
Under the agreement, ByteDance will retain 19.9 per cent of the business, while Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will hold 15 per cent each.
Another 30.1 per cent will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, according to the memo.
The White House previously said that Oracle, which was co-founded by President Trump’s supporter Larry Ellison, will license TikTok’s recommendation algorithm as part of the deal.
The deal comes after a series of delays.
Business Post reported in April 2024 that the administration of President Joe Biden passed a law to ban the app over national security concerns, unless it was sold.
The law was set to go into effect on January 20, 2025 but was pushed back multiple times by President Trump, while his administration worked out a deal to transfer ownership.
President Trump said in September that he had spoken on the phone to China’s President Xi Jinping, who he said had given the deal the go ahead.
The platform’s future remained unclear after the leaders met face to face in October.
The app’s fate was clouded by ongoing tensions between the two nations on trade and other matters.
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