the court say people can vote are people ready to come out. or are. judges a constitutional judges made this decision in the courtroom behind me and they say that the petition did not have strong enough grounds to have the election postponed now we've. so what this means is that as you mentioned the election is going to go on tomorrow wherever it can we have spoken to u.n. officials with 70 percent of the country think enough people to come out to vote we have spoken to the government spokes spokesman who said that yes they expect. but they hope that this is not going to be to discredit the process but. we are not just in areas where there is active fighting but in places like even banged . we have been talking to people who are saying that they will not come to the polling stations and feel absolutely safe their priority is to protect their families so yes there's going to be an election but a lot of tension really and we had the president yesterday in his final rally telling the people that this is for change. the saying that they're coming to the city he was appealing to

hello i'm adrian for the gum this is al jazeera life and also coming up thailand's constitutional court acquits the prime minister of an ethics violation about where he lives meaning that he'll keep his post. hong kong pro-democracy activists have been sentenced for their role during last year's anti-government protests. at a firsthand account from one of the thousands of refugees who fled fighting in ethiopia stuck in a refugee camp with little news of relatives back home. the u.k. government has approved a covert 19 vaccine to be rolled out for next week that's accepted the recommendation to approve the fire as a bio and tech vaccine committee is now working on final advice for which people should receive it 1st that's expected to include care home residents and health workers the u.k. health secretary says that around 50 hospitals set up and waiting to accept the vaccine lived out a london 0 steve buck is the talk us through this announcement when will people be able to get this vaccine. wagered firstly this is probably the most hopeful announcement since the start of the pandemic at

will begin with the central african republic and a ruling from the constitutional court that sunday's election will go ahead despite rising violence by armed groups opposition parties wanted to sponsor and accuse the president of vote rigging levels also rejected the jim c. of the government threaten to march on the capital bangui 3 un peacekeepers have been killed rights groups are warning that violence could reach levels last seen in 2013 and thousands of civilians were killed. in a moment we'll hear from the un but 1st conference away has more on an election seen as a crucial test for a nation that has suffered years of conflict. judges the constitutional judges made this unanimous decision in the courtroom behind me and they say that the petition did not have strong enough grounds to have the election postponed now we've. so what this means is that the election is going to go on to morrow wherever it can we have spoken to u.n. officials with a 70 percent of the country think enough people to come out to vote we have spoken to the government spoke spokesman who said that yes they e

as supreme court's role interpreter of the constitution. in 80minutes, a 2002 -- minutes, a two thousand two documentary on the federal courts and the challenge to slavery, detailing the legal battle that resulted after an 1839 slave ship mutiny in the caribbean that landed the ship in connecticut and eventually landed the case before the supreme court. ♪ >> this is the story of a struggle between a president, franklin d. roosevelt, who went to the white house on the pledge of a new deal. ♪ and a group of men, once referred to as the nine old men, presided over by chief justice charles evans hughes. the issues were large. they included the problems of a nation's industry, its people, its agriculture, its resources. but the immediate battlefield of the struggle was the constitution, with its checks and balances. its division of power between executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. this is the struggle known as the court packing fight. ♪ on august 14th, 1935, president franklin d. roosevelt signed the social security act.

we want a supreme court which will do justice under the constitution and not over it. s, we want a government of laws and not of men. what is my proposal? it is simply this -- whenever a judge or justice of any federal court has reached the age of 70, and does not avail himself of the opportunity to retire on a pension, a new member shall be appointed by the president then in office, with the approval as required by the constitution, of the senate of the united states. narrator: a justice reaches 70. if he does not retire, an additional justice is added. when and if he does retire, the number returns to nine. in 1937, there were six justices over 70. thus, under the proposed law, the president would be able to appoint six extra. if the older justices decided to retire, the total number would return to nine. throughout the land, debate began. the newsreels covered the story. ♪ >> roosevelt's plan to change the supreme court has become the greatest public issue since slavery. we bring you this exclusive statement on the supreme court itself by chief justice hughes. >> the

