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08/17/2004:

"Madagascar becomes SADC member"

Port-Louis - Thirteen Southern African leaders have approved a new regional charter on free and fair elections that specifies how they should be conducted to guarantee democracy, officials said on Tuesday.

At a summit on the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius, all the heads of state and government from across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region, which includes Tanzania and Democratic Republic of Congo, gave their blessing to the charter.

They also promoted the large island nation off Africa's south-east coast, Madagascar, to full SADC member status, but the decision to upgrade its membership will take effect only next year.

Full Article : news24.com