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Commonwealth Selects Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey as New Secretary-general

(FILES) A file photo taken on January 31, 2024 shows Ghana's minister for foreign affairs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (L) and President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Jean-Claude Kassi Brou (R)in Ouagadougou. (Photo by John WESSELS / AFP)
(FILES) A file photo taken on January 31, 2024 shows Ghana's minister for foreign affairs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (L) and President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Jean-Claude Kassi Brou (R)in Ouagadougou. (Photo by John WESSELS / AFP)
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Commonwealth Selects Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey as New Secretary-general

(FILES) A file photo taken on January 31, 2024 shows Ghana's minister for foreign affairs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (L) and President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Jean-Claude Kassi Brou (R)in Ouagadougou. (Photo by John WESSELS / AFP)
(FILES) A file photo taken on January 31, 2024 shows Ghana's minister for foreign affairs Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey (L) and President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Jean-Claude Kassi Brou (R)in Ouagadougou. (Photo by John WESSELS / AFP)

Commonwealth members selected Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey as secretary-general of the 56-nation club headed by Britain's King Charles, the Commonwealth said on Saturday, the final day of a summit in Samoa attended by Charles and Queen Camilla.
Representatives of the countries, most with roots in Britain's empire, are attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that began in the Pacific Island nation on Monday, with slavery and the threat of climate change emerging as major themes.
"Today at #CHOGM2024, Commonwealth Heads of Government have selected the Hon Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, currently the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration of Ghana, as the incoming Secretary-General of the Commonwealth," the Commonwealth said on X.
Botchwey, a supporter of reparations for transatlantic slavery and colonialism, takes over from Britain's Patricia Scotland, who has been in the job since 2016, Reuters reported.
Earlier on Saturday, Britain's king and queen flew out of Samoa, after a visit in which the monarch acknowledged the Commonwealth's "painful" history, amid a push for former colonial powers to pay reparations for their role in transatlantic slavery.
Charles and Camilla left Samoa about 12 p.m. local time on a Royal Australia Air Force jet, waving farewell as they boarded the plane at Apia's Faleolo International Airport.
Before leaving, the royal pair attended a farewell ceremony at the village of Siumu, which took place in heavy rain.
Charles on Friday said in a speech to the summit that he understood "from listening to people across the Commonwealth how the most painful aspects of our past continue to resonate.”
"It is vital, therefore, that we understand our history, to guide us towards making the right choices in future," he said.
The push for ex-colonial powers such as Britain to pay reparations or make other amends for slavery and its legacies today has gained momentum worldwide, particularly among the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the African Union.
Those opposed to reparations say countries should not be held responsible for historical wrongs, while those in support say the legacy of slavery has led to vast and persistent racial inequality.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is at the summit, has rejected calls for reparations and ruled out apologizing for the country's historic role.
The King and Queen's time in Samoa followed a six-day tour of Australia, where a large crowd turned out to see the royal couple at the Sydney Opera House. Charles also met with Indigenous elders in Sydney, after being heckled by an Indigenous senator in Canberra.

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US, EU Call for Probe after Reports of Georgia Election Violations

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
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US, EU Call for Probe after Reports of Georgia Election Violations

Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)
Members of an election commission count ballots at a polling station after the parliamentary election in Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Oct. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Kostya Manenkov)

Georgia's president called for protests on Monday following a disputed parliamentary election, and the United States and the European Union urged a full investigation into reports of violations in the voting.
The results, with almost all precincts counted, were a blow for pro-Western Georgians who had cast Saturday's election as a choice between a ruling party that has deepened ties with Russia and an opposition aiming to fast-track integration with Europe, said Reuters.
Monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) said on Sunday they had registered incidents of vote-buying, voter intimidation, and ballot-stuffing that could have affected the outcome, but they stopped short of saying the election was rigged.
President Salome Zourabichvili urged people to take to the streets to protest against the results of the ballot, which the electoral commission said the ruling party had won.
In an address on Sunday, she referred to the result as a "Russian special operation". She did not clarify what she meant by the term.
The ruling Georgian Dream party, of which Zourabichvili is a fierce critic, clinched nearly 54% of the vote, the commission said, as opposition parties contested the outcome and vote monitors reported significant violations.
Georgian media cited Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze as saying on Monday that the opposition was attempting to topple the "constitutional order" and that his government remained committed to European integration.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States joined calls from observers for a full probe.
"Going forward, we encourage Georgia's political leaders to respect the rule of law, repeal legislation that undermines fundamental freedoms, and address deficiencies in the electoral process together," Blinken said in a statement.
Earlier, the European Union urged Georgia to swiftly and transparently investigate the alleged irregularities in the vote.
"The EU recalls that any legislation that undermines the fundamental rights and freedoms of Georgian citizens and runs counter to the values and principles upon which the EU is founded, must be repealed," the European Commission said in a joint statement with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell.
President Zourabichvili, a former Georgian Dream ally who won the 2018 presidential vote as an independent, urged Georgians to protest in the center of the capital Tbilisi on Monday evening, to show the world "that we do not recognize these elections".
For years, Georgia was one of the most pro-Western countries to emerge from the Soviet Union, with polls showing many Georgians disliking Russia for its support of two breakaway regions of their country.
Russia defeated Georgia in their brief war over the rebel province of South Ossetia in 2008.
The election result poses a challenge to the EU's ambition to expand by bringing in more former Soviet states.
Moldova earlier this month narrowly approved adding a clause to the constitution defining EU accession as a goal. Moldovan officials said Russia meddled in the election, a claim denied by Moscow.