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Zambia denies Zimbabwe politician asylum

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Tendai Biti, a senior member of Zimbabwe’s opposition MDC Alliance, has been denied asylum by neighbouring Zambia.

Biti has been accused by Zimbabwe’s police of inciting violence following last month’s election.

Zambian Foreign Minister Joe Malanji told the BBC that Mr Biti’s grounds for asylum were weak.

Earlier, his lawyer said his client had been detained at the border with Zambia by the Zimbabwean authorities, and that Zambia claims Biti’s grounds for asylum “are not meritorious”.

Hope that Zimbabwe’s July elections would usher in relative peace after Robert Mugabe’s 37-year rule appear to have waned.

Read Also: Mnangagwa wins in Zimbabwe but hope of peace deems

Last week, six people were killed after the military intervened to curb opposition protests in the capital, Harare. There has been a climate of fear in Zimbabwe, with some members of the opposition going into hiding.

The electoral commission declared that President Emmerson Mnangagwa won the poll, but the MDC Alliance alleges it was rigged, with opposition candidate, Nelson Chamisa, claiming victory.

Mr Biti’s arrest warrant, seen by the BBC, says he “unlawfully” announced that Mr Chamisa had won the presidential election.

He was the minister of finance in a unity government formed after disputed elections in 2008 – and is credited with helping stabilise the economy after years of hyperinflation.

Politics

Mozambique’s top court affirms governing party’s victory in recent election

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The highest court in Mozambique affirmed Monday that the incumbent Frelimo party won the October election, sparking widespread demonstrations from opposition parties who claim the vote was manipulated.

Fears of fresh bloodshed have been raised in the nation already shaken by weeks of fatal protests after Mozambique’s top electoral court mostly confirmed the results of the country’s contentious October elections, reinforcing the Frelimo party’s decades-long hold on power.

The final decision on the election process rests with the Constitutional Council. Mozambique, a nation of over 35 million people in Southern Africa that Frelimo has ruled since 1975, is expected to see more protests in response to its judgement.

Mozambique operates a framework of a semi-presidential representative democratic republic in a multi-party system. The president of Mozambique serves as both the head of state and the head of government.

The government exercises executive power. The administration and the Assembly of the Republic have the authority to enact laws.

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Alliance of Sahel States opposes ECOWAS disengagement schedule

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The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) withdrawal timeline has been rejected by the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), which is made up of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger.

The AES claims that the ECOWAS is attempting to destabilise their newly formed organisation.

During a meeting last week in Abuja, Nigeria, the regional organisation announced a six-month withdrawal period to give the three nations time to change their minds after their official departure date at the end of January 2025.

However, this decision is “nothing more than yet another attempt by the French and its auxiliaries to continue planning and carrying out destabilising actions against the AES,” according to the heads of state of the AES.

“This unilateral decision is not binding on the ESA countries,” the statement continues. Before the conference, they stated that their choice to leave the organisation was “irreversible.”

According to the president of the Ecowas Commission, this will be a “transition period” that ends on “July 29, 2025” to “keep the doors of Ecowas open.”

The three nations accused the bloc of neglecting to assist them in resolving their domestic security challenges and of imposing “inhumane and irresponsible” sanctions related to the coup.

The three nations that were involved in the coup have mostly rejected ECOWAS’ attempts to undo their withdrawal. They are creating their alliance and have begun thinking about how to issue travel passports independently of ECOWAS.

It is anticipated that they will finish giving their one-year notice of departure in January.

Visa-free travel to other ECOWAS members is a significant perk of membership, and it is unclear how this would alter after the three nations exit the group.

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