Full Coverage: West Africa

29.03.2005 A ten-day period to update voter rolls began Monday, as elections to replace the country's late president are scheduled for April 24, but only young people between the ages of 18 and 20 are being allowed to register, according to reports. Free and fair elections cannot be arranged in such a short period of time, opposition supporters said at a weekend rally.

23.03.2005

23.03.2005

23.03.2005

23.03.2005

22.03.2005

22.03.2005 A week of public meetings of campaigners across the country together with the threat of a protest outside its offices on World Water Day (today) has persuaded Biwater to throw in the towel on a bid for privatisation contracts in Ghana.

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16.03.2005 Africa's top musicians, such as Youssou N'Dour and Salif Keita, held a two-day concert in Senegal to celebrate a fresh commitment to fight malaria from international corporations and world health organizations.

16.03.2005 In 2003, Emmanual Bob-Akitani managed to come in second with 34 percent of votes for Togo's presidency despite facing an entrenched national leader and only belatedly entering the political fray. As Togo hastily prepares for elections after the unexpected death of its longtime ruler in February, opposition parties have rallied behind Bob-Akitani as their sole hope of avoiding a dynastic succession of power.

11.03.2005

10.03.2005 On 28 December 2004, without informing The Gambia's citizens, President Yahya Jammeh signed into law two bills whose application will severely restrict freedom of expression and pose a danger to the practice of journalism in the country.

09.03.2005 Government intimidation has been blamed for the absence of slaves at a ceremony last Saturday where at least 7,000 were to be freed. A 2003 law made slavery punishable by 30 years in prison, but in a complete turnaround, government officials are now threatening masters with 30 years in prison if they free their slaves, according to reports from human rights defenders in the country.

04.03.2005 Elections to sort out Togo's leadership crisis could not realistically be held until the end of April, said the country's West African neighbors, although the ruling party will likely push for an earlier date to give the opposition less time to organize. The main opposition candidate, in exile in France, has declared his candidacy, although it is not yet clear if he is eligible to run under the constitution in its current form.

04.03.2005 A slave class has existed in Niger for centuries. In one area, 95 percent of the population--numbering 7,000 people--are slaves. At a ceremony on Saturday the government will declare a nationwide end to the practice, and all the slaves will be freed.

03.03.2005 UNESCO is supporting a project for community access to ICTs in Nigeria, by providing FM broadcasting equipment for radio programmes aimed at raising awareness of information and communication technologies.
The Federal Government of Nigeria is launching a project called NetPost, which plans to provide post offices with Internet points to bring affordable access to the people of Nigeria.