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Mali, UN, disagree over killing of jihadist fighters

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Malian authorities and the United Nations have disagreed over the killing of Jihadist fighters in the country.

While the army says its troops killed over 200 jihadists in military operations in the centre of the Sahel state, the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the country has countered the claims, saying it has heard reports of civilian deaths, raising human rights concerns.

The Malian Army on Saturday, said the military operations which took place in the Moura region in central Mali from March 23 to 31, saw 203 jihadists killed while 51 were arrested and large quantities of weapons seized.

But the UN, relying on numerous social media reports in Mali during the week, alleged that dozens of the people killed in the operations included civilians

“The Mali military issued a statement after rumours on social media that 300 civilians were killed in the village of Moura which they said was a ‘terrorist fiefdom’. They said they neutralised over 300 ‘terrorists’,” a local journalist reported, which corroborated the UN’s stance.

“The Malian state believes the area is controlled by groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL (ISIS). So there has been a push to regain control of the area.

“But the challenge is that no one really knows what’s happening; there’s little access to the area where these operations are taking place. A number of foreign journalists have been thrown out of the country for reporting what’s going on in Mali,” he added.

Mali has been battling for years to push out different rebel groups and to contain an armed uprising that emerged in 2012, to some degrees of success but the threat has continued to stay with the impoverished nation.

A large part of the country are controlled by different rebel groups and militias, with thousands of soldiers and civilians killed in years of conflict.

Politics

Zimbabwe’s electoral commission, ZEC promises to publicise voters’ register

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The electoral commission in Zimbabwe said it would soon publish the voters’ register for the forthcoming general elections.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) also assured the public of a fair election and promised to rectify anomalies that were observed during the voters’ inspection exercise.

The head of ZEC, Utloile Silaigwana made the position known when he announced the end of the mop-up voter registration exercise on Friday.

Silaigwana further revealed that the Nomination court would sit on 21 June and thereafter the voters’ roll would be accessible to candidates.

There are contentions about the neutrality of the electoral commission. In March, a member of the opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC), Allan Markham filed a court application challenging ZEC for access to the electronic voters’ roll but had his request rejected because “it was too risky” and in the interest of data protection.

Meanwhile, the ruling party, Zanu PF sent text messages to registered voters during the period urging them to vote for President Emmerson Mnangagwa. This move further fuelled the allegation that Zanu PF had access to the voters’ roll which is why it was able to send the messages.

President Mnangagwa is running for re-election to a second term after coming to power following a military coup that dislodged Robert Mugabe as Zimbabwe’s president in 2017.

The country is struggling with deep poverty, recurring power outages, and crippling unemployment, all of which have fuelled widespread resentment.

The President of Zimbabwe is elected using a two-round system. The Zimbabwean legislature is made up of 270 members of the National Assembly, 210 members elected in single-member constituencies, and 60 women elected by proportional representation in ten six-seat constituencies based on the country’s provinces.

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Guinea-Bissau holds parliamentary elections after year-long break

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Elections into the parliament of Guinea-Bissau have been held on Sunday after over a year since President Umaro Sissoco Embalo dissolved the House over accusations of corruption.

Over 20 political parties and coalitions, including the former ruling PAIGC party and its rival MADEM G15 presented candidates for various constituencies across the country.

The country’s parliament, known as the National People’s Assembly, is made up of 102 members who are chosen in two ways: 100 by closed-list proportional representation from 27 multi-member constituencies and two by single-member constituencies representing expatriate citizens in Africa and Europe.

The majority party or coalition appoints the government under the current political system, but the president has the authority to dismiss it in certain circumstances. In the past, this has led to political gridlock and infighting.

The Prime Minister, Nuno Gomes Nabiam, while commenting on the strength of diversity of the country and the likely inclusive parliament that could follow the elections, noted that “there will be no winner with an absolute majority in these elections. It is impossible.”

“No party is ready to govern Guinea-Bissau alone, ” Nabiam said.

Guinea Bissau’s path to stability has been difficult, as it has been for many other countries in the West African sub-region. Since its independence from Portugal in 1974, the country has seen coups or attempted coups despite elections.

In February 2022, gunmen stormed a government compound where President Embalo was holding a cabinet meeting, attempting to stage a coup. The incident was later linked by the presidency to the country’s thriving drug trade.

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