African press review 4 March 2013

General elections in Kenya dominate African news coverage today. Also making news: Robert Mugabe proposes changes for Zimbabwe's banking sector, and concerns over a trial in the United Arab Emirates.

Kenyans are voting in elections for the nation's fourth president and next parliament.

According to the Nairobi-based Standard newspaper, long queues formed outside most polling stations as voting started at 6am, but there were hitches in some areas.

In the Rift Valley, at Molo Polytechnic polling station, for example, voting did not start because the Biometric Voter Registration kit was faulty, forcing electoral officials to seek assistance from the commission’s headquarters.

An official from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said they were waiting for instructions on how to proceed from Nairobi. The commission boss says polling hours will be extended this evening to compensate for any time lost through technical delays.

Prime Minister Raila Odinga has urged voters to maintain the peace.

His principal opponent, Jubilee alliance leader Uhuru Kenyatta, has also called on Kenyans to respect the decision the electorate will make in today’s general election.

Raila and Uhuru are projected to win about 90 per cent of today's votes between them. Though the parties themselves have been saying they are sure to carry victory in the first round, and some commentators argue that such a scenario is possible, most analysts say an outright win is “nearly impossible”.

The British government has downplayed fears ahead of the Kenyan elections, says The Daily Nation.

A weekend advisory by the UK government’s Foreign and Commonwealth office acknowledges that while “tensions are likely to increase as elections approach and afterwards,” tourists and business people have not been advised to avoid Kenya.

The British government has, however, delivered a strong statement rejecting claims in the Kenya media that the West has been interfering in Kenya’s elections.

Voters will elect six candidates when they cast their ballots. These are: President, Governors, Senators, Members of the National Assembly, Women's Representatives and County Representatives.

Results are expected to be available 48 hours after polling stations close this evening.

The main story in South Africa's financial paper, BusinessDay, looks across the border to Zimbabwe where President Robert Mugabe at the weekend called for lower, negotiated and sustainable compliance thresholds for foreign banks.

The daily sees this as a surprise change of tune on controversial indigenisation plans.

Senior members of the Harare government have argued that forcing foreign banks to surrender a 51% stake would destabilise the already fragile sector and further dent the confidence of depositors. Foreign-owned banks in Zimbabwe include the Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed; Stanbic Bank, the Nedbank-controlled MBCA Bank and the local units of Barclays and Standard Chartered.

While the bigger foreign banks are adequately capitalised in Zimbabwe, most of the locally owned banks are fragile and struggle to raise the 213,000 euros statutory capitalisation levels the central bank requires for commercial banks.

Ahead of elections expected in July this year, Mugabe has been pushing the contentious empowerment policy, which gives a 51% stake in foreign-owned banks, mines and other commercial operations to local Zimbabweans.

Analysts, fund managers and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s Movement for Democratic Change have criticised the policy, saying it drives away foreign direct investment. Tsvangirai has vowed to reverse the policy if he is voted into power.

The Egypt Independent in Cairo reports that the international organisation Human Rights Watch raised fears on Sunday of a "mockery of justice" as it urged the authorities in the United Arab Emirates to ensure a fair trial for 94 Islamists accused of plotting against the Gulf state. That hearing is scheduled to start today.

The judicial process raises serious fair trial concerns, according to Human Rights Watch, because the accused have had limited access to lawyers and the authorities have witheld key documents concerning the charges and evidence against them.

The decision to prosecute the case before the Federal Supreme Court under state security procedures deprives those being tried of the right to appeal, according to the human rights group.

The suspects were arrested between March and December last year. All of them are members of or have links with the Al-Islah Islamist group, which is linked to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

They include human rights lawyers, university professors, students and at least 10 women.

The United Arab Emirates' Attorney General last month said the defendants will go on trial for having created and led a movement aimed at opposing the foundations of the state's political system, and attempting to seize power.