emperor has withdrawn citing security concerns former president francois was disqualified by the constitutional court state officials and the u.n. accuse him of being behind the c.p.c. rebellion to disrupt the election and overthrew the government has backed and he said who's a marched as president would dare a strongest challenger to serve. president is the founder of one of the strongest political parties with solid policies he himself is a very popular leader but he did not but my candidacy is the party that endorsed me . most opposition candidate starts the campaign a while. and won the election postponed but that's all candidates are each promising to finally bring back to the public room by. may think that. people talking to here. i think that the hard problem is before. knows all about pain caused by conflict his leg was blown off by a hand grenade when the mostly muslim armed groups seleka over on bungie 2013 and overthrew. actually cannot understand what's happening to me and i'm scared of what's happening now they're only coming to kill i want to ask the government to help us to stop those

thailand's constitutional court has acquitted prime minister pray with a charge of and the ethics violation allowing him to keep his post the opposition to challenge his decision to continue living in a military residence even though he's a civilian leader 3 of hong kong's best known pro-democracy activists have been sentenced to prison joshua war will spend around 13 months in jail. and ivan law received shorter sentences u.s. attorney general william barr says the justice department has not found widespread voter fraud in last month's presidential election his comments contradict president donald trump's claims that the vote was rigged israel is also the prime minister defense minister benny gantz says that his party will back an opposition bill in favor of the dissolving parliament and says that he's lost patience with benjamin netanyahu and is ready to break their alliance if a long overdue budget isn't passed immediately sunny's it and here with the news out for you in 25 minutes on al-jazeera after my chin is here next. the u.s. is always open for a few people all right the world they

we begin with the central african republic and a ruling from the constitutional court that sunday's election will go ahead despite rising violence by armed groups opposition parties want to depress found a cure is the president a vote for a king rebels also rejected the legitimacy of the government and threaten to march on the capital body 3 u.n. peacekeepers have been killed and rights groups are warning that violence could reach levels last seen in 2013 and thousands of civilians were killed catherine is always in the car with the latest. we have spoken to u.n. officials who say that 80 percent of the country is. for people to go to vote they say that all the process of the electoral process is going on smoothly in these other parts of the country they said that the trouble areas are just few if you speak to the government spokesman and we spoke to him yes the day that he. expects is going to be a little. out but he hopes that they. are not is not going to be so low as to discredit the electoral process if you speak to opposition leaders and we've spoken to several of them they're saying t

and polls are just about to open in central african republic a day after the constitutional court allowed at the election to go ahead there's been escalating violence between government forces and rebel fighters in the run up to this verse and preparations are also underway for sunday's elections and it would be its 1st peaceful transition of power between an elected leader it's. all returning to our top story now and as we mentioned millions of americans are all set to use the government funds they've been depending on this year. is president of the food reception action center which works to eradicate poverty related hunger in the u.s. he says it's outrageous that president trump would hold up support that so many people are relying on. there are a bunch of benefits that were part of this package in particular are going to zation is very concerned about any increase to the supplemental nutrition assistance program or snap that was in there but one of the things that we know is that for every one needle that's provided by the feeding america network the largest in this country the progra

we want a supreme court which will do justice under the constitution and not over it. in our courts, we want a government of laws and not of men. what is my proposal? it is simply this. when ever a judge or justice of any federal court reached the age of 70 and does not avail himself of the opportunity to retire on a pension, a new member should be appointed by the president then in office with the approval as required by the constitution of the senate of the united states. >> an additional justice is added. there was six justices, and under the proposed law, they would be able to appoint six extra. the news reels covered the story. roosevelt's plan to change the supreme course has been the greatest since slavery. the justices of the federal court are not meanly this is not important to official duties but in developers in a continuous process of exposition. and thus they enter with a lively consciousness of fellowship into the problems, the anxietieanxieties, and the achievements of those who have proceeded them in their necessary but difficult task as wa weavers of th

