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IRIN-WA Update 213 of Events in West Africa, (Friday) 22 May 1998
SENEGAL: Low turnout forecast
The electoral watchdog in Senegal has expressed fears of an exceptionally low turnout in Sunday's legislative elections, the BBC reported on Friday. It quoted the National Electoral Observatory (ONEL) as saying fewer than half of the three million registered voters had collected their voting cards, without which they could not vote. It said only a third of voters registered in the capital, Dakar, had collected their cards, while even fewer had done so in Ziguinchor, capital of Casamance, the southern region affected by a separatist rebellion. The ruling Parti Socialiste (PS) has won every election since independence in 1960.
Some commentators in Senegal have said a group which
broke away from the PS, the Renouveau Democratique
(RD), led by former foreign minister Djibo Ka, may
win enough of the 140 seats being contested to force
President Abdou Diouf to include it in a coalition
government.
Six wounded in election rally shootout
Meanwhile, six members of the opposition Parti Democratique Senegalais (PDS) were shot and wounded at an election rally on Thursday, AFP reported. It said one of the men was in serious condition after the incident in Thies, 70 km from Dakar. It quoted a PDS official as saying the attackers had accused their victims of "being in the pay of the Socialist Party". However, the report which was not independently confirmed, gave no further details. The attack marked the third reported outbreak of violence in Senegal since campaigning for Sunday's parliamentary election started this month.
NIGERIA: Opposition pledges anti-government protests
Two key Nigerian opposition coalitions, the United Action for Democracy (UAD), and the Joint Action Committee of Nigeria (JACON), have pledged to step up their campaign to stop General Sani Abacha becoming the country's civilian ruler, Reuters reported on Thursday.
"We wish to assure the dictatorship that its time is up and that there is no turning back on the process of liberation we have commenced,'' said a UAD statement in Lagos. JACON which groups 45 pro-democracy organisations, announced a series of protests starting 29 May and culminating with a one-day strike on 12 June to mark the fifth anniversary of the 1993 presidential election annulled by Abacha.
Political tension has been on the upsurge in the oil-producing country of 104 million people since five officially recognised political parties chose Abacha as sole candidate for the 1 August presidential election.
Court orders release of opposition leader
Meanwhile, a Nigerian Federal High Court ordered the immediate release of a prominent pro-democracy activist who was held after a May Day protest in Ibadan, southwest Nigeria, AFP reported on Friday. It said the activist, Chief Bole Ige, 67, the former civilian governor of Oyo state, had not been formally charged or official informed of the reasons for his detention.
He was among some 20 activists arrested following the May Day protest in Ibadan, 140 km southwest of Lagos.
SIERRA LEONE: Radio reports US grant to support ECOMOG
The US State Department would provide US $3.9 million to support the West African peacekeeping force, ECOMOG, in its efforts to restore security in Sierra Leone, AFP reported on Friday. The dispatch quoting Sierra Leone state radio, however, was not immediately confirmed by Washington. The radio said the support had been decided because of the large flow of refugees from Sierra Leone into neighbouring countries and continued rebel atrocities against civilians which ECOMOG had been unable to contain since it helped restore the country's elected government to power in March.
Information Minister Julius Spencer, quoted by AFP, claimed that ECOMOG could defeat the rebels in the next couple of months, if it had the required manpower and logistical support.
LIBERIA: Army restructuring
President Charles Taylor of Liberia said the restructuring
of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) would only take
place once the National Assembly had approved it, independent
Star Radio reported on Friday. It said Taylor had told
a defence ministry meeting that the present demobilisation
and retirement exercise was aimed at soldiers who had
joined the army during the war. He announced the establishment
of a 17-member committee to monitor the demobilisation
and retirement process.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian ambassador to Liberia, Farouk
Ghoneim, on Thursday suggested that the West African
intervention force, ECOMOG, become a permanent peacekeeping
force for Africa. An ECOMOG statement said he had made
the suggestion at a meeting with ECOMOG Force Commander
Major General Timothy Shelpidi in Monrovia. It quoted
Ghoneim as saying he believed in solving African problems
within the framework of the Organisation of African
Unity (OAU) and regional organisations.
NIGER: Nine prisoners amnestied
President Ibrahim Bare Mainassara of Niger granted amnesty on Friday to nine prisoners charged in November 1997 for allegedly "plotting to destabilise the government", AFP reported. In a brief interview with AFP, Mainassara said he was releasing the detainees as a "humanitarian gesture" after repeated pleas from family and friends to release them.
France and China allocate funds to cash-strapped government
The French government allocated US$ 5 million to help Niger meet its debt arrears and support the organisation of university exams, AFP reported on Thursday. Meanwhile, China on Friday donated US$ 6.5 million to help finance development projects, create businesses and purchase equipment. China is currently building a dam in the capital Niamey and helping assess the water supply in the second city Zinder, 750 km east of Niamey.
Abidjan, 22 May 1998, 18:15 gmt [ends]
[The material contained in this communication comes to you via IRIN West Africa, a UN humanitarian information unit, but may not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. UN IRIN-WA Tel: +225 21 73 66 Fax: +225 21 63 35 e-mail: irin-wa@africaonline.co.ci for more information or subscription. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this report, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. IRIN reports are archived on the Web at: http://www.reliefweb.int/emergenc or can be retrieved automatically by sending e-mail to archive@dha.unon.org . Mailing list: irin-wa-updates]
Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 18:08:48 +0000 (GMT) From: UN IRIN - West Africa <irin-wa@wa.dha.unon.org> Subject: IRIN-West Africa Update 213, 98.5.22 Message-Id: <Pine.LNX.3.95.980522180444.8256B-100000@wa.dha.unon.org>
Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar
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