Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Six people were killed when a plane chartered by DR Congo’s election commission crashed near Kinshasa airport, sources said Friday. The Antonov 26 crashed Thursday as it was about to land after delivering election material to Tshikapa in the centre of the country, a …
Read More »Journalist arrested and ‘violently beaten’ in DR Congo: media NGO
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | A journalist was arrested and “violently beaten” in Democratic Republic of Congo on Thursday for covering a meeting of opposition presidential hopeful Martin Fayulu, a media rights group said. Rodrigue Ndakazieka, described as a “journalist-technician” with a Kwilu province radio station, in the west …
Read More »DR Congo, a vast African giant wracked by violence
Paris, France | AFP | Africa’s second largest country, Democratic Republic of Congo, is rich in raw materials and minerals but cursed by deadly violence, insurgencies, graft and poverty. Presidential elections were scheduled for Sunday, but electoral authorities delayed the vote by seven days until December 30 after a warehouse …
Read More »Two rivals defiant in tense Madagascar vote count
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Vote counting in Madagascar’s presidential election was roiled by accusations of fraud on Thursday as the two candidates both claimed victory in a stand-off that has raised fears of instability on the Indian Ocean island. Andry Rajoelina and Marc Ravalomanana, both former presidents and long-time …
Read More »DR Congo orders week-long delay in troubled elections
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | DR Congo’s troubled journey to elect a successor to President Joseph Kabila hit a fresh snag Thursday, three days before voting, as electoral supervisors ordered a week-long postponement after a fire destroyed polling equipment. The delay marks the latest twist in a two-year-old …
Read More »DR Congo poised for election postponement
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | A candidate in upcoming presidential elections in DR Congo said Thursday that the national election commission had confirmed the long-delayed vote would be postponed again. Theodore Ngoy, one of 21 candidates vying to succeed President Joseph Kabila on Sunday, said the Independent National Election …
Read More »DR Congo election panel ‘may postpone vote for a week’
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Elections in Democratic Republic of Congo — due to take place on Sunday — may be postponed for a week, a senior electoral official has told AFP, after electronic voting machines were destroyed in a suspected arson attack on a warehouse last week. The …
Read More »Both candidates declare victory in Madagascar presidential run-off
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Both candidates in Madagascar’s presidential election have claimed victory in the fierce battle for power in the Indian Ocean island. Andry Rajoelina and Marc Ravalomanana — who have each held the top job in the impoverished country before — declared themselves winners in the run-off …
Read More »DR Congo election panel ‘may postpone vote for a week’
Kinshasa, DR Congo | AFP | Elections in Democratic Republic of Congo — due to take place on Sunday — may be postponed for a week, a senior electoral official has told AFP, after electronic voting machines were destroyed in a suspected arson attack on a warehouse last week. The …
Read More »Madagascar votes in showdown between two ex-presidents
Antananarivo, Madagascar | AFP | Madagascans voted on Wednesday in a run-off election between two rivals who have waited years to come face-to-face in a fiercely personal battle for power in the Indian Ocean island. The clash between Marc Ravalomanana and Andry Rajoelina could revive instability in the impoverished country …
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