ns constitutional court has acquitted prime minister. of ethics violation allowing him to keep his job the opposition had challenge the 4 magenta leaders decision to continue living in a military residence despite being a civilian leader but seize power in 2014 and then did his career as an army chief to become prime minister protests calling for his resignation started in july of since grown into calls for reforms of thailand's powerful monarchy. has more from bangkok they said that because he is still serving the country and he's a retired senior member of the military that it's ok for him to be living on that property which is technically on a military base but they say also that this little house that he lives in is there for gas for v.i.p.'s so that they say was not a violation of any of these ethics codes as stipulated in the constitution obviously you've got this protest movement that is really kind of swelled since july and 1 of the main goals of the protest movement movement is to see prime minister pro tentative go they obvious

well the 8 constitutional court judges will be well treated in the courthouse behind me in a short while during the people coming in for the ruling so they'll be thinking they'll sit in this courtroom in a little while to rule on that matter of 7 presidential opposition presidential candidate this petition saying that the election needs to be postponed because of the security situation and also saying that because one of the opposition candidates one of the presidential candidates. has withdrawn that in itself is grounds for a postponement so we'll be hearing for the judges in a couple of hours now but we are the judge is likely to rule in favor of the opposition we'll have to wait and see that but we have been hearing from government officials from the un all thing that the selection mass to go on we've been talking to government u.n. officials who say that 70 percent of the country if they for people to go out and vote and the electoral process is going on smoothly but there is a lot of we're not just in areas where they active fighting here in body as well we've been talking to people

well polls are just about to open in central african republic a day after the constitutional court allowed the election to go ahead there's been escalating violence between government forces and rebel fighters in the run up to this 1st more un peacekeepers have now arrived trying to ensure sunday's vote is peaceful and preparations are also on for sunday's elections in asia where it would be its 1st peaceful transition of power between an elected leader. in bosnia-herzegovina more than a 1000 refugees and migrants are stranded in a burnt out camp in freezing weather a fire this week destroyed much of the camp near the town of b. hoc on the croatian border it was meant to be a temporary shelter for the summer and was to be closed on wednesday. federal investigators in the u.s. are searching for a home as they look for clues into a large explosion in the southern city of nashville appalled most of whom blew off on a street early on christmas morning 3 people were hurt well those are the headlines i have another update for you here after people in power do stay with us. would escape city has

try to do was to include 3 new constitutional court judges because the game of the election of $23.00 will be played at a 'd level usually in the question usually called and also in the electoral commission so he has made sure to win introduce 3 judges which could be i was not happy about and they also introduce a new president on the. 'd electoral commission clearly showing that everyone is preparing for 20231 of them in the before colleagues and i remember a couple has been in power for already 2 terms so if we are already talking about 2023 it is likely but just a couple it's going to run again and we're going to try to interpret the constitution much differently or have someone we can trust to be in power so by extension there is a power struggle from philip trying to assert his power when he does not have and kabila continuing to maintain the illicit network that we have built for the past 2 decades and in the final analysis the question of justice is very important in a land but that doesn't quite get caught for the issues to end the look of course his nobel peace prize it calls

in the bosnian city of last star in the 1st local election more than a decade in 2008 the constitutional court ordered the city to change its discriminant see electoral rules the bosniak and current parties disagreed on the process but europe's human rights court in june ruled against the stalemate muslims and christians fiercely fought over the city during the 1990 s. war is even part of it says in last hour with more on the significance of the vote . this city was the why did during the bloody war in 1925 years later is still reflects all the problems and political strained relations in the country for 10 years a special election rules for the city where you felt originally supposed to ensure that either cross or bosnians could not hold the majority in power in the city but the problem was that one of all seen one electoral unit in the city counted this 5 others in other electoral unit to sow constitutional court so the country 10 years ago said that the new rules need to be adopted it took 10 years to get to a political compromise on that issue in a state by one until boston had to go in an

