Before the President's arrival, Cuban authorities arrest more than 50
Ladies in Whitehuman rights activists. The group marches after every Sunday Mass at a church in the
Miramarsuburb of Havana, and usually get arrested and detained for hours or days. They had hoped President Obama's visit would change that routine.
(USA Today)(Havana Times)
Voting is underway in today's parliamentary election in the former Soviet republic.
PresidentNursultan Nazarbayev'sNur Otan party is expected to win easily, and retain control of the 107-seat
Mazhilis, the lower house of parliament. The recent crackdown on political activists and media dims chances this election will be the first judged free and fair by Western observers.
(AP via Sioux City Journal)(Townhall.com)
A run-off election begins in
Niger with current
PresidentMahamadou Issoufou highly favored to win as his main opponent
Hama Amadou, who was earlier jailed, was flown out of the country for medical reasons.
(Reuters)
A referendum is underway in
Senegal where voters will vote on whether or not to reduce presidential term limits from seven to five years. Senegal's referendum also calls for a strengthened
National Assembly, better representation for Senegalese abroad, greater rights for the opposition and participation of independent candidates in elections among the 15 changes.
(The Daily Star)
A rerun of
Zanzibar's presidential election takes place amid an opposition boycott. The election originally occurred at the same time as
Tanzania's general election in 2015 but was annulled because of supposed fraud.
(Daily Nation)