Six African countries vote in Super Sunday

Voters in Benin, Congo, Niger, Zanzibar and Cape Verde went to polls on Sunday to elect leaders who will pilot the affairs of their nations. Senegal held a referendum on reducing presidential terms. Elections in Congo was held under a media blackout and the tense vote is expected to see President Denis Sassou Nguesso prolong […]

Voters in Benin, Congo, Niger, Zanzibar and Cape Verde went to polls on Sunday to elect leaders who will pilot the affairs of their nations. Senegal held a referendum on reducing presidential terms.
Elections in Congo was held under a media blackout and the tense vote is expected to see President Denis Sassou Nguesso prolong his 32-year rule over the oil-rich but poor nation.
Interior Minister Raymond Mboulou has ordered telephone operators to shut off telephone, internet and SMS services for 48 hours for “reasons of security and national safety”.
Voters in Benin cast ballots in a run-off election that pitted outgoing President Thomas Boni Yayi’s hand-picked successor against his former ally in a highly competitive race. Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou gained 28% just ahead of Patrice Talon’s 25% in the March 6 first round of voting.
The presidential run-off in Niger is expected to favour the incumbent President Mahamadou Issoufou after his jailed opponent, Hama Amadou, was flown out of the country for medical reasons and an opposition coalition called for a boycott. In February’s first round, Issoufou got 48% of the vote while Amadou came second with 17%.
In Zanzibar, the opposition Civic United Front (CUF) also urged its supporters to boycott the poll. October’s election was cancelled after CUF candidate Seif Sharif Hamad declared himself the winner before results were officially announced.
Senegal’s referendum aims to cut presidential mandates from seven to five years and would not allow a president to run for more than two consecutive terms in office.  Legislative election also held in In Cape Verde. The African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) and the Movement for Democracy (MFD) have dominated politics since independence from Portugal in 1975.