West Africa
Mauritania votes
Voter turnout was over 60 per cent
In March this year the West African country of Mauritania held its first open and fair election in decades. In August 2005, a bloodless military coup led by Col Ely Ould Mahmed Vall ended Maaouya Ould Sid’Ahmed Taya’s 21 years of strong-arm rule. The military then peacefully ceded power and held elections in which members of the military were barred from running. Voter turnout was over 60 per cent, election moniters judged the election transparent and fair, and for the first time former slaves were in the running. Mauritania only abolished slavery in 1981. The well-known opposition leftist Ahmed Ould Daddah finished a healthy second, and for the first time the Presidential race is to be decided by a run-off vote.
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Voices from the margins:
Multimedia: video, podcasts, and more.
- Poetry Slam in Zimbabwe
- The House of Hunger poetry slam held in Zimbabwe in 2006, and organised by the Pamberi Trust, showcased young artists performing inspirational work on issues from corporate power to child soldiers. The video features four of the poets.
Published by Pambazuka News.
- Iranian women speak out
- 3 March 2007, London. Women's rights activists marched through the English capital last week to celebrate International Women's Day with a protest against the misogyny of the Islamic regime in Iran and the threat of invasion by the US. Hear the voices of Iranian feminists Azar and Leila Parnian and the sounds of the demonstration as it passed through the heart of the city. Click here to learn more about the campaign.
Produced by Heidi Bachram.
- Raised Voices audio:
- Benny from West Papua on Corporate Power
- Vinayan from India on agriculture
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