with sunday's presidential election as planned despite fears over the spread of violence the constitutional court ruled unanimously after a request by opposition candidates to postpone the vote catherine sawyer has more from. the constitutional judges made this. behind me and they say that the petition did not have strong enough grounds to have the election. so what this means is that as you mentioned the election is going to go on tomorrow wherever it can we have spoken to u.n. officials say 70 percent of the country think enough people to come out vote ethiopia's human rights commission says a total of $207.00 people were killed on wednesday double the initial figure what was described as a law enforcement operation by the prime minister is turning into a conflict possibly killing thousands turkey's defense minister has arrived in libya despite threats by eastern warlords after a car from is to increase cooperation with the internationally recognized government in tripoli on friday ankara voted to extend the deployment of troops or for another 18 months or will be for half the banks arrival eas

austria's constitutional court has struck down a law banning the headscarf in primary schools, labellingiminatory. in a statement explaining the decision, the court said the law which was introduced last year "contravened the principle of equality in relation to freedom of religion, belief and conscience". meanwhile the constitutional court also ruled to allow assisted suicide, annulling the provision which makes it a punishable offense. bolivia's civil registry has for the first time authorised a same sex civil union following a two—year legal battle. the couple has been together for more than a decade and was initially denied the right to register the union, taking the case to court. activists hope the decision will pave the way forward for a transformation of the country's marriage laws. both boris johnson and the president of the european commission have spoken in gloomy terms about the likelihood of a post—brexit trade deal. the two leaders have agreed to make a decision on the future of the negotiations by the end of the weekend. on friday evening the british prime minister chaired

well the constitutional court says he's in breach of article one o 3 of the constitution which says that for a candidate to run for this election it needs a candidate need to have good morals a clean criminal record and been in the country in the last year of course because it has been in exile since the 2013 crisis in his country been in he just arrived 3 weeks ago to take part in this election he's under u.n. sanction the u.n. security council believes that he provided support for the undermine peace and stability that's during the 2013 crisis where remember he started this militia group the christian militia group of the who fermented ethnic and religious tensions in the country which resulted in millions of people being displaced and still displaced many of whom who will not be able to take part in this election as well as that there is an international arrest warrant against him launched by the government in benghazi they want him for acts of torture killings and funding unrest in the country so there's a long list of reasons of why the constitutional court didn't want to see him in

and fair election on sunday violence has flared and 3 un peacekeepers have been killed the constitutional court is set to decide on whether to pursue her own the vote. japan and france have confirmed their 1st cases of a more contagious coronavirus mutation 1st identified in britain more than 50 countries have banned travelers from the u.k. . afghanistan's capital has been hit by a series of explosions 5 separate attacks were reported across kabul 2 police officers were killed in the worst incident no group has claimed responsibility. the us city of nashville is under curfew after an explosion ripped through a neighborhood on friday a motorhome blew up early on christmas morning after playing a recorded bomb warning several buildings were damaged and 3 people suffered minor injuries police haven't been able to establish a motive. we have found 2 shoe that we believe could be remains that would just have that you know examined and it will be able to let you know from at the door of the was detonated so it was someone inside we have no idea such a large explosion but the investigation continuing

african 3 to choose their leader responsible for this mission are there a in each and the constitutional court and the date set is the 27th this is what all africans come to vote and i myself came to fulfill my civic duty. and there are 17 presidential candidates on the ballot paper but i need. to be president when there is a major challenge he says he's worried that people in the sound villages and towns in the provinces one able to vote because of the security situation. unfortunately. i have the impression that more than half of the country did not vote which is what we feared when we asked for the conditions to be set for every citizen to be able to exercise their right to vote i have the impression that many have been deprived of the right to vote and that is a pity want troops have been deployed to troubled areas in the capital. speaking to people in different neighborhoods in the city just trying to get a sense of the boarding party and many have told us that they have voted in their voting for others they are worried about the security situation in parts of the country. sais he has vot

