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Under the shadow of civil war ‌and questions over the poll's credibility, the initial round of Myanmar's phased general election closed Sunday, with signs of low ‌voter turnout for the first polls since a ‍military coup in 2021.The junta, having crushed pro-democracy protests after the coup and sparked a nationwide rebellion, said the vote would bring political stability to the impoverished Southeast Asian nation, despite ⁠international condemnation of the exercise.The United Nations, some Western countries ⁠and human rights groups have said the vote is not free, fair or credible, given that anti-junta political parties are out of the ‍running and it is illegal to criticise the polls.**media[398690]**Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, deposed by the military months after her National League for Democracy won a general election landslide in 2020, remains in detention and the party she led to power has been dissolved.The military-aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party, led by retired generals and fielding one-fifth of all candidates against severely diminished competition, is set to return to power, said Lalita Hanwong, a lecturer and Myanmar expert at Thailand's Kasetsart University."The junta's election is designed to prolong the military's power of slavery over people," she said. "And USDP and other allied parties with the military will join forces ‌to form the next government."**media[398693]**In the lacklustre canvassing ahead of the polls, the USDP was the most visible. Founded in 2010, the year it won an election boycotted by the opposition, the party ran the country in concert with its military backers until 2015, when it was swept away by Suu Kyi's NLD.Voter turnout in Sunday's polls appeared ⁠much lower than in the 2020 ‌election, 10 residents of cities spread across Myanmar said.Further rounds of voting will be held on January 11 and January 25, covering 265 of Myanmar's 330 townships, although the junta does not have complete control of all those areas.Armed groups formed in the wake of the coup and long-established ethnic armies are fighting the military across swathes of the country, displacing some 3.6mn people and creating one of Asia's worst humanitarian crises.**media[398691]**A date for the final election result has not been declared.Dressed in civilian clothes, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing voted in the heavily guarded capital city of Naypyitaw, then held up an ink-soaked little finger, smiling widely, footage on state media MRTV showed. Voters must dip a finger into indelible ink after casting a ballot to ensure they do not vote more than once.Asked by reporters if he would like to become the country's president, an office that analysts say he has ambitions for, the general said he was not the leader of any political party."When the parliament convenes, there is a process for electing ​the president," he said.The junta's attempt to establish a stable administration in the midst of war is fraught with risk, and broad foreign recognition is unlikely for any military-controlled government with a civilian veneer, according to ⁠analysts.Tom Andrews, the UN special envoy for human rights ‍in Myanmar, said Sunday the election was not a pathway out of the country's crisis and must be strongly rejected.Zaw Min Tun, a junta spokesperson, acknowledged international criticism of the vote."However, from this election, there will be political stability," he told reporters after voting in Naypyitaw. "We believe there will be a better future."Nevertheless, Myanmar's voters did not come out in numbers close to the previous election conducted under Covid-19 restrictions, including in the commercial capital of Yangon and the central city of Mandalay, residents said.The junta's legal framework for the election has no minimum voter turnout requirement, said the ​Asian Network for Free Elections poll monitoring group.Turnout was about 70% in Myanmar's 2020 and 2015 general elections, according to the US-based nonprofit International Foundation for Electoral Systems.There has been none of the energy and excitement of previous election campaigns, although several residents in Myanmar's largest cities who spoke to Reuters did not report any coercion by the military administration to push people to vote.A handful of polling booths in Yangon, some of them near areas housing military families, had dozens of voters queued up around midday, but others were largely empty, according to two residents of the sprawling metropolis."It isn't as loud and enthusiastic as it was back in 2020," said a Mandalay resident, asking not to be named because of security concerns.The streets of Hakha, capital of the northern state of Chin, where fighting rages on, were empty after a local ⁠rebel group told residents to boycott the vote, two residents said."People from my quarter, none of us went to vote," said one of them, a 63-year-old man. "We are not interested in the election." 

