World Briefs …

‘;Chamisa not the answer to economic challenges’;

HARARE — The Zimbabwean government has reportedly dismissed claims by the opposition that Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Nelson Chamisa holds the key to the current economic problems affecting the country. The state-owned Herald newspaper quoted the country’;s deputy chief secretary to the president and cabinet, George Charamba, as saying Chamisa was not a ‘;messiah’; or the answer to the country’;s economic challenges. “I pity Chamisa because he is being invested with messianic powers, which he does not wield.“ … He is a mere man, and an erring man, like all mortals. The economy of this country will be turned around by the hands of the citizens of this nation,” Charamba was quoted as saying.

MAPUTO — Mozambique holds local elections today in a vote that could test progress in the country’;s peace talks after the ruling Frelimo party was accused of violence and intimidation during the campaign.

The main opposition Renamo party, which has maintained an armed wing since the end of the country’;s civil war, is running in the municipal polls for the first time in 10 years. Renamo fought a brutal 16-year civil war against the Marxist-inspired Frelimo government that devastated the economy and left one million people dead. When the war ended in 1992, the group soon began participating in elections.

ANTANANARIVO — Madagascar’;s election race officially opened on Monday, with all three recent presidents launching their campaigns ahead of the 7 November vote, which follows months of political tension.

The Indian Ocean island suffers dire poverty, and relies on foreign aid. It was rocked between April and June by protests in the main square of the capital Antananarivo over proposed electoral reforms.

KINSHASA — The United Nations Security Council has urged the Democratic Republic of Congo’;s electoral commission to open dialogue on the use of voting machines for December elections. French ambassador Francois Delattre, who co-headed a delegation with ambassadors from Bolivia and Equatorial Guinea, said on Sunday that the security council wants the commission to consider a “broad consensus”. Voting machine use has been disputed by some presidential candidates and opposition leaders.

– Nampa-AFP-AP-Herald

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