Tanzania: Police Fire On Protestors DUring Post-Election Rallies

Police Fire on Protesters in Tanzania During Post-Election Rallies Tanzania Clashes erupted in Tanzania on Thursday after demonstrations broke out following elections this week, with protesters disputing the results, Al Jazeera reported. Following a low-turnout election on Wednesday, in which the most prominent opposition candidates were disqualified, protesters took to the streets, burning a bus and a gas station, attacking police officers, and vandalizing polling facilities, the Associated Press wrote. In response to the unrest, the government shut down the Internet, deployed the military on the streets, and imposed a curfew on Wednesday evening in the commercial capital, Dar es Salaam, where most of the demonstrations took place. However, protests continued late into the night, with police firing tear gas and gunshots at crowds defying the curfew. A civilian and a police officer died during the rallies, according to Amnesty International. The organization called for an investigation into the police’s use of force against protesters. The government requested public servants to work from home on Thursday to limit the movement of non-essential staff. Roadblocks staffed by the Tanzanian army were set up across the country. Hundreds of demonstrators also breached security barriers to reach a road leading to the country’s main airport, but were stopped from entering it. The turmoil was set off by actions by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi, or CCM party, in power since Tanzania’s independence in 1961, which attempted to retain office in Wednesday’s election by banning candidates from the two main opposition parties from running. Incumbent President Samia Suluhu Hassan ran against 16 candidates from smaller parties who carried out limited election campaigns. With vote counting still ongoing, the electoral commission has put Hassan in the lead in many constituencies, prompting fears of further tensions in the country, the BBC noted. The European Union called the vote a “fraud” that had been “unfolding for months.” Tanzania’s election is the latest on the continent to trigger unrest among voters, angry over attempts by longtime leaders or parties using repression to stay in power. For example, protests are ongoing after Cameroon’s recent elections, where leader Paul Biya won his eighth term at age 92.

Cameroon: Opposition Rejects Incumbent's Reelection

Opposition Rejects Incumbent’s Re-Election, Raising Fears of More Election Unrest Cameroon Cameroon’s opposition leaders this week rejected the results of the Oct. 12 presidential election that extended President Paul Biya’s four-decade rule, setting the stage for potential post-election unrest in a country already battling a separatist conflict, Reuters reported Tuesday. On Monday, the country’s constitutional council declared Biya, 92, as the winner with more than 53 percent of the vote. The announcement followed the council’s dismissal of eight petitions alleging electoral fraud, including ballot stuffing. The council’s ruling is final and cannot be appealed, with observers saying they expect more violence to break out. Sporadic protests erupted nationwide ahead of the official results and turned violent over the weekend. Supporters of the main opposition leader, Issa Tchiroma Bakary, clashed with police and blocked roads in the commercial capital, Douala. At least six people were killed during demonstrations on Sunday and Monday, according to the opposition. On Tuesday, Cameroonian authorities vowed legal action against Tchiroma, accusing him of fomenting the unrest, the Turkish state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Tchiroma and other opposition candidates have rejected the vote’s outcome and accused the constitutional council of being “nothing more than the rubber stamp of a tyranny.” Former presidential candidate Akere Muna pointed to suspiciously high turnout figures in Cameroon’s English-speaking regions – where a separatist insurgency has raged since 2017 – as evidence of manipulation. The European Union expressed “deep concern” about the polls, the unrest, and the police crackdown on protests. Meanwhile, Tchiroma has urged his supporters at home and abroad to march peacefully to “liberate Cameroon.” He previously declared himself the winner and published a tally on social media showing he won around 55 percent of the vote, based on what he claimed were returns representing 80 percent of the electorate, according to the BBC. Tchiroma warned that he would not accept any other outcome. Biya and government officials have repeatedly rejected the allegations of fraud, while also dismissing Tchiroma’s claims as illegal because only the constitutional council can proclaim official results. Biya, one of the world’s longest-serving leaders, has ruled Cameroon since 1982. If he finishes this eighth term, which ends in 2032, he will be almost 100 years old.

