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Jun 12, 2024 | 
democracyinafrica.org | Joleen Steyn Kotze |Nic Cheeseman |Matthias Krönke |Rorisang Lekalake
Following South Africa’s historic 2024 general election, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) has started a process to establish a government of national unity. This, after it lost its parliamentary majority. As a political scientist, I believe that five political parties, including those with the highest shares of votes, are key to constituting a unity government.
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Jun 10, 2024 | 
democracyinafrica.org | Matthias Krönke |Rorisang Lekalake |Asafika Mpako
President Bola Tinubu has just celebrated his first year in office, having assumed office on 29 May 2023. As 12 June is also Nigeria’s “Democracy Day”, this is a particularly good moment to ask when he has achieved during his first 12 months in office – and what we might expect in the years to come. When evaluating a president, it usually helps to go over manifesto pledges and campaign promises.
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Jun 10, 2024 | 
t.ly | Matthias Krönke |Rorisang Lekalake |Asafika Mpako
President Bola Tinubu has just celebrated his first year in office, having assumed office on 29 May 2023. As 12 June is also Nigeria’s “Democracy Day”, this is a particularly good moment to ask when he has achieved during his first 12 months in office – and what we might expect in the years to come. When evaluating a president, it usually helps to go over manifesto pledges and campaign promises.
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Jun 6, 2024 | 
democracyinafrica.org | Nic Cheeseman |Matthias Krönke |Rorisang Lekalake |Asafika Mpako
DiA’s own Nic Cheeseman, aka @fromagehomme, has published a new column looking at what we know about democracy in Africa after twenty five years of research by the Afrobarometer survey. “Twenty five years ago an unheralded development transformed the way we understand Africa. It wasn’t an election victory for the opposition, or a new scandal about what an irresponsible government had been up to.
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May 29, 2024 | 
democracyinafrica.org | Salih Noor |Matthias Krönke |Rorisang Lekalake |Asafika Mpako
On May 29, 2024, South Africans will vote in the seventh national election since the end of Apartheid in 1994. This election marks a political milestone as the African National Congress (ANC) party dominating power for 30 years faces its toughest challenge. Once glamourized for its prolonged struggle for racial democracy, the ANC’s reputation has been tarnished by high unemployment, widespread poverty, failing government services, and over a decade of corruption scandals.
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Apr 29, 2024 | 
democracyinafrica.org | Anna Reuss |Asafika Mpako |Mikhail Moosa |Matthias Krönke
DiA’s very own Fromagehomme (aka Prof Nic Cheeseman) has a new column out on what we can learn from Senegal – and Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia – about how opposition parties can win unfair elections. He argues that opposition parties in Africa don’t usually win elections because governments play by the rules, but because they secure enough votes to make it unfeasible to manipulate the outcome … and identifies three things opposition parties can do to increase their chance of success.
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Apr 25, 2024 | 
democracyinafrica.org | Anna Reuss |Asafika Mpako |Mikhail Moosa |Matthias Krönke
At last, in December 2024, the citizens of South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011, are supposed to be able to elect their political representatives. Yet, whether a ballot is indeed going to come to pass this time round is uncertain. Previous plans for elections first fell victim to two civil wars and then to endless delays in the implementation of the 2018 peace accord.
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Apr 25, 2024 | 
t.ly | Anna Reuss |Asafika Mpako |Mikhail Moosa |Matthias Krönke
At last, in December 2024, the citizens of South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011, are supposed to be able to elect their political representatives. Yet, whether a ballot is indeed going to come to pass this time round is uncertain. Previous plans for elections first fell victim to two civil wars and then to endless delays in the implementation of the 2018 peace accord.
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Apr 23, 2024 | 
democracyinafrica.org | Komlan Avoulete |Asafika Mpako |Mikhail Moosa |Matthias Krönke
Togo’s political landscape has undergone a significant shift with the adoption of a new constitution on March 25, 2024. This revision marks a fundamental change, transitioning the nation from a presidential system to a parliamentary one. The adoption has sparked controversy, with both potential benefits and serious concerns being raised.
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Apr 22, 2024 | 
t.ly | Asafika Mpako |Mikhail Moosa |Matthias Krönke |Komlan Avoulete
In the run-up to elections in May, we see frequent calls for young South Africans to go to the polls. South Africa’s median age is 28, with citizens aged 18-34 years accounting for almost of the population. Given their dominance in number, young people could reshape the country’s electoral landscape. The upcoming election is an opportunity to decide who is best positioned to tackle the country’s biggest challenges – unemployment, crime, unstable power supply, corruption, and water shortages.
