Briefs | Tanzania – Voting starts in tight general elections

Tanzanians are voting in general elections in which the ruling party faces a strong challenge from a united opposition. In the presidential race, the ruling party’s candidate, John Magufuli, is battling former Prime Minister Edward Lowassa, who defected to the opposition earlier this year after being rejected as the ruling party’s candidate. Lowassa, 62, was prime minister in President Jakaya Kikwete’s government from 2005 to 2008, but was forced to resign by a corruption scandal.Magufuli, 55, is widely seen as a corruption-free, effective public servant who could improve the ruling party’s image in the eyes of ordinary people fed up with state graft. Voters yesterday were also choosing lawmakers for the country’s parliament and local officials. In Dar es Salaam, the largest city, there were long lines at polling centers, as well as a heavy security presence. Many in the lines were young people. “This is going to be a tight race, if this turnout is anything to go by,” said Dar es Salaam resident Amina Abdallah, one of those lining up to vote. “I just pray that it will be peaceful, so we can all go back to our normal life.”

Argentina – Country weighs continuity or overhaul in election

Argentines were weighing continuity versus a financial overhaul yesterday as they took to the polls to pick the successor to President Cristina Fernandez, a polarizing leader who dominated national politics for 12 years. Inflation is around 30 percent, the economy is stagnant and a bitter court fight with a group of creditors in the U.S. has scared off investors and kept Argentina on the margins of international credit markets.  Daniel Scioli, the governor of the Buenos Aires province and a former vice president, is the chosen successor to Fernandez, who is the most influential politician in Argentina, with an approval rating of around 50 percent. The lead opposition candidate is Mauricio Macri, the Buenos Aires mayor who has presented himself as the candidate to put Argentina’s economy in order, promising to make a deal with the U.S. creditors that Fernandez blasts as “vultures” and lift unpopular currency restrictions. The race is tight. Scioli is the front-runner, according to a half dozen polls published the last week.