Sudan's Army Withdraws From Dafur Stronghold Amid Reports of Atrocities

Sudan’s Army Withdraws from Darfur Stronghold, Amid Reports of Mass Atrocities Sudan The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have withdrawn from the city of el-Fasher, their last stronghold in Darfur, amid reports of mounting ethnically motivated mass killings by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), whose takeover marks a major turning point in Sudan’s 18-month civil war, raising fears that the country will split apart, Al Jazeera reported. Army chief Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan announced late Monday that his troops had retreated “to spare civilians” after what he called the “systemic killing” by the RSF. The retreat followed days of intense fighting that left el-Fasher, a city of more than a quarter of a million people, under RSF control. Humanitarian groups reported the looting of hospitals, civilians detained or executed, and thousands fleeing toward nearby towns. Satellite analysis by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab indicated evidence consistent with large-scale killings by RSF fighters following their capture of the city, the Guardian wrote. The United Nations Human Rights Office said it had received “multiple alarming reports” of summary executions of civilians, particularly those belonging to non-Arab communities. The Joint Forces – who are allied with the SAF – accused the RSF of executing more than 2,000 unarmed civilians over the weekend, a figure that could not be independently verified. The RSF – a paramilitary group that grew out of the Janjaweed militias accused of atrocities in Darfur two decades ago – said it had “liberated” the city from “mercenaries and militias.” African Union Commission chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf condemned the “atrocities” and urged an immediate ceasefire and humanitarian access, Agence France-Presse added. The army’s retreat marks a turning point in the conflict between the military and RSF that began in April 2023 following a power struggle between Burhan and RSF commander, Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. The war has since killed more than 150,000 people, displaced nearly 12 million, and plunged parts of Sudan into famine. Both sides have been accused of committing war crimes and other atrocities – allegations both sides have rejected. Observers noted that the army’s withdrawal leaves the RSF in control of all five state capitals of the Darfur region, effectively excluding the SAF from a third of Sudanese territory and cementing the paramilitary group’s parallel administration in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. With Darfur now effectively under RSF rule and the army confined to the north, east, and center of the country, analysts and officials cautioned that the situation has revived fears of a national breakup reminiscent of South Sudan’s secession in 2011. That split followed decades of civil war and left Sudan permanently weakened, both politically and economically.

Mali Shutters Schools and Universities Amid Fuel Shortages Caused By Militants

Mali Shutters Schools and Universities Amid Fuel Shortages Caused by Militants Mali Mali suspended schools and universities across the country Monday as the military government continues to grapple with a fuel shortage caused by a weeks-long blockade imposed by al Qaeda-linked militants, the BBC reported. On Monday, Education Minister Amadou Sy Savane announced that all education institutions will remain closed until Nov. 9, adding that the government is “doing everything possible” to end the crisis. The landlocked West African nation has been hit by fuel shortages since early September, when jihadist militants from the Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin, or JNIM, announced a blockade on fuel imports. The militants have attacked convoys of fuel tankers attempting to enter the country or making their way to the capital of Bamako. Mali imports fuel supplies by road from neighboring African states, including Senegal and the Ivory Coast. Analysts told Reuters that the blockade is part of a pressure campaign by militant groups against the country’s military government. While the government said earlier this month the blockade was temporary, the crisis has persisted: Some fuel stations in Bamako have closed, and the capital’s usually crowded streets have fallen silent in recent weeks. The shortages have prompted fears of potential unrest. Last week, the US Embassy in Bamako announced that non-essential staff and their families would leave the country, warning that disruptions to fuel and electricity supplies “have the potential to disrupt the overall security situation in unpredictable ways.” Mali has been under military rule since Gen. Assimi Goïta seized power in a 2021 coup, amid growing public frustration over worsening insecurity caused by separatist and jihadist insurgencies in the north. Since then, both the United Nations peacekeeping mission and French forces – deployed more than a decade ago to combat the insurgency – have withdrawn from Mali. The junta has since turned to Russia and Moscow-backed mercenaries to confront militant groups. Share this story