polls open in central african republic in just under 2 hours now after the constitutional court ruled that the election can go ahead as planned it comes amid intensified fighting between the government and rebels there more un peacekeepers an hour arriving as well as soldiers from russia to help maintain law and order an alliance of rebel groups accuses president fast enough to adair of planning to rig this verse out of there as catherine story reports from the capital now. loral god-i is a driver and shows us pictures from i resent walk trip to a town 300 kilometers north of the copper. shortly after he took this fossils he says on demand attacks and he had to flee he's worried about relatives who live in the town he blames rebel groups calling themselves the patriots correlation for change or c.p.c. for the latest security crisis in the central african republic. tone the tone is almost empty some of the men are asking civilian to give up their electoral college others in the charge as far as they know that cannot be a proper election in bossangoa. president faustina actions to our d

austria's constitutional court is struck down a law banning the headscarf in schools. freedom of religion and conscience. meanwhile, the constitutional court also ruled to allow assisted suicide, annulling the provision which made it a punishable offence. bolivia's civil registry has for the first time authorised a same—sex civil union following a2— same—sex civil union following a 2— year legal battle. the couple, together for more than a decade, was originally denied the right to register their union. activists hope it paves the way forward for a transformation of the country's marriage laws. since the coronavirus pandemic began — millions of people have been forced to live alone. separated from friends and family in an attempt to stop the spread of covid—19. now a french artist has gone to unusual lengths to highlight the dangers of a solitary life as tim allman explains. don't talk to gaetan marron about social distancing. he knows all about it, living in a plastic box in the middle of a shopping centre in marseille. for ten days he plans to be on display — 24 hour

austria's constitutional court has struck down a law banning the headscarf in primary schools, labellinge decision, the court said the law which was introduced last year "contravened the principle of equality in relation to freedom of religion, belief and conscience". meanwhile the constitutional court also ruled to allow assisted suicide, annulled the provision which makes it a punishable offense. tributes have been pouring in for dame barbara windsor, who's died at the age of 83. her acting career spanned more than 60 years. she found fame in the carry 0n films of the 1960s and ‘70s, and went on to spend nearly 20 years behind the bar of the queen vic in eastenders, playing the formidable landlady peggy mitchell. 0ur entertainment correspondent david sillito looks back at her life. barbara giggles that'll do, that'll do. all right, girls, get in the coach, and you get on with the loading. barbara windsor — funny, cheeky and much loved. sir, we were told to bring the minimum of clothing. now, really let's see those chests come out! the tributes today to a star whose career goes back alm

austria's constitutional court has struck down a law banning the headscarf in primary schools, labellingcision, the court said the law which was introduced last year "contravened the principle of equality in relation to freedom of religion, belief and conscience." meanwhile the constitutional court also ruled to allow assisted suicide, annulling the provision which makes it a punishable offence. bolivia's civil registry has for the first time authorised a same sex civil union following a 2—year legal battle. the couple has been together for more than a decade and was initially denied the right to register the union, taking the case to court. activists hope the decision will pave the way forward for a transformation of the country's marriage laws. archaeologists have unearthed more sections of an extraordinary aztec tower under the centre of mexico city. it's been described as one of the most impressive historical sites in the country, as gail maclellan reports. behind this non—descript door in the centre of mexico city lies a building as historic as it is gruesome. it was built when the

the month electoral units in the city counted this 5 others in other electoral unit to sow constitutional court so the country 10 years ago said that the new rules need to be adopted it took 10 years to get to a political compromise on that issue in a state by one until boston had to go in and it happened on only after european court for human rights ordered that election issues for the city needs to be solved in this. there was huge problems in the city the city infrastructure suffered to the economy he can the people began to emigrate in huge numbers the city still heavily burdened by this thing called divisions between bosnia and crowds are so it's hard to expect to dramatically political changes in the city but still it's a kind of. a race for supremacy in the city however on the other side the civil society is getting stronger and that's very important so it is a huge step for the c.d.c. and for boston herzegovina that we do have these elections in mostar today it happened after 10 years of waiting and that's a huge step. now spyware sold by an israeli private intelligence has been used to

