AfricaDigest 11/03/10

[AfricaDigest Manager]

Partial Ivory Coast election results show tight race

The presidential election in Ivory Coast is likely to go into a second
round after partial results point to a tight race between the top
candidates.
With about half the ballots counted, incumbent Laurent Gbagbo has 37%,
with Alassane Ouattara on 34%, the election commission said.
Turnout was about 80% - reportedly one of the highest rates ever in
Africa.
The poll is intended to fully reunify the country, after years of
rebel control in the north.

The election, due since 2005, had been postponed six times.
Some fear violence could break out after the final results are
announced; there had been increasing tension with the delay in
announcing results from Sunday's election in the world's biggest cocoa
producer.

The head of the country's army called for calm on state television
before the first results were released late on Tuesday.
The BBC's John James in the main city Abidjan says the city centre
remains quieter than usual but banks are open.
Observers barred

Mr Ouattara, a former IMF economist, is popular in the mainly Muslim
north, where many people have complained that they face
discrimination.
He was excluded from previous polls amid accusations that his parents
were of foreign origin.
Former President Henri Konan Bedie, the third main candidate, took 27%
of the 2.4m votes counted so far, the Independent Election Commission
(CEI) said.

He is the candidate of the party which governed Ivory Coast for 39
years since independence until he was ousted in a coup in 1999.
These two challengers and President Gbagbo were seen as the three
strongest candidates. All three believed they would win, raising fears
of unrest as the final results come through.

The head of the European Union's 120-strong observer mission has
criticised the CEI for the slow pace of releasing results.
Cristian Preda also complained that election observers had been barred
from counting centres
"It's an act that we deplore, and there is no rational explanation for
it. Everything must be transparent," the AP news agency quotes him as
saying.
He did, however praise the peaceful nature of the voting.
Election officials have explained the delay as being caused by
logistical problems and heavy rain.

Ivory Coast used to be seen as a haven of political stability and
prosperity in West Africa.
Northern rebels took up arms in 2002, dividing the country for five
years, until a power-sharing deal was signed in 2007.
The ex-rebel New Forces leader Guillaume Soro became prime minister
but - aged 38 - he is too young to stand in the election.
If no candidate wins a simple majority, there will be a run-off in
late November.
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Niger backs constitution to end junta rule

Results from a referendum in Niger show more than 90% of voters backed
a new constitution designed to return the country to civilian rule.
The constitution was put forward by the junta leaders who came to
power in a coup which ousted ex-President Mamadou Tandja in February.
It reduces the power of future presidents, provides for elections in
January and a handover in April.

Turnout in Sunday's referendum was about 52%.
The BBC's Idy Baraou in the capital, Niamey, says among the measures
in the constitution are a two-term limit for presidents and amnesty
for the February coup plotters.

Mr Tandja, a former army officer in his early 70s, was first elected
in 1999 and was returned to power in an election in 2004.
He came under increasing criticism both at home and abroad after
changing the constitution to allow him to stay in power for a third
term.
The new constitution, which needs to be signed into law by junta
leader Gen Salou Djibo, also states that MPs will in the future need a
university degree.
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Tanzanians elect first albino to parliament

An albino has been elected as an MP in Tanzania for the first time.
"This win is a victory not only for me but also for all the albinos in
this country," Salum Khalfani Bar'wani, from the opposition Cuf party,
told the BBC.
Albinos have suffered widespread persecution in Tanzania, where witch
doctors say magic potions made with albino body parts can bring good
luck.
The government has been campaigning against the discrimination, and an
albino MP was appointed two years ago.
But Al-Shymaa Kway-Geer was nominated by the president who is able to
appoint 10 unelected members of parliament.

Over the past few years dozens of albinos have been killed in
Tanzania, targets of body-snatchers, and the killings have spread to
neighbouring Burundi.
In August a court in Tanzania sentenced a Kenyan to 17 years in jail
on charges of trying to sell an albino person.
'Joy'
Mr Bar'wani said he was grateful to the constituents in Lindi Urban,
in the remote south-east of the country, for electing him.
"My joy has no end," he told the BBC Swahili Service.
"The people of Lindi have used their wisdom and have appreciated
clearly that albinos are capable.
"I am so touched that this is the first time in the electoral history
of this country for an albino to be elected by the people in a popular
contest to be their representative in parliament - and not through
sympathy votes or decisions."
He said his success also showed people in Lindi where tired of the
leadership of the ruling CCM party.

So far five cabinet ministers from the ruling party have lost their
seats to the opposition in the elections.
Incumbent President Jakaya Kikwete is expected to win the presidential
poll, although he faces a strong challenge from former priest
Willibrod Slaa and university professor Ibrahim Lipumba, among six
opposition candidates.
On Monday, opposition supporters held protests in several parts of the
country at the slow pace of announcing the result of Sunday's general
election.
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Guinea election boycott threat is averted

Special polling stations will be constructed in Guinea to allow people
displaced by recent violence to vote in next Sunday's presidential run-
off.
The head of the electoral commission said every displaced person would
be able to vote, provided their name appeared on the electoral
register.
The candidates had threatened boycotts if the issue was not addressed.

The vote, intended to end years of authoritarian rule, has been
delayed three times since July.
Political infighting and deadly street violence have been blamed for
the postponements.
Thousands of people fled their homes after last month's fighting
between supporters of the two candidates, Cellou Dalein Diallo and
Alpha Conde.

The BBC's Alhassan Sillah in the capital, Conakry, said the impasse
over how they would vote had threatened a fourth delay.
But spokesmen for both candidates said they were happy with the
assurances from the new election chief.
"I can say without making a serious error that all has been done for
the holding of credible elections on 7 November," election chief
Toumany Sangare said.

