POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Battered and Bruised, the Main Opposition Party Takes Stock

Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), celebrated its fifth anniversary over the weekend. However, ceremonies to mark the event were overshadowed by the question mark hanging over the party’s participation in next year’s parliamentary election.

POLITICS-ZIMBABWE: Media Monopoly Said to Underpin Mugabe’s Popularity

An opinion poll published this week indicates that trust in Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has more than doubled since 1999. Researchers says certain Zimbabweans have benefited from ruling party patronage, but that Mugabe’s higher approval rating can mostly be ascribed to state propaganda.

RIGHTS-ZIMBABWE: Media Environment Bodes Ill for 2005 Poll

When two reporters and a lawyer traveled to Zimbabwe recently on a fact-finding mission, they found it a journey of the most arduous kind.

POLITICS-MALAWI: Inching Towards That 30 Percent Target

Slowly but surely, Malawi’s women are making their presence felt in the country’s traditionally male-dominated political arena.

POLITICS-SOUTHERN AFRICA: Regional Parliament Essential for Integration

Parliamentarians from eleven countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) have expressed concern at the lack of progress in establishing a regional parliament. This came during a meeting of the SADC Parliamentary Forum currently underway in the Namibian capital - Windhoek.

POLITICS-MALAWI: Mutharika’s Daunting Task

As Malawi's courts grapple with the electoral challenge lodged by the opposition Mgwirizano coalition to last week's poll, the country's new president, Bingu wa Mutharika, is trying to win hearts and minds with talk of poverty alleviation and corruption busting.

POLITICS-MALAWI: Elections, at a Time When Malawians Are “Freer But Poorer”

Malawi is scheduled to go to the polls Thursday for general elections - this amidst polling delays, allegations of bias on the part of electoral officials, and deepening poverty.

POLITICS-MALAWI: Electoral Commission Moves From Referee to Sparring Partner

In 1994, the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) was feted for its fair and efficient organisation of a poll that ousted autocratic ruler Hastings Kamuzu Banda. A decade on, however, the lustre has been rubbed off of the organisation.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: All Over – Bar the Shouting

The third straight victory for South Africa's ruling African National Congress raises questions about the effectiveness of the country's political opposition and civil society, and about how long the ANC's "honeymoon" can last.

/UPDATE/POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: "It’s Now Time for the People to Speak"

Just an hour and a half after polling stations in South Africa closed Wednesday night, results for the country's third democratic election were already starting to roll in.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: “It’s Now Time for the People to Speak”

While the media mayhem that attended South Africa's first two democratic elections is undoubtedly a thing of the past, there was still a blizzard of flashbulbs when the country's first citizen cast his ballot Wednesday morning.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Campaign Financing in the Spotlight

Mention disputes over party funding, and the image that might first come to mind is that of Republicans and Democrats in the United States, trading allegations about reliance on special interest groups. However, the matter has also sparked controversy in South Africa recently, as the country prepares for its third democratic election.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: AIDS Casts Shadow on Upcoming Election

As the countdown to South Africa’s Apr. 14 general elections entered its final week, researchers warned that the AIDS pandemic could undermine efforts to entrench democracy in the country.

POLITICS-MALAWI: A Blow to UDF Ambitions for Further Victory at the Polls

As Malawi's general elections draw closer, deepening national poverty is haunting efforts by the ruling United Democratic Front to remain in power.

DEVELOPMENT-SOUTH AFRICA: Addressing Apartheid’s Legacy of Homelessness

Of all the achievements chalked up by South Africa's ruling African National Congress over the past 10 years, none seems to match its gains in providing housing for the poor.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: A Polarised, Muddy Election Campaign

As the date of South Africa's general election grows closer, the gloves are coming off in campaigning amongst political parties - even though the outcome of the poll is expected to hold few surprises.

POLITICS-SOUTH AFRICA: Isolated Violence, Poverty Focus of Election Campaign

Campaigning for South Africa's general elections, to be held next month, has moved into top gear - with politicians scrambling for an endorsement from the country's 20.7 million registered voters.

ECONOMY-SOUTH AFRICA: Financial Gains Elusive for Black Majority

Ten years after the demise of apartheid, South African blacks are still waiting for a slice of the economic pie they were denied in the past.

POLITICS-MALAWI: Allegations of Media Bias Plague Election Campaign

Accusations of political bias are piling up against Malawi's state broadcaster in the run-up to general elections scheduled for May 18. In the latest salvo to be fired, a group of religious leaders has asked the courts to ensure equal air time for all political parties.

DEVELOPMENT-LIBERIA: Women Fighters Try to Reclaim a Normal Existence

The journey back to normal life was never going to be an easy one for the ex-combatants of Liberia's civil war. But, it could be argued that women fighters face a particularly tough challenge.

POLITICS-NAMIBIA: Clear Criteria Needed For Expropriations – Farmers

An umbrella group for Namibian commercial farmers, the Namibia Agricultural Union, says the announcement that farm expropriations will take place in the country has sent has sent shock waves through its agricultural community.