You are watching Africa 54, your daily news and feature magazine-style program, from the Voice of America. Host Esther Githui-Ewart and a team of correspondents zero in on the big stories making news on the continent and around the world with context and analysis.
Top Stories:
Residents in the Ivory Coast capital of Abidjan are stocking up on provisions and sending relatives to distant rural villages ahead of a contentious presidential vote on Saturday that some fear could lead to violence. For more insight poll, Africa 54's Linord Moudou spoke with Gnaka Lagoke, a political analyst, author and founder of the Revival of Pan Africanism Forum.
Ivory Coast's 2010 election violence killed three-thousand people and sent thousands more fleeing into Ghana. Now, many of those refugees fear the Ivorian election this Saturday could spark new unrest, as Stacey Knott reports from Ampain refugee camp near the border with Ivory Coast.
Vote counting continues Friday in Tanzania’s presidential election, early results indicate the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi party may be headed for a near clean sweep. The national electoral commission has declared CCM presidential candidate, Hussein Mwingyi, winner of the autonomous island of Zanzibar presidential contest. There are unconfirmed reports from Thursday that opposition act Wazalendo Party presidential candidate for Zanzibar, Maalim Seif Sharif Hamad, has been arrested. Some high-profile parliamentary candidates for the main opposition Chadema party, including national chairperson Freeman Mbowe, have lost their seats. Chadema presidential candidate for mainland Tanzania, Tundu Lissu, is rejected the results citing an “unprecedented level of fraud.”
The World Health Organization says national coronavirus lockdowns could be avoided if people were willing to take measures to avoid spreading the virus. Meanwhile, there is anger in Italy and division in Spain over a new round of restrictions, as VOA correspondent mariama diallo reports.
U.S. President Donald Trump promised to build a southern border wall when he campaigned four years ago, and he spoke about it again during the last presidential debate of 2020. VOA’s Elizabeth Lee has this update on the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border.
In part-two of my report on the documentary "The Last Ice", Africa 54’s Esther Githui-Ewart continues her conversation with Scott Ressler, director and producer of film and he tells us about the shrinking sea ice, a cycle that has been going on for centuries.
#IvoryCoast #Abijan #Tanzania #Elections #ChamaChaMapinduzi #Chadema #WHO #Coronavirus #ClimateChange #UnitedStates #US #DonaldTrump #JoeBiden
