#HONGKONG: Residents Vote, But Only for Gov't-Approved Candidates

[world politics news]

Hong Kong voted Sunday in the first election since mainland communist China  amended the city-state's laws to reduce the number of directly elected lawmakers and vet candidates to ensure that only those loyal to China can run.

The semi-autonomous territory was rocked by pro-democracy protests in 2014 and 2019, but they were crushed by security forces, followed by the imposition of a sweeping national security law that silenced most of the city's opposition activists and led others to flee abroad.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

#SAMOA: First Female Prime Minister Denied Entry To Parliament By Former Prime Minister

[world politics news]

Fiame Naomi Mata'afa arrived at parliament on Monday to be sworn into office as Samoa's first female Prime Minister. She wasn't allowed inside. The former prime minister, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, and his supporters had locked down the building before Mata'afa's arrival. Malielegaoi has so far ignored a court order to step down from his position.

In the meantime, Mata'afa has been sworn into office in the parliament's gardens under a marquee, along with other members of her Faatuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (Fast) party.

The country has been in a political deadlock since the April 9 election, when the opposition Fa'atuatua i le Atua Samoa ua Tasi (FAST party) and the incumbent Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP) won 25 seats each.

HRPP has dominated Samoa's politics for nearly 40 years, and its leader, 75-year-old Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, has held office for more than 22 years — making him one of the world's longest-serving leaders.

[FULL STORY HERE]

World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.

Walmart Twitter Account Attacks Missouri Senator Over Trump Defense

[world politics news] 

Big box retailer Walmart briefly weighed in on presidential electoral politics on Twitter yesterday. But it was seemingly an employee error.

Republican U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri has made his intentions known that he will object to the official Electoral college count that will be held in the Senate on January 6th. 

On Wednesday morning, he wrote,

"Millions of voters concerned about election integrity deserve to be heard. I will object on January 6 on their behalf." 

Later that morning, along with thousands of other Twitter comments, pro and con, a seemingly out of place tweet appeared from @walmart.

It stated simply, "Go ahead. Get your 2 hope debate. #soreloser" 

That tweet was deleted, but screenshotted and posted by an angry Sen. Hawley, who fired back at 13:52 p.m. at the retailer:

"Thanks ⁦@Walmart⁩ for your insulting condescension. Now that you’ve insulted 75 million Americans, will you at least apologize for using slave labor?"

It was quickly followed up by another post by the senator stating,

"Or maybe you’d like to apologize for the pathetic wages you pay your workers as you drive mom and pop stores out of business."

At 1:21 p.m. Wednesday, the Walmart's official corporate Twitter account, @WalmartInc, officially responded and apologized to Hawley.

"The tweet published earlier was mistakenly posted by a member of our social media team. We deleted the post and have no intention of commenting on the subject of certifying the electoral college. We apologize to Senator Hawley for this error and any confusion about our position."

Is unclear where the tweet came from or who posted it, but it seemingly was a case in which either an employee decided to use the corporate account to post a personal opinion, or had mistakenly failed to log out of his Walmart account before posting.

This is a common occurrence. Distractify, a humor site, cataloged 33 instances in which someone forgot to log out before posting to their work social media account.

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World Politics News is dedicated to raising Americans' knowledge of political events, elections, and legislation throughout the world.