Africa
Senegal begins voting for new president
Senegal begins voting for new president
Senegal began voting Sunday for a new president in an unpredictable race following three years of turmoil and political crisis.
Around 7.3 million voters are registered in the West African nation where two favourites have emerged: the governing coalition’s former prime minister Amadou Ba and anti-establishment candidate Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
They were both once tax inspectors but now appear to have little in common. Ba, 62, is offering continuity while the 43-year-old Faye promises profound change and left-wing pan-Africanism.
Both say they will claim a first-round victory – but a second round looks probable with 15 other candidates in the field, including a sole woman, at a date yet to be decided.
Former Dakar mayor Khalifa Sall, 68, is considered to have an outside chance.
“It’s a symbolic and historic day for me because it wasn’t easy to hold these elections, it was gained through a great fight,” voter Mohamed Bop, 42, told AFP in Dakar.
“So, I’m very relieved and proud,” he added.
The eventual winner will be tasked with steering traditionally stable Senegal out of its recent troubles, and managing revenues from oil and gas reserves that are shortly to start production.
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Voting will end at 1800 GMT and provisional results could be known overnight. The first official results are expected during the coming week.
Senegal has traditionally been considered a beacon of democracy and stability in the coup-hit region, where Russia is strengthening its influence.
Raucous campaign
Hundreds of observers will be out representing civil society, the African Union, the ECOWAS regional group and the European Union.
A raucous campaign, lasting just two weeks after being shortened, followed a dramatic last-minute delay to the election date, originally scheduled for February 25.
President Macky Sall’s intervention to delay the presidential vote sparked unrest that left four people dead.
Sall, who won praise abroad last year by renouncing a possible third-term bid, said he called off the vote over fears it would not go smoothly.
After weeks of political crisis, the country’s top constitutional body stepped in and forced him to reset the date to March 24, despite clashing with the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.
Sall’s hand-picked would-be successor Ba has positioned himself as a last bastion against “bandits” and urged people to vote “for experience and competence instead of entrusting the reins of the country to adventurers”.
“We don’t need officials who need two years of apprenticeship,” Ba said at his final campaign rally on Friday.
“We need to consolidate what we have. We need to go even faster and further,” he said, with a vow to create one million jobs in five years.
But he must also face the darker side of Sall’s legacy that includes mass arrests, persistent poverty and 20 percent unemployment, and thousands of migrants setting off on the perilous voyage to Europe each year.
Senegal begins voting for new president
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Africa
ECOWAS refutes claims linking Nigeria to terrorism sponsorship
ECOWAS refutes claims linking Nigeria to terrorism sponsorship
The Economic Community of West African States has expressed concern over allegations directed at Nigeria and other member states, accusing them of sponsoring terrorism.
The commission in a statement on Thursday rejected the claims, describing them as unfounded and contrary to Nigeria’s longstanding commitment to regional peace and security.
It highlighted Nigeria’s leadership in the Multinational Joint Task Force, which had achieved significant successes in combating terrorism and maintaining stability in the West African region.
It stressed that Nigeria’s contributions extended beyond the subregion, underscoring the country’s role as a pillar of peace on the African continent.
ECOWAS refuted any suggestion that Nigeria, known for its generosity and dedication to stability, could be linked to terrorism sponsorship.
The commission urged all states in the region to prioritize dialogue and cooperation, calling for an end to baseless accusations that could undermine unity and peace efforts.
“The commission stands firmly with Nigeria and other ECOWAS member states against allegations that they are sponsoring terrorism.
“For years, Nigeria has supported the peace and security of several countries not only in the West African subregion but also on the African continent.
“ECOWAS therefore refutes any suggestion that such a generous and magnanimous country would become a state-sponsor of terrorism.
“ECOWAS calls on all states in the region to promote dialogue and stability and refrain from making accusations that are not supported by any evidence,” the statement read.
ECOWAS refutes claims linking Nigeria to terrorism sponsorship
Africa
Mozambique: Over 1,000 prisoners escape jail as election protests worsen
Mozambique: Over 1,000 prisoners escape jail as election protests worsen
No fewer than 1,500 prisoners have escaped from a prison in Mozambique, taking advantage of ongoing political unrest triggered by disputed election results, police say.
According to police chief Bernardino Rafael, thirty-three people were killed and 15 injured in clashes with guards.
About 150 more fugitives have since been recaptured, he added.
Protests broke out on Monday in response to Mozambique’s highest court confirming that the ruling Frelimo party, in power since 1975, had won October’s presidential elections.
Mr. Rafael stated that groups of anti-government protesters had approached the prison in the capital, Maputo, on Wednesday. Prisoners used the unrest to knock down a wall and escape, he said.
Mozambique has been rocked by civil unrest since disputed elections in October. Official results showed the ruling Frelimo’s candidate for president, Daniel Chapo, winning.
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Fresh protests erupted on Monday, when the constitutional court decided that Chapo had won the election but reduced his margin of victory.
In October, initial results showed Daniel Chapo with 71% of the vote versus Venâncio Mondlane’s 20%.
The court has now determined that he won 65% to Mondlane’s 24%. A BBC reporter discovered Maputo was like a ghost town on Christmas Eve, with practically all shops closed and residents remaining at home to avoid being caught up in the city’s worst unrest since Frelimo first took office in 1975.
Frelimo offices, police stations, banks, and factories have been robbed, vandalised, and set on fire around the country.
Mondlane, who has since fled Mozambique, had been urging his supporters to protest what he claimed was a corrupt vote. In a weekend social media statement, he predicted a “new popular uprising” if the outcome was not reversed.
Approximately 150 people have been killed in three months of protests following the elections.
Mozambique: Over 1,000 prisoners escape jail as election protests worsen
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