Tag: democracy

Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame has cruised to another incredible 99%-plus victory in the country’s presidential elections. The latest results showed he had amassed 99.18%...

The murder on 21 January of Eswatini’s top human rights lawyer Thulani Maseko – also one of the kingdom’s best political activists – has...

West Africa has seen coups and military takeovers in three countries in 2022. Like those of the past, they came with promises of a...

Until 1989, Africa was characterised by many authoritarian governments. After that, democracy took root as countries abolished military dictatorships, undertook constitutional reviews and embraced...

A greater number of countries are sliding towards authoritarianism, while the number of established democracies under threat has never been so high, the International...

The United States and other Western powers expressed grave concern on Friday over the appointment of a new Sudanese ruling council by the general...

The problem isn’t the system of government but poor leadership that opens the door to despots and coup plotters. Do recent coups in Chad, Mali,...

Climate change poses “an existential challenge” for democratic governments and could lead to more authoritarian rule if efforts to curb global warming founder, fueling...

Tunisian President Kais Saied on Wednesday named a little-known professor as prime minister at a moment of grave national crisis after he seized wide...

Tanzania’s new president seems to be steering the country back towards democracy, but consolidating power won’t be easy. President Samia Suluhu Hassan is set to...

The ruling party crippled an already weak opposition by banning public protest and media debate and side-lining competitors. Chadians went to the polls on 11...

The turbulence in the Central African Republic raises questions about the timing of institutional reform. The arrangements to transition the turbulent Central African Republic (CAR)...

African leaders seeking re-election often exploit access to government resources to boost their campaigns, creating an uneven electoral playing field that gives them an advantage over...

Social media has become a hotbed of extremism, used to undermine democracy, a think tank said, calling for reforms to restore trust in government...

The South Africa Navy has highlighted recent achievements and upcoming events, including a naval exercise with Russia and China, during an oversight visit by...

Twenty-five years of democracy and a national defence force representative of all South Africans will this year be marked by the SA Navy. Tshintsha, a...

Tanzania's main opposition party suspended protests scheduled for Thursday, to give time for negotiations with the government that has called its planned...

Pope Francis criticised Western powers for trying to export their own brand of democracy to countries such as Iraq and Libya without...

On the day of a vote to allow Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso to extend his 31 years in power, opposition...

Is Africa slowly turning the rhetoric of democracy into action? The Constitutive Act of the African Union (AU), which introduced to the...

U.S. democracy watchdog The Carter Center has closed its Egypt office and says it will no longer monitor the country's parliamentary elections...

Egypt's army chief called on Tuesday for a quick transition to elections in order to restore stability to the country, while supporters...

The first round of Egyptian parliamentary elections has taken place, and the winners were two Islamist parties. The Islamists themselves are split...

Tunisia's constitutional assembly, elected after a revolution that inspired the "Arab Spring" uprisings, held its opening session described by officials as an...

Minority Jews and Christians are putting their faith in Tunisia's nascent democracy to ensure its new Islamist-led leadership respects their rights in...

The crumbling of North African (NA) regimes holds serious challenges for international law on the African continent. Traditional international law refrained from prescribing to...

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told Arab leaders popular uprisings jolting their nations were a "light of hope" for the oppressed and...

There are days when disparate events in multiple countries offer key insights into the trajectory of the wider region. Tuesday was one...

Whoever wins Guinea's presidential election faces a huge task rebuilding the West African country's shattered institutions, basic services and economy, the top...

Many Burundians stayed away from voting stations in a presidential election in which the outcome is already clear after a decision by...

Long-delayed presidential elections took place in Somaliland, a peaceful breakaway enclave of Somalia that is seeking international recognition as a sovereign state. The...

Polling wound down peacefully in Guinea yesterday in a landmark election offering voters their first chance to freely choose a leader since...

Insecurity and political repression are on the rise in Rwanda in the run-up to August's presidential ballot which incumbent Paul Kagame is...

Islamist al Shabaab leader Ahmed Abdi Godane urged Somalis to reject "the Devil's principles" of democracy, just several days ahead of elections...

Comoron President Mohamed Abdallah Sambi has formed an interim government tasked with leading the politically volatile Indian Ocean archipelago to elections within...

Ethiopia's election board confirmed Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's landslide victory in a May 23 election disputed by opposition parties and criticised by...

The Ugandan government will compensate about 10 000 people in the country's northern region, who were maimed by the Lord's Resistance Army...

Sudan may ask the United Nations to run a referendum on the future of a politically sensitive border region after northern and...

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan said it was too early to declare whether or not he will contest an election due by next...

Human rights activists and opposition figures yesterday accused the Ugandan government of deploying a militia to intimidate protesters and disperse demonstrations ahead...

Egypt's authorities and ruling party have shown they will give little space to the opposition in upcoming elections after barring access to...

Ethiopia's main opposition group filed a court case against the country's electoral board for rejecting its demand to rerun elections criticised by...

Ethiopia's electoral board yesterday rejected opposition demands for a fresh election after the government last month won a landslide victory that the...

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appealed for Burundi's political parties to end their bitter dispute before this month's presidential election in...

The lone remaining opposition candidate in this month's presidential election in Burundi has quit the race because of concerns the vote will...

Three Rwandan opposition parties have asked the United States to use its influence to help resolve social and political tension in the...

A Ugandan opposition leader called for the International Criminal Court to investigate the country's president ahead of 2011 elections over alleged crimes...

Negotiations between Comoros' leader and opposition parties on a date for presidential elections have stalled with President Mohamed Abdallah Sambi's rivals accusing...

Egypt's ruling party will not announce until next summer whether 82-year-old President Hosni Mubarak, whose health is in question following recent surgery,...

Burundi's district elections, seen as a test of the tiny African country's stability ahead of presidential elections in June, met international standards,...