african 3 to choose their leader to she's responsible for this mission or that a in each and the constitutional court and the date set is the 27th this is why all central africa is comfortable and i myself came to fulfill my civic duty to govern so i has been following developments from the capital bangui. there has been problems in that town of korea they said that groups have been shooting in the air in different polling stations had scared people away but then also this statement says that u.n. peacekeepers have been reinforced more peacekeepers have been deployed to that area and for now it seems that the situation has been contained but then people are still afraid like i say the run away and we're not just talking about bria we're also hearing of seem. similar things in other towns in the provinces of people in some towns people hiding out afraid to come out to vote in other places a polling stations have not opened yet a lot of intimidation by armed groups are being told in some places walled by the u.n. says that these problems are localized to very few areas most of the country safe for peop

except the country's constitutional court has now ruled he's not illegible to run in december's presidentialelection his supporters are dismayed at the judge's ruling that he lacked both a clean criminal record and the moral character to be a candidate. it's a bit strange so courts have never summoned him neither has he been charged or sentenced he has been the country's head of state for 10 years it's a bit surprising to question his character. french troops intervened in 2013 after a boozy for mentored religious divisions calling on christian militia groups known as the. to attack pro-government fighters known as the celica university student who is relieved by the court's decision fearing that busies is candidacy could spark violence. the other candidates need to accept the court's decision so that we can move forward with the upcoming election and turn the page from violence the campaign has so far been tense 14 armed groups continue to fight the government and each other despite a peace agreement in the presence of 812000 strong un peacekeeping force as a result 2800000 people are in ne

african 3 choose their leader based to she's responsible for this mission or that in the end the constitutional court and the date is the 27th this is what africans come to vote and i myself came to fulfill my civic duty. let's go straight to the katherine sawyer who's in the capital by catherine so i believe the polls have closed when do we expect results. well yes polls have closed and counting has just started this polling station i expect counting has started in other polling stations here in borghi we've seen a lot of observers from the african union and other missions other missions as well so what's going to happen next is that once the votes are counted in the polling stations they're going to be taken to divisional headquarters and provisional headquarters they will be collated and then sent to the main tallying center here in borghi for the final results we're told the votes. are there provinces' most a lot of the votes in other provinces are going to be airlifted here because of the security situation in some of those areas but also because of the road network which is very bad and transpo

a petition filed by 7 opposition kind of is to postpone the election was rejected by the constitutional court 17 presidential candidates have been cleared to run for election one has withdrawn his candidacy citing security reasons most promising to finally bring peace back to central african republic revive the economy and provide basic services. are has numerous gold. deposits as well as other natural resources yet it's one of the poorest and most unstable countries in the world more than half the population of 5000000 needs 8 some people here in the capital told us all they want is a dignified life and to get to the other side of the poles safely. 0. also the north west and will also be voting in elections sunday that are set to deliver its 1st peaceful handover of power president obama who came into power and of coup before being elected back in 2011 is stepping down after 2 terms his chosen successor needs a 30 strong field of candidates struggling with violent armed movements and widespread poverty. it's a big job because there are 2 elections at the same time there are the presidential

health minister says that 50 hospitals set up and waiting to accept the vaccine thailand's constitutional court has acquitted prime minister channel of ethics violation the case against him focused on his place of residence the former johns a leader who was in power in 2014 ended his career as an army chief to become prime minister 3 of hong kong's well known pro-democracy activists have been sentenced to prison joshua warren will spend around 13 months in jail while agnes chiles spent 10 months for their role in last year's protests another activist ivan lamb will be in prison for 7 months demonstrations outside hong kong's police headquarters and $29000.00 were triggered by the introduction of a controversial extradition bill which has since been shelved adrian brown reports from hong kong. they had faced possibly a maximum sentence of up to 3 years but in spite of all that i've noticed cho is still in a pretty serious situation because 4 months ago she was arrested under the new national security law on suspicion of colluding with foreign powers now she's been out on bail or had been until s

