OPINION: The majority of the elections held this year were simply box-ticking exercises which perpetuate electoral authoritarianism in the continent. Holding elections is pointless if the whole process is carefully choreographed to ensure the continued rule of the incumbent, writes Dr Sizo Nkala.
The year 2024 has been rightly dubbed a super-election year for Africa. The year saw 21 countries and Somaliland (an autonomous region), home to over 508 million people (about 34% of Africa’s 1.5 billion population), organised elections at various levels including presidential, parliamentary, regional, and local levels.
Elections were postponed in Mali, Burkina Faso, and South Sudan for various reasons. It should not be taken for granted that elections have become almost a universal norm in Africa in just three decades.
Between the end of colonialism in the 1960s and the beginning of the democratisation wave that took off in the early 1990s, only Botswana, Mauritius, and Senegal held regular multiparty competitive elections.
The continent had less than 10 electoral democracies in 1988 with the majority of them seriously flawed. Power transfers were facilitated largely through coups, assassinations, and rebellions rather than electoral contests.
In the same manner, power was retained and maintained through violence and repression as most African leaders were not open to subjecting themselves and their regimes to competitive elections. To date, save for countries like the Kingdom of Eswatini and Eritrea, African countries have embraced electoral democracy.
Having almost half of the countries in the continent holding elections in a single year is a demonstration of the significant progress that has been made in promoting and entrenching the norm of multiparty competitive elections.
If properly constituted, elections can serve as a foundation for substantive democracy. Competitive elections can facilitate inclusiveness, give voters the chance to hold their leaders accountable and can be an accurate gauge of the public’s policy priorities. Elections can also strengthen democratic values such as the rule of law, tolerance, freedom of speech and assembly among others.
While the quantity of elections held this year has been impressive, the quality of elections still leaves a lot to be desired. Only in a few countries such as South Africa, Senegal, Botswana, Mauritius, Ghana, and Namibia have the standard of elections been somewhat satisfactory.
There have also been peaceful transfers of power in Senegal, Botswana, Mauritius and Ghana after the incumbents lost the elections. In South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC), which had been at the helm of the government since 1994, lost its majority in the May 2024 elections and agreed to share power with other parties.
Such election-induced peaceful transitions from one dispensation to the other are a big plus to the development of democracy.
However, in the majority of the countries, elections were held in less than conducive environments.
In Tunisia, the incumbent President Kais Saied jailed some of his opponents and changed the constitution to concentrate power in his office. Only 28 percent of the eligible voters turned out to vote and President Saied won over 90 percent of the vote. The low voter turnout leaves the Saied regime with questionable legitimacy.
Chad’s May elections were also a façade. Key institutions such as the National Elections Management Agency and the Constitutional Council which were tasked with overseeing the elections were controlled by members of the ruling party thus losing any veneer of impartiality.
One of the main opposition leaders was killed by government forces while two prominent opposition leaders were blocked from participating in the elections by the Constitutional Council under unclear circumstances.
The July elections in Rwanda saw the incumbent President Paul Kagame emerge victorious with over 99% of the vote.
However, this happened in the context of intensive repression of dissenting voices. Formidable opposition leaders, including Diane Rwigara of the People Salvation Movement, Bernard Ntaganda who leads the PS-Imberakuri party, and Victoire Ingabire of the United Democratic Forces, were all banned from contesting elections for reasons ranging from their criminal records to their failure to secure the required number of signatures to stand as a candidate.
While Rwanda is known for peace and stability, its democratic credentials are certainly not part of its claim to fame.
Mozambique has been embroiled in violent protests since the October elections whose outcome was disputed by the opposition parties who accused the election commission of rigging the elections in favour of the ruling party.
Scores of people have been injured while more than 30 people including a prominent opposition politician have lost their lives. The country’s highest court, the Constitutional Council, is currently considering complaints brought forward by the opposition parties over some flaws in the electoral processes.
The opposition parties in Togo were also up in arms over what they described as irregularities in the country’s legislative elections held in April which will ensure the extension of President Faure Gnassingbe’s 19-year rule.
As such, there were mixed fortunes for democracy in Africa in 2024.
While it is indeed impressive that 21 countries organised elections at various levels, the quality of most elections remains disappointing.
The majority of the elections held this year were simply box-ticking exercises which perpetuate electoral authoritarianism in the continent. Holding elections is pointless if the whole process is carefully choreographed to ensure the continued rule of the incumbent.
It is important that electoral processes are credible and able to give voters a meaningful choice if Africa’s democracy is to develop.
* Dr Sizo Nkala is a Research Fellow at the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for Africa-China Studies.
** The views in this article do not necessarily represent the views of IOL or Independent Media.