General Sangare, a Mali national, was appointed several weeks ago by
the military leader after months of infighting and accusations of
fraud at the electoral commission.

Ethnic tensions
The military seized power in 2008 after the death of long-time
strongman leader Lansana Conte, but army rule led to more political
upheaval and the soldiers eventually agreed to transfer power back to
civilians.
A former prime minister, Mr Diallo is seen as the favourite to win the
run-off. He took 44% of the votes in the first round in June - and
claims he was denied overall victory only by fraud.
Mr Conde, a veteran opposition leader, won 18% of the vote - although
he claims he was cheated out of some 600,000 ballots.

Correspondents say the fierce tensions between the two candidates'
supporters has its origins in rivalry between Guinea's two largest
ethnic communities. Mr Diallo is a Peul, while Mr Conde is a Malinke.
Despite their economic dominance, a member of the Peul community has
never been president. The Malinke are heavily represented in the
ruling military junta.

The first round was seen as Guinea's first democratic vote since
independence in 1958, raising hopes of an end to military and
authoritarian rule in the mineral-rich country.
Guinea is the world's largest exporter of the aluminium ore bauxite.
It also has important deposits of iron ore, but it remains one of the
poorest countries in West Africa.
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Air freight from Yemen and Somalia banned

Unaccompanied freight flown to the UK from Somalia as well as Yemen
will be banned in the wake of the cargo plane bombs, the home
secretary has told MPs.
The move was based on possible contact between al-Qaeda in Yemen and
Somali terrorist groups, Theresa May said.
Toner cartridges over 500g will also be banned from hand baggage on UK
flights.
There was no information another attack was imminent, she said, but
she confirmed a review of all aspects of air freight security.
Mrs May was speaking to MPs in the Commons after a meeting of the
government's emergency planning committee Cobra.
It met on Monday following Friday's discovery of a bomb on a US-bound
UPS cargo plane at East Midlands airport and a similar bomb on a FedEx
plane in Dubai.
The explosive contained in the device was found after a tip-off and
was not picked up by initial screening.

Investigators at East Midlands carried out a re-examination as a
precaution and the bomb was found hidden in a printer cartridge posted
in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
UK officials said the tip-off came from al-Qaeda member Jabr Al-Faifi
who turned himself in to Saudi authorities two weeks ago.
Mrs May announced the measures, which will come into force at
midnight, as she updated MPs on the air cargo bomb plot.
She said two bombs identified in the plot originated in Yemen but
suspending freight flights from Somalia was necessary because of a
possible link between terrorists in the two countries and concerns
over airport security in Mogadishu, Somalia's capital.
She said: "We are in a constant battle with the terrorists. They are
always looking for another... innovative way, in which they can try to
get around our defences."

She announced that the government would:
Review all aspects of air freight security and work with international
partners to make sure UK defences were as robust as possible.
Update the guidance given to airport security personnel based on what
it has learned to enable them to identify similar packages in future.
Extend the suspension of unaccompanied air freight to the UK not just
from Yemen but also Somalia. She said the move was precautionary and
would be reviewed in coming weeks.
Suspend the carriage of toner cartridges larger than 500g in
passengers' hand baggage on flights departing from UK airports
Prohibit the carriage of these items by air cargo into, via or from
the UK unless they originated from a known consignor - a regular
shipper with security arrangements approved by the Department for
Transport.

The restrictions on toner will be in place for one month while a
"sustainable, proportionate, long-term security regime" is developed.
BAR UK - which represents more than 80 UK airlines - and airport
operator BAA have said they will work with the government on the
changes.
Direct passenger and cargo flights from Yemen to the UK were suspended
following the attempted downing of a plane bound for Detroit on
Christmas Day 2009.

This weekend, the carriage of unaccompanied air freight from Yemen on
passenger and courier flights was also suspended.
Mrs May told MPs an "intensive investigation" had been taking place in
the UK and overseas following the discovery of the explosive devices.
She said: "We know that both explosive devices originated in Yemen. We
believe that they were made and dispatched by the organisation known
as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.

"This group, based in Yemen, was responsible for the attempted downing
of an aircraft bound for Detroit on December 25 last year.
"The devices were probably intended to detonate mid-air and to destroy
the cargo aircraft on which they were being transported."
She said analysis of the device at East Midlands found it was "viable"
and "could have succeeded in bringing down the aircraft".
While there was no information another attack by this group was
imminent, she said it had been responsible for a number of recent
attacks in Yemen, including attempts to kill British diplomats.
Shadow home secretary Ed Balls praised the "brave and vital work" by
security and police personnel but questioned why the bomb at East
Midlands airport was not discovered during the first police search.

He said the fact that the two devices had been carried on a series of
five aircraft, three of them passenger flights, raised "serious
questions about the security of our airspace".
And he questioned spending cuts to the intelligence, counter-terror
police and UK Border Agency budgets.
'Technology aid'
Former home secretary Lord Reid, chairman of the Institute for
Security and Resilience Studies at University College London, said
checks should take place continuously, not just after an incident.
He said: "I would like them to look at airports abroad as well as
here.

"If we're giving foreign aid to some of these countries, why not make
some of that aid, at least, technology that will help to secure their
airports and keep us safe."
Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes warned of reports of "variable levels
of rigour deployed by different companies with responsibility across
our airports".
Earlier, Prime Minister David Cameron, who chaired the Cobra meeting,
told MPs that Britain must take every possible step to "cut out the
terrorist cancer" that existed in the Arabian Peninsula.
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The whole dream of democracy is to raise the proletarian to the level
of stupidity attained by the bourgeois.
Gustave Flaubert
French realist novelist (1821 - 1880)
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