Tanzania: "The Song Remains The Same"

The Song Remains The Same: In Tanzanian Elections, Voting Is Just a ‘Mere’ Formality Tanzania This summer, the Tanzanian government banned foreigners from owning and operating certain small-scale businesses in a move aimed at protecting and preserving job opportunities for locals. Under the new rules, foreigners are prohibited from participating in 15 specific business sectors, including small retail shops, eateries, salons, tourism businesses, mobile money kiosks, mobile phone services, small-scale mining, and radio and TV operations, among others. Trade Minister Selemani Jafo said foreigners had increasingly become involved in the informal sector and that these jobs are important for Tanzanians. The move, meanwhile, has generally been welcomed among Tanzanians amid growing concerns that foreigners, including Chinese nationals, have been encroaching on the smaller trades, the BBC wrote. The British news outlet noted that last year, traders at Dar es Salaam’s bustling Kariakoo shopping district went on strike to protest against unfair competition from Chinese traders. “We’ve welcomed this decision because it protects the livelihoods of Tanzanian traders,” Severine Mushi, the head of Kariakoo traders’ association, told Tanzania’s Citizen newspaper. The move by the government came in the run-up to national elections. But analysts say that attempts to please voters don’t mean much: When Tanzanians go to the polls on Oct. 29, they won’t have much choice anyway. “But this erosion of democracy will also come at the cost of (the country’s) economic potential,” wrote British think tank, Chatham House. The incumbent, President Samia Suluhu Hassan of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party, which has held power since 1977, took office after the death of her predecessor, John Magufuli, in 2021, and will face election for the first time. But her most serious challenger, opposition leader Tundu Lissu, has been imprisoned since April on treason charges due to his demands for electoral reform. His CHADEMA party has been banned from the election. Another prominent contender and ruling party defector, Luhaga Mpina, is also banned from running. That’s normal in the East African country, say analysts. Tanzania has had six elections since multiparty democracy was introduced in 1995, and the CCM has won them all, making it one of Africa’s longest-ruling independent parties, wrote the Institute for Security Studies. Much of this electoral dominance has resulted from exclusion, censorship, electoral fraud, and violence against the opposition, it added: “The current electoral situation shows that Tanzania is sliding further into a de facto authoritarian system where voting is reduced to a procedural coronation ritual for the ruling party.” Still, the country continues to slide: Since 2016, Freedom House has categorized Tanzania as “Partly Free” but almost a decade later, it has dropped to the “Not Free” category, signaling an increasingly authoritarian turn by Hassan, analysts say. When Hassan took office in 2021, there was hope that she would be a different kind of Tanzanian leader, one that would allow civil liberties, halt government repression, and promote the development the country so desperately needs. In the first year, she got off to a good start, say observers, promoting the “Four Rs” of reconciliation, resilience, reforms, and rebuilding, becoming a marked contrast to her predecessor, an authoritarian leader. The president released political prisoners, removed restrictions on media outlets, began working with the opposition, lifted a ban on opposition party rallies, and started a program of electoral reform. But that was then, before a crackdown on the opposition began last year, one that has been intensifying this year, and has included the abduction of and attacks on civil society activists, journalists, and religious leaders, as well as opposition politicians. “The façade of progressive change that had been constructed under (Hassan) is crumbling and could presage a return to authoritarian rule in Tanzania,” wrote World Politics Review. Now, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, October’s election promises to be a repeat of local elections in November, where many CHADEMA candidates were disqualified, and the CCM ended up winning 99 percent of the local races. That means the elections will be a missed opportunity for the country, especially economically, analysts say. Tanzania, a leading gold exporter worldwide, with abundant natural resources, and a growing economy, continues to grapple with deep poverty: Almost half of its 62 million people live on less than $3 a day, according to the World Bank. For many voters, small-scale farmers, informal traders, street vendors, and unemployed youth, the cost of living has become untenable, say observers. New rules banning foreigners from working in certain sectors won’t change that, just create tensions with other countries in the region that may retaliate against Tanzanians working in their countries and impose trade penalties. “People are tired,” one Tanzanian voter, Muhemsi, told Peoples Dispatch. “Access to dignified work, education, or health has become a privilege. Most ordinary people live in daily struggle while a few elites grow richer.” “ “The crisis isn’t just electoral, it’s systematic,” he added. “But people know what isn’t working. And they’re looking for alternatives.”

