CHAD – Six million Chadians on Sunday went to the polls in an election likely to see president Idriss Déby extend his 26-year rule in a country increasingly on the frontline of the global war on terror.

Déby, the warrior president who took office in a 1990 military coup, faces 12 challengers but is widely expected to win a fifth term after consolidating his grip on power in the central African nation. Polling stations opened shortly after 7am and were to close at 6pm. Early votes were cast on Saturday by soldiers, nomads and refugees. Official provisional results may not be released for two weeks. At polling stations in the capital N’Djamena, men and women waited in separate queues to cast their ballots. Security forces were out en masse for the election.(theguardian)…[+]

MYANMAR – Myanmar authorities have dropped charges against nearly 200 political activists since Aung San Suu Kyi pledged to fight for their freedom, a senior police officer has said. The cases were dismissed on Friday, following Suu Kyi’s announcement the day before that she was working with her new civilian-led administration to secure the release of scores of political prisoners languishing in Myanmar’s jails.  “Police have dropped 199 cases against political activists around the country as of yesterday,” the officer said on condition of anonymity.

(theguardian)…[+]

BRAZIL – A smaller majority of Brazilians favor the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff compared to last month, while more than half want her immediate successor to be impeached too, according to a survey released on Saturday by polling firm Datafolha.

The poll also showed growing support for former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a potential 2018 presidential bid, another boost for the ruling Workers Party as it fights opposition leaders’ efforts to impeach Rousseff.

The survey was the first to gauge support for a possible impeachment of Vice President Michel Temer, who will become Brazil’s president if Rousseff is suspended in coming weeks to face impeachment hearings. Many analysts have questioned his capacity to muster a stable coalition with little popular support and many leaders of his PMDB party under investigation for alleged corruption.(reuters)…[+]