reparations for the much-delayed elections in Côte d’Ivoire is making headway, the United Nations mission there said today, announcing that the number of voters identified so far in the West African nation has surpassed the four million mark. “This is an important step, particularly given the delays and difficulties that beset the identification and census that are currently taking place,” Hamadoun Touré, spokesperson for the UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI), told reporters in Abidjan.

When asked by a reporter why he robbed banks, a famous American bank robber Willie Sutton is alleged to have replied: "Because that is where the money is." Over to Kenyan leaders, why are you corrupt? I guess the answer is: "Because public wealth/property belongs to no one in particular!"

How can the international community improve its support for political party development in countries recovering from civil war? This book chapter examines the challenges of political party assistance in post-conflict environments and the support strategies used by the international community. International actors can strengthen assistance by focusing on party laws from a conflict prevention perspective, working early on rebel-to-party transformation and addressing unequal power distribution in party systems.

The African Union (AU) should attach top priority to civilian protection and bringing human rights abusers to justice when it meets for its summit meeting in Ethiopia next week, Human Rights Watch said in an open letter to AU Chairman Jean Ping. The AU summit takes place from January 26 to February 3 in Addis Ababa. The letter analyzes the human rights crises in Somalia, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and Guinea.

Ghanaians recently went to the polls to elect a new President to succeed outgoing president Kufuor. This was the second time under the country’s nascent democracy, that one political party was handing over to another without violent dispute. Ghana can be said to have redeemed Africa’s electoral image after the carnage the world witnessed during the Kenyan and Zimbabwean elections.

Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU) Jean Ping has spoken highly of China's role in Africa's infrastructure development, saying that the Chinese "dragon" has played a fundamental part in the improvement of the infrastructure facilities across African countries. In an exclusive interview with China's official Xinhua News Agency on the eve of 12th AU Summit to be held here from Feb. 1 to3, Ping said China is Africa's key strategic partner and has made significant contributions to the growth of infrastructure in Africa.

After two days of upheaval that resulted in an estimated death toll at 80 nationally, and the looting of dozens of stores, a day of relative calm greeted a stunned nation. Soldiers are now patrolling Antananarivo, and both parties have called for supporters to stand down. The mayor of Antananarivo, Andry Rajoelina, called for a “ghost town” operation in the capital today, January 29th, urging supporters to stay at home, but attend an organized public demonstration on Saturday, January 31st.

Presidential candidates are preparing to address the expanded Somali parliament a day before it votes to choose a new head of state. At least 14 candidates are running, including Prime Minister Nur Hassan Hussein and moderate Islamist leader Sheikh Sharif Ahmed. An additional 149 opposition members have been sworn in to parliament which is meeting in neighbouring Djibouti.

Botswana on Wednesday threw its weight behind a regional push for a Zimbabwe unity government by mid-February, saying there was "no need for political games" as Zimbabweans suffered. In a statement, acting foreign minister Ramadeluka Seretse said Botswana supported the resolution that opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and his deputies be sworn in by February 11 and for the cabinet to follow two days later.

Cholera has killed more than 3,000 Zimbabweans and infected at least 57,000, the World Health Organization said on Wednesday, making it the deadliest outbreak in Africa in 15 years. The disease has spread as rival political parties struggle to implement a power-sharing agreement reached in September and seen as a chance to ease the humanitarian crisis and save the faltering economy.

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke by phone with South African President Kgalema Motlanthe and said Pretoria had an important role to play in helping resolve Zimbabwe's political crisis, the White House said on Wednesday. "President Obama emphasized the importance of South Africa's leadership role as a strong and vibrant democracy in Africa. The two leaders discussed their shared concerns about the situation in Zimbabwe," the White House said in a statement.

The Bulawayo Magistrate's Court on Wednesday remanded Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu, the embattled leaders of a pressure group Women of Zimbabwe Arise (WOZA), the group said in a statement received in Dakar by PANA. The Magistrate remanded the two WOZA leaders in custody till 26 February when the case is expected to resume.

The African Union will adopt in total the recommendation of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) aimed at resolving the current political crisis in Zimbabwe, Tanzania's Foreign Affairs minister, Mr. Bernard Membe, said here Thursday, at the start of the African Union Executive Council meeting.

The presidential candidate of the Congolese opposition Alliance for the Republic and Democracy (ARD), Mathias Dzon, has sharply criticised the country's National Electoral Commission (CONEL), accusing it of favouring President Denis Sassou-Nguesso ahead of the country's presidential election in July. Dzon, who served as Finance Minister between 1997 and 2002, told journalists here Wednesday that CONEL was pushing ''a candidate's cause'', alluding to Sassou-Nguesso, who has yet to announce his candidacy for the election.

Ten Mauritanian political parties Wednesday held a meeting in the capital Nouakchott, at the instance of the Alternative Party, the main party supporting the 6 August 2008 military coup in the country, as part of an effort to establish a permanent framework for dialogue.

African leaders are expected to deal conclusively with the discussions regarding the formation of the Union Government during their meeting scheduled for Sunday which could see the birth of a federal government for Africa after more than half-a-century of debate. African Union Commission (AUC) President Jean Ping told PANA the leaders were likely to make a final decision on the formation of the Union Government after several debates on the issue, which was first raised at the first meeting that gave r ise to the formation of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU).

The UN refugee agency has asked Kenya to stop the forcible return of Somalis seeking asylum after three people who crossed the Kenyan border were sent back. "We very much regret the latest decision to forcibly return to Somalia the three wounded Somalis,'' Ron Redmond, spokesperson for the High Commissioner for Refugees, said in a statement on Wednesday in New York. It also called on Kenyan authorities "to fully respect the principle of non-refoulement, as enshrined in the 1951 Geneva Convention and Kenya's own Refugees Act."

Giving details of its investments in Africa in 2008 on the sidelines of the Africa Union Commission summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Libya has organised a fair depicting the investments. At the fair, Libyan companies are showing off their products and where they could be found in various parts of Africa.

Zimbabwe, mirred in a decade-long economic crisis, Thursday announced it was fully accepting foreign currencies as legal tender in its business transactions in an effort to prop up the economy, improve the inflow of basic goods and ease trading. Until now, only a select group of businesses were allowed to charge goods and services in foreign currencies.

cc. Criticising the Kenyan parliament’s failure to push through legislation to create a special tribunal to bring those involved in the country’s post-election violence to justice, Ndung'u Wainaina and Haron Ndubi argue that parliamentary stalling simply reflects politicians covering their backs. Highlighting the political class’s efforts to escape punishment through defensive strategising, Wainaina and Ndubi reiterate that the tribunal was intended for justice for victims rather than allowing perpetrators to merely devise ways to forgive themselves.