South Africa: Utilities Move Forward With Controversial Plan For More Nuclear Reactors

Business Utility moves forward with controversial plans at nuclear plant: 'Not the best site' By Christine Dulion, 22 hours ago South Africa's state-owned utility Eskom is moving forward with plans to expand nuclear generation, marking a major step toward the country's long-term clean energy goals. IOL reported that the announcement followed government approval from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment. The agency cleared the way for Eskom to add up to 4,000 megawatts of new nuclear capacity to its Duynefontein Nuclear Plant — roughly the output of four large reactors. The expansion will align with the government's forthcoming Integrated Resource Plan, which will determine South Africa's future energy mix and outline how nuclear power fits alongside renewables and coal phaseouts. While the plan represents progress toward energy diversification, it has also drawn criticism. The Koeberg Alert Alliance argues that the 2007 Environmental Impact Assessment used to approve the expansion is outdated. "It is of note that the EIA consultants found that Duynefontein was not the best site for a new plant, due to seismic risks and population density in the area," said Peter Becker, a group spokesperson. Becker urged the government to reassess the site in light of population growth and cleaner alternatives. Still, some experts view nuclear power as an essential bridge in the transition away from coal. Des Muller, managing director of NuEnergy Developments, said the sites "are both licensed for 4,000MW" and could later accommodate Small Modular Reactors — compact systems that don't require ocean cooling. "SMRs are also ideal to repurpose our retired coal power stations and keep those communities sustained and contributing to our economy," Muller commented. How would you feel about a nuclear power plant being built near your home? I'd be excited I'd be scared I'd be angry I wouldn't care Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