Launch of Simandou iron ore mega-mine seen as major milestoneWest African regional bloc pursuing warmer ties despite coupGuinea coup leader Mamady Doumbouya is expected to coast to victory in a presidential election on Sunday, buoyed by ‌the launch of a long-awaited iron ore mega-mine and weak competition from a fragmented ‌field of challengers.Four years ago, Doumbouya, ‍then a special forces commander, ousted President Alpha Conde in one of nine coups that have roiled West and Central ⁠Africa since 2020.He initially vowed not to ⁠run for office, but a new constitution approved in September removed language that would have barred him ‍and extended the presidential term from five to seven years.Conde and longtime opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo are in exile and other potential challengers were disqualified for failing to submit required documents. That leaves eight challengers who are unlikely to give Doumbouya much trouble."Let's not kid ourselves: there can be no other opponent who can challenge him," said Guinean political analyst Bella Bah. "But that's not the most important thing. (After the election) the president needs to take a ‌step back and realise that he now has to exercise power," Bah added, urging Doumbouya to engage in dialogue with actors beyond the military.Political debate has been limited under Doumbouya, and civil society groups accuse his ‍government of banning protests, curbing press freedom ⁠and restricting opposition ‌activity.MINING MILESTONEGuinea holds the world's largest reserves of bauxite and the richest untapped iron ore deposit at Simandou, which was officially launched last month.Production at Simandou, originally scheduled for 1997, had been long delayed. Doumbouya's junta ordered development to be paused in 2022, saying it wanted to review how national interests would be safeguarded once it came online.Simandou is central to Doumbouya's vision for Guinea: the country's national development strategy is called Simandou 2040.Annual production at the 75% Chinese-owned project is expected to peak at some 120mn metric tons, and supporters say Doumbouya will ensure Guinea gets its share of the proceeds."Dear Guineans, Guinea is no longer for sale," government spokesperson Ousmane Gaoual Diallo declared at a campaign ​event this month. "Guinea is no longer ‌up for grabs, Guinea is standing tall."Doumbouya's transitional government also revoked EGA subsidiary Guinea Alumina Corporation's license after a refinery dispute, transferring its assets ⁠to a state-owned firm.The turn towards ‍resource nationalism — also seen in other countries in the region with military rulers, including Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger — has bolstered Doumbouya's popularity."The way politics was done before and now is different. We no longer have violent campaigns, but there is enthusiasm," said Conakry resident Mohamed Keita, 65."People are out in the field, everyone expresses their opinions without violence."WARMING REGIONAL TIESThe campaign has unfolded peacefully, though Doumbouya's tight ​grip means it is hardly a level playing field, said Gilles Yabi, founder of West African think tank WATHI."This is obviously a context that doesn't allow for any hope of a free and fair presidential election," Yabi said."The mere fact of holding a presidential election will not change the reality of power, which will remain primarily in the hands of the military."Despite such concerns, the West African regional bloc Ecowas is sending observers, a sign of "growing rapprochement" even though Guinea has been formally suspended since the 2021 coup, consultancy Signal Risk said in a note.About 6.7⁠mn people are registered to vote, with provisional results expected within 48 hours of polls closing. 

Security forces in Uganda have detained more than 300 supporters and officials from the party of opposition presidential candidate Bobi Wine since campaigning for a January election kicked off last month, his party's spokesperson said Tuesday.Pop star-turned-politician Wine, whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, is challenging 81-year-old President Yoweri Museveni for the second time after coming second in the last election in 2021.Now Africa's fourth longest-ruling leader, Museveni's government has changed the constitution twice to remove age and term limits, allowing him to remain in office since 1986.The arrests included scores detained this week in the capital Kampala, where Wine began campaigning on Monday, Joel Ssenyonyi, spokesperson for Wine's party National Unity Platform (NUP), told Reuters."Over 300 have been detained since the campaigns started. The regime is in panic, they are resorting to arrests to deter and instil fear in our people," Ssenyonyi said.The majority of those detained are ordinary supporters but also include campaign co-ordinators, Wine's aides and other officials, he said.Police spokesperson Rusoke Kituuma did not respond to Reuters' requests for comment.At a rally in Kampala's Kawempe area on Monday security forces used tear gas and water cannon to disperse a crowd of Wine's supporters, video aired by local broadcaster NTV showed.A video posted on Wine's X account late on Monday also showed police using pepper spray on his supporters. A man in plain clothes who approached from the side of the security personnel was seen beating supporters using a cane.At least 100 people were arrested on Monday and dozens more detained Tuesday at another rally on the outskirts of Kampala, Ssenyonyi said.Police said in a statement late on Monday that they had detained seven people after clashes with Wine's supporters, accusing them of throwing stones and injuring seven officers."Security personnel responded by using public order measures to control rowdy crowds," the statement said.Wine says Museveni won the last election through ballot-stuffing, intimidation of voters, bribery and other rigging tactics. Ruling party officials have dismissed the accusation.If he wins a new five-year term, Museveni will extend his rule in the East African country to nearly half a century.