thailand's constitutional court acquits the prime minister of an ethics violation meaning that he'll keep his post. and drilling on the moon scientists have their 1st few samples of lunar rocks since the 1970 s. . the united kingdom has become the 1st country in the world to approve the fires a bio and tech covert 19 vaccine for public use the 1st immunizations a set to begin next week 50 hospitals across england are ready and waiting for the vaccine to arrive and large scale vaccination centers are being set up 800000 doses are expected in the 1st in the very the u.k. health minister says the most vulnerable groups will be given priority that includes the elderly people in care homes and those who care for them. what it means for people is that from next week we'll be able to start rolling this out we'll start with those who are most vulnerable to corona virus and it will you need 2 jobs so 21 days apart so after that we will start protecting people as this protection comes with these these these 2 jobs and it will help save lives and then once we've started to protected the most vu

we begin with the central african republic and a ruling from the constitutional court that sunday's election will go ahead despite rising violence groups opposition parties wanted it to spell the end of accuse the president of vote rigging rebels also rejected by the just mysie of the government and threaten to march on the capital bangui 3 un peacekeepers have been killed rights groups are warning that violence could reach levels last seen in 2013 thousands of civilians were killed. u.n. mission in central african republic has told us there that conditions are stable enough to ensure a free and fair election on sunday forces are advancing toward the capital bangui after a ceasefire with the government broke down u.n. secretary general antonio good tennis has condemned the killings and is demanding an investigation. and so he joins us now live from the capital of the central african republic catherine so the court has ruled that the vote can go ahead but with everything that's going on when people want to do they feel safe. well it really depends on who you talk to we have spoken to u.n. off

ok let's get going let's begin in the central african republic and the ruling from the constitutional court that sunday's election will go ahead despite rising violence by armed groups their opposition parties wanted it to spode and accuse the president of vote rigging rebels also rejected the legitimacy of the government and threaten to march on the capital bangui 3 un peacekeepers have been killed and human rights groups are warning that violence could reach levels last seen in 2013 when thousands of civilians were killed in a moment we'll hear from the un but 1st catherine sawyer has more now on an election that could be a crucial test for a nation that has suffered years of conflict. judges the constitutional judges made this unanimous decision in the courtroom behind me and they said that the petition did not have strong enough grounds to have the election postponed now we. so what this means is that the election is going to go on tomorrow wherever it can we have spoken to u.n. officials with a 70 percent of the country think enough people to come out to vote we have spoken to the gove

what is critical in the 18th century is not whether courts can enforce constitutional rights. this is a pre-marbury period, and certainly a free burger court period. what was most important to the republic then was the ability to elect legislators because the legislative process was seen as the primary threat to individual rights. guess what? the 3/5 clause i mentioned earlier enhanced the population basis that slave holding states would have by allowing them to count three-fifths of every slave they held as a person towards the number of representatives that they would have in the house of representatives. you add that to the equal representation each state in the senate, and what you wind up with is a political process that is biased towards the southern states, all of which had slavery at this time. so, with that being said, having made the case appropriately, i hope, in the way it would be made today, as well as the way it would have been made in the 18th and early 19th centuries, i now turn everything over to our speakers. our first speaker will be timothy, and he can expl

way in central african republic presidential and legislative elections a day earlier a its constitutional court ruled that sunday's polls can go ahead despite worsening fighting between the government and rebels more un peacekeepers are arriving to help maintain law and order an alliance of rebel groups accuses president to a data of planning to rig this verse well our correspondent catherine swayze on the ground and joins us now from the capital bangui catherine so polls are now open but i imagine it's getting pretty tense there this morning catherine i know the connection is not great but i imagine it's feeling pretty tense there even though the polls are now open. yes. we are one of the b.z.'s polling stations and we have less than 10 people who have arrived we went to 2 of the polling stations and there was a highly anyone we've been speaking to electoral officials here who are telling us they are waiting for polling materials but there's a lot of fear in a study on not just in areas where there is active fighting and i have to tell you that this city itself benghazi is divided there are ar