Africa News Tonight - VOA Africa Voice of America (VOA)

In South Africa, polls forecast the governing African National Congress could win less than 50 percent of the vote for the first time in 30 years, forcing it into a coalition government. In Western Cape province the opposition Democratic Alliance accused rival parties of trying to intimidate South African voters in February by chanting violent slogans and brandishing weapons at voter registration locations. New numbers show life expectancy has increased in most parts of the world, with eastern sub-Saharan Africa showing the biggest gains over the past three decades.

As South African voters get ready to go to the polls on May 29th, the party known for its fight against apartheid faces dissatisfaction from some citizens who think the African National Congress has not delivered on its promises. Former South African President Jacob Zuma now is vowing to destroy the ANC, the party he went to prison for in the 1960s and 1970s. Kenyan President William Ruto tells VOA that his decision to send 1,000 police officers to help maintain peace in Haiti will not affect Kenya's security missions elsewhere.

Kenyan President William Ruto has been attending a U.S. Chamber of Commerce event today celebrating the economic ties between the United States and his nation. The Democratic Alliance, or DA, got almost 21 percent of the vote in South Africa’s last election in 2019, and surveys indicate it is unlikely to gain much more in next week’s vote. For decades, Nigeria’s large youth population has had low representation in politics, due, in part, to the high cost of running for office, but some youth-led organizations are trying to change that.

U.S. President Joe Biden welcomed Kenya’s President William Ruto to the White House in a ceremony filled with pomp, music and military honor guards. During President Ruto’s state visit, President Biden says he will declare Kenya a major non-NATO ally, the first sub-Saharan African nation with that designation. Russia has expanded its influence in Africa in recent years, including a push for closer relationships with Egypt, the largest Arab country.

President William Ruto’s state visit to the United States this week could be a turning point for Kenya and is aimed at strengthening ties between the two nations. In South Africa’s election next Wednesday, the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters group is expected to consolidate its position as the country’s third-largest political party. Malawi’s youngest member of parliament, Fyness Magonjwa, has taken the lead in the fight against barriers that exclude young people from entering politics.

Southern African leaders have launched a $5.5 billion humanitarian aid appeal as the region faces acute grain shortages because of El Nino-linked droughts. The White House says it chose Kenya for its first state visit for an African leader for many reasons — not least because the East African powerhouse has stepped up on the global stage, offering to staff a United Nations peacekeeping mission to Haiti that could see boots on the ground in the coming weeks. South Africa votes next Wednesday in an election expected to be the most competitive since the country’s first democratic poll in 1994.