Vol 54 No 16 | MADAGASCAR Crisis grows as presidential elections delayed again 25th July 2013 Coup leader Rajoelina's insistence that he must be a candidate has thrown preparations for the presidential elections into chaos Political tensions and street clashes have been increasing ahead of the 31 July deadline set by the Groupe internationale de contact sur Madagascar (GIC-M), which has set key...
Vol 54 No 15 | ZIMBABWE Rushing and cheating 19th July 2013 A tightened election timetable with almost a third of eligible voters missing from the register leaves plenty of space for a nationwide gerrymander It was uncharacteristically foolish of President Robert Mugabe to fast-track the election date to 31 July, in the face of protests from some in his own party and...
Vol 54 No 15 | ZIMBABWE Dress rehearsal vote 19th July 2013 The prospects for free, fair and transparent elections on 31 July took another knock with the chaotic ‘special votes’ on 14-15 July. The problems were mainly logistical, stemming...
Vol 54 No 15 | NAMIBIA Youth check Geingob 18th July 2013 President Hifikepunye Pohamba and Prime Minister Hage Geingob have been trying to quell the rebellious SWAPO Party’s Youth League – but without much luck. In June, Premier Pohamba...
Vol 54 No 15 | SOUTH AFRICA Zuma's axe falls 18th July 2013 The pace of President Jacob Zuma’s cull of his opponents in the African National Congress is picking up as he lays the groundwork for next year’s general elections...
Vol 54 No 15 | ANGOLA The succession question 9th July 2013 Who takes over from President Dos Santos and how is a matter of political urgency for the governing party Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola (MPLA) delegates meet next year for their national conference, where they will face growing calls to find a way to ease out...
Vol 54 No 15 | ANGOLA The Brazil effect 9th July 2013 The mass protests in Brazil have rattled Luanda’s political elite as speculation grows about the successor to President Dos Santos Angola and Brazil share close political and commercial ties so June's mass protests and clashes in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo resonated loudly in Luanda. On paper,...
Vol 54 No 14 | ZIMBABWE Election fever and finance 5th July 2013 Even if ZANU-PF loses the argument over the election date, its business and military backers put it ahead of the MDC The Constitutional Court will soon announce its decision on granting an extension to the 31 July election date. The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has been pressing on...
Vol 54 No 14 | ZIMBABWE Diamond votes 5th July 2013 The death in a car accident of Edward Chindori-Chininga, the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Mining and Minerals, came within days of its damning report on revenue...
Vol 54 No 14 | MALAWITANZANIA Digging in on the Lake 5th July 2013 Malawi will not give up an inch of its lake, sources close to President Joyce Banda say. At issue in the row with Tanzania is where the frontier...