Gambia said it was temporarily hosting Cameroonian opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary on humanitarian grounds following a contested presidential election in Cameroon last month that led to deadly protests.Paul Biya, at 92 the world's oldest head of state, was named winner of last month's election in Cameroon with 53.66% of the vote against 35.19% for Tchiroma.Tchiroma had declared himself the winner before the official results were announced, and protests erupted in various locations as early results showed Biya, in power since 1982, would secure an eighth term.Cameroon's security forces killed 48 civilians as they responded to the protests, UN sources told Reuters this month. Tchiroma's whereabouts had not been known for weeks.In a statement issued late on Sunday, Gambia's information ministry said the country was sheltering Tchiroma "purely on humanitarian grounds, in the spirit of African solidarity" to ensure his safety amid efforts to resolve "post-electoral tensions".Banjul is consulting with regional partners, including Nigeria, to support a negotiated outcome to the crisis in Cameroon, the statement said.The statement also reaffirmed Gambia's commitment to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all African Union member states and said its territory would not be used as a base for subversive activities against any country.In a separate statement on Sunday, Gambia's main opposition United Democratic Party accused the government of a lack of transparency over Tchiroma's "quiet arrival" but added it was in full solidarity with Tchiroma and welcomed the humanitarian gesture.

Tanzania's main opposition said hundreds had been killed in three days of election protests, with the country still under an internet blackout on Friday and the government denying any use of "excessive force".A security source and diplomat in Dar es Salaam both told AFP that deaths were "in the hundreds" as protests continued on Friday.President Samia Suluhu Hassan had sought to cement her position and silence critics in her party with an emphatic win in Wednesday's election, in which her main challengers were either jailed or barred from standing.**media[375690]**But the vote descended into chaos as crowds took to the streets of Dar es Salaam and other cities, tearing down her posters and attacking police and polling stations, leading to an internet shutdown and curfew.Foreign Minister Mahmoud Thabit Kombo said his government had "no figures" on any dead."Currently no excessive force has been used," he said in an interview with Al-Jazeera. "There's no number until now of any protesters killed."But the main opposition party, Chadema, said casualties were very high."As we speak the figure for deaths in Dar (es Salaam) is around 350 and for Mwanza it is 200-plus. Added to figures from other places around the country, the overall figure is around 700," Chadema spokesman John Kitoka told AFP.**media[375689]**"The death toll could be much higher," he warned, saying killings could be happening during the nighttime curfew.The security source told AFP they were hearing reports of more than 500 dead, "maybe 700-800 in the whole country".With foreign journalists largely banned from covering the election and a communications blackout entering its third day, information from the ground has been scarce.The first toll from an international body came early Friday when the United Nations said it had "credible reports" of 10 dead, while Amnesty International said it had information of at least 100 killed.Multiple hospitals and health clinics were too afraid to talk directly to AFP.Hassan had yet to comment on the unrest and local news sites have not been updated since Wednesday.Army chief Jacob Mkunda late Thursday called the protesters "criminals".In Zanzibar, a tourist hotspot with its own semi-autonomous government, Hassan's Revolution Party (Chama Cha Mapinduzi: CCM) had already been declared winner of the local vote on Thursday.The opposition party, ACT-Wazalendo, rejected the result, saying: "They have robbed the people of Zanzibar of their voice... The only solution to deliver justice is through a fresh election."A senior party official told AFP that ballot boxes had been stuffed, people allowed to vote multiple times without ID and their election observers kicked out of counting rooms.At a meeting place for opposition supporters on Zanzibar, there was dismay and fear."There has never been a credible election since 1995," said a 70-year-old man, referring to Tanzania's first multi-party vote.None of those interviewed gave their names."We are afraid of speaking because they might come to our houses and pick us up," said one.Hassan has faced opposition from parts of the army and allies of her iron-fisted predecessor, John Magufuli, since she took over upon his death in 2021, analysts say.They said she wanted an emphatic victory to cement her position, and the authorities banned the main opposition party, Chadema, and put its leader on trial for treason.In the run-up to the vote, rights groups condemned a "wave of terror" in the east African nation, including a string of high-profile abductions that escalated in the final days.Much public anger has been directed at Hassan's son, Abdul Halim Hafidh Ameir, accused of overseeing the crackdown.ACT-Wazalendo was allowed to contest the local election in Zanzibar, but its candidate was barred from competing against Hassan on the mainland.

His Excellency Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al-Thani sent a cable of congratulations to Jonas Gahr Store on his re-election as Prime Minister of the friendly Kingdom of Norway, wishing him success in carrying out his duties.