democracy - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Chad presidential election: assassination of main opposition figure casts doubt on country’s return to democracy

THE assassination of Chad’s main opposition leader, Yaya Dillo, is hanging heavy over presidential elections due in early May. Dillo was killed on 28 February when the headquarters of the opposition Party Socialiste sans Frontières (Party of Socialists without Borders) in the Chadian capital N'Djamena was besieged by the newly formed Rapid Reaction Force. It’s not the first violence meted out to the opposition. In October 2022 Chadian security forces killed hundreds of protesters. They were protesting the extension of the transition to democracy from 18 to 36 months and the decision of transitional president Mahamat Idriss Déby to stand…

Mar

2024

By CYRIL RAMAPHOSA

South Africa will work harder, sparing neither strength nor courage, to fulfil the basic human rights of her people

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE adoption of our Constitution with its Bill of Rights by the Constitutional Assembly on the 8th of May 1996 was a great moment in our struggle to achieve a free and equal society. As I said at the time, it marked the day our country and our people came of age. I referred to our constitution as the birth certificate of our nation. On that occasion, we proclaimed to the world that we are a society committed to democracy, to the rule of law and to the protection of human rights. The Constitution came to be as a result…

Dec

2023

By FELIX ONUAH

West Africa bloc to negotiate with Niger junta on return to democracy

NEWS

WEST Africa's regional bloc ECOWAS set up a committee of three leaders to negotiate with Niger's military junta on a transition to democratic rule and to consider easing sanctions, a communique said after an annual summit. Niger in July became the latest Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member to undergo a coup when soldiers from the presidential guard detained President Mohamed Bazoum and set up what they called a transitional government, one of a series of government overthrows in West Africa's Sahel region. At Sunday's summit in the Nigerian capital Abuja, ECOWAS decided to set up a committee of leaders…

Jun

2023

By The African Mirror

Senegal’s internet shutdowns are another sign of a democracy in peril

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

SENEGAL’S government began blocking several digital platforms – including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram and YouTube – in certain areas on 1 June. Days later, it extended the disruptions to all mobile internet and several television stations. The social networks were shut down for two days. This was followed by a four-day mobile internet shutdown. Author JEFF CONROY-KRUTZ, Associate Professor of Political Science, Michigan State University Given that nearly all Senegalese internet users access it through their mobile phones, these moves constituted a near-total block on digital communications and information. Internet penetration in Senegal has exploded in recent years. A decade…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Media freedom and democracy: Africans in four countries weigh up thorny questions about state control

MEDIA FREEDOM

IN July 2022, BBC Africa Eye released a documentary on gang activity in northwestern Nigeria. The programme, The Bandit Warlords of Zamfara, examined the raids on villages, abductions and murders that have plagued swaths of the country. Notably, it included interviews with so-called bandits, who described their violent actions and laid out their grievances. Author JEFFREY CONROY-KRUTZ, Associate Professor of Political Science, Michigan State University The Nigerian government responded furiously to the documentary’s airing. The minister of information, Lai Mohamed, called it “a naked glorification of terrorism and banditry”. The National Broadcasting Commission, which regulates broadcasting, said it “undermines national…

Apr

2023

By The African Mirror

South Africans are fed up with their prospects, and their democracy, according to latest social attitudes survey

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THE mood among South Africans has soured. The latest findings from the representative survey that’s done every year by the country’s Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) show some disturbing new trends. The most marked are: a decline in levels of life satisfaction as a whole a downturn in people’s views about what lies ahead in their lives a growing sense of despondency, and a declining satisfaction with democracy. Authors JOLEEN STEYN KOTZE, Chief Research Specialist in Democracy and Citizenship at the Human Science Research Council and a Research Fellow Centre for African Studies, University of the Free State BENJAMIN ROBERTS,…

Mar

2023

By The African Mirror

Does democracy fuel corruption? Most Ghanaians don’t think so

SPECIAL FEATURES: ANALYSIS

DOES democracy breed corruption – particularly in developing countries? There are strong advocates of the theory. And strong detractors. Some studies conclude that democracy aggravates corruption. For instance, the noted scholar of public policy Jong-Sung You’s work explores the relationships between democracy, inequality and corruption. He shows in a study of three East Asian countries that democracy can worsen corruption when a country has high levels of inequality. This, in turn, increases clientelism and patronage politics and state capture. Author JOSEPH YAW ASOMAH, Assistant Professor, University of Manitoba Other studies show that democracy can help combat corruption. One study by…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Election observers are important for democracy – but few voters know what they do

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

ELECTION observers keep watch over polls throughout the world. Their job is to support efforts to improve electoral quality and to provide transparency. In African countries, both local citizens and international observers have been deployed regularly since the 1990s. During several recent elections across the continent, however, questions have arisen about the competence and impartiality of observation missions. This has led to concerns about the future of observation, both in Africa and elsewhere. Authors THOMAS MOLONY, Senior Lecturer in African Studies, The University of Edinburgh ROBERT MACDONALD, Research Fellow in African Studies, The University of Edinburgh In 2023, more than…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Invisible Trillions review: global capitalism operates beyond the rule of law and threatens democracy

LITERATURE

SECRECY has become as important for corporations as transparent and taxable profits used to be, according to Raymond W. Baker in his new book Invisible Trillions. Global capitalism, he argues, operates beyond the rule of law. This contributes to extreme inequality that threatens liberal democracy. Author JOHN J STREMLAU, Honorary Professor of International Relations, University of the Witwatersrand Deals in the financial secrecy system account for half of global economic operations. This is far beyond illicit transfers of funds through corporate under-pricing and overpricing of exports and imports, or the drug and other criminal networks 50 years ago. Tax havens,…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Benin holds election set to test democracy

NEWS

PULCHERIE ADJOHA VOTERS in Benin went to the polls for a parliamentary election seen as a test of democracy as opposition parties are back on the ballot after boycotting or being excluded from the most recent presidential and legislative votes. Benin's image as a bastion of democracy and stability in West Africa has been dented under President Patrice Talon, who went back on a pledge not to run for another term and oversaw an opposition crackdown since coming to power in 2016. Seven parties are competing for 109 parliamentary seats in Sunday's vote, including the Democrates party linked to Talon's predecessor and…