Algeria: The Pot Boils As Geberation Z Protestors Prepare To Ignite

The Pot Boils: As Gen Z Protests Ignite Around the World, Some Say Repressive Algeria Is Next Algeria Youth-led protest movements using social media to organize against poor government services, elite corruption, and other grievances are springing up around the globe. The list is long – and it’s growing: Nepal, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Mongolia, and Indonesia in Asia, Madagascar, Morocco, and Kenya in Africa, Peru and Paraguay in South America, and Serbia in Europe. While the triggers vary, what unites these spontaneous and often decentralized movements are the age of their leaders – mostly calling themselves Gen Z after the generation born between 1997 and 2012 – and their use of symbols such as pirate flags inspired by the Japanese manga comic, One Piece, to define themselves as they take over city streets and squares. They have been having some successes, too: In Nepal and now Madagascar, they have toppled governments within weeks or even days. Now, some wonder, is it Algeria’s turn? “Algeria appears to be the next flashpoint,” wrote the Africa Report. Algeria, some believe, is an unlikely country to host such a movement: Its shadowy “junta” government led by an elected president in elections many say were fraudulent is among the most repressive in the world. However, for the past few months, calls to demonstrate have been circulating on Algerian social media. The movement calls itself #Gen Z 213 – an echo of Morocco’s protest movement and a reference to Algeria’s international dialing code – and is demanding via TikTok and Facebook better public services, a crackdown on elite corruption, political pluralism, the lifting of restrictions on civil liberties such as free expression, and the release of political prisoners. “Freedom for Algeria,” “social justice now,” and “free our homeland from the gang,” read some of these posts. Some depicted Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune as a witch, while others displayed images of individuals jailed by the government for their posts or protesting. But unlike in most countries where the protests have erupted, the Algerian government doesn’t even attempt to pretend it tries to serve its public, analysts say. Instead, it manages a highly repressive regime that has for years restricted free expression and muzzled its media. It has escalated its ongoing crackdown on expression this year. Still, the burgeoning online protest movement has the authorities spooked, wrote French-language newspaper Jeune Afrique. “Without waiting to gauge the movement’s power, the authorities flexed their muscles and put security forces on a war footing, while blaming an ‘international conspiracy’ by Morocco…to export Moroccan problems (such as protests) to Algeria,” it said. The pro-government Algeria Press Service also spoke about a “desperate manipulation” and interference by Morocco – Algeria and Morocco have long been at odds – adding that such “manipulation” won’t be effective because Algeria remains a “solid social state” offering its youth “broad prospects for the future.” “Far from being a superficial model, the Algerian welfare state constitutes a concrete bulwark against marginalization and poverty, and a guarantee of national cohesion,” the state agency wrote. However, commentators say that Algeria faces severe economic challenges: unemployment among those under 24 exceeds 30 percent, while inflation and rising living costs have eroded purchasing power over the past few years. As a result, young Algerians attempt to migrate to Europe by the thousands. And this migration has been rising: European border-control agency Frontex recorded a 22 percent year-on-year increase in attempted migrations by Algerians via the Mediterranean since the beginning of the year. Algerians are now the leading nationality to emigrate to Spain by sea, seven times more numerous than Moroccans, usually the top country in recent years. “Relying on a declining oil and gas income, the regime has left the younger generation, often described as ‘sacrificed,’ increasingly determined to take up the mantle of protest,” wrote the Agence de Presse Africaine. Still, what is underlying Algerian authorities’ nervousness is the memory of the Hirak movement, which staged huge protests for months starting in 2019 and ousted the country’s longtime dictator, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, before being stamped out by government crackdowns and also the Covid-19 pandemic. Also, the government saw the ouster of President Bashar Assad in Syria in December as a warning, say analysts. Meanwhile, there have been power struggles within the Algerian government, which burst into view this fall after the escape of Maj. Gen. Abdelkader Haddad: Known as “the devil,” the feared former head of the General Directorate of Internal Security allegedly fled to Spain after he fell from grace and was arrested for undisclosed reasons. That escape has set off purges within the military, wrote French-language publication Sahel Intelligence. As a result, the government has stepped up its arrests of individuals for posting comments on social media complaining about the country’s leadership, and it has refused permits for protests such as those organized in August by political parties in support of Palestinians in Gaza. Algeria has long been a leading supporter of Palestinians. “Since the Hirak protest movement…the Algerian authorities have weaponized the criminal justice system to clamp down on peaceful dissent, arbitrarily arresting and prosecuting hundreds of activists, human rights defenders, protesters, and journalists for exercising their rights to peaceful assembly, association and expression, notably on social media, leading to a steady erosion of human rights in the country,” wrote Amnesty International recently, detailing cases of those imprisoned for social media posts this year. Even so, the escalating crackdown is evidence of worry, and of things to come, say commentators. “All the ingredients are there for things to get going again – in fact, the hashtag #Manich radi (I am not satisfied) has been trending on social media in recent weeks (with) Algerians denouncing repression, economic and social problems…They are demanding peaceful change,” said Adel Boucherguine of the Algerian League for the Defense of Human Rights, which was dissolved by the government in 2022, but resurrected in exile in France, in an interview with France’s L’Express newspaper. “…the desire to turn the page on authoritarianism and inaction is shared by a large proportion of Algerians,” he added. “The disenchantment between the governed and those who govern has never been greater, and the anger is there, silent and unpredictable.”