2024 was dubbed Democracy’s Super Bowl by The Guardian. “A record-breaking 40-odd countries, representing more than 40% of the world’s population and a significant share of global GDP, are due to hold national elections in 2024,” wrote Simon Tisdall, a columnist for the British newspaper. Africa had its part in the banquet with nearly a third of the continent’s countries holding presidential or legislative elections—or both—leading, in some cases, to pivotal outcomes. In Botswana for example, the ruling Botswana Democratic party was ousted after nearly 60 years in charge, in what the BBC has called a “political earthquake”.
This represents an important shift, from changes in government via military means, to democratic means. Since 2020, Africa has experienced eight coup d’états.
Observers anticipate that these results will bring significant political and economic changes to certain nations, particularly in instances where the elections revealed a level of democratic maturity that challenges the prevailing narratives dismissing the possibility of democracy’s success in Africa.
African governments did not approach elections with a uniform understanding of what they would mean for their leaders. For some countries, voting is merely a ritual to renew popular legitimacy and confirm public loyalty at each electoral milestone. For others, elections are an opportunity for politicians to return to the people, inviting them to evaluate their years in office. The result may be either endorsement through renewed confidence—signifying approval—or rejection through loss of trust, reflecting dissatisfaction. Elections across the continent adhered to one of these two approaches, from north to south and east to west.
Stagnant Democracies
Several African nations held general elections this year, which extended the ruling parties’ grip on power amid criticism and opposition from other political forces. Opposition parties almost universally decried a lack of competition and transparency, among other irregularities, in elections that outwardly appeared pluralistic but were, in reality, dominated by a single party’s control of state mechanisms.
The Comoros archipelago opened the continent’s election calendar in early 2024 with the re-election of incumbent President Azali Assoumani. When Assoumani was cleared to re-run the outcome was clear. Assoumani first took power in 1999 via a military coup against interim President Tadjidine Ben Said Massounde and held office until 2006. He returned through the ballot box in 2016 and subsequently amended the constitution in 2018 to abolish term limits.
In North Africa, both Algeria and Tunisia held presidential elections characterised by a superficial pluralism which masked executive or military control, resulting in extensions of the incumbent presidents’ terms. Independent candidate Abdelmadjid Tebboune won the 7th September election in Algeria with 94% of the vote. A month later, Kais Saied, also an independent, secured a second term in Tunisia with a similar margin (90%), in the third presidential election since the revolution and the first under the 2022 constitution, which reversed many gains of the 2011 uprising. The apparent popularity of Tebboune and Saied was beaten only by Rwanda’s Paul Kagame, who got a whopping 99% in his (se)election. The BBC noted the Rwandan president “smashes his own election record”.
Tebboune was congratulated by Guinea’s military leader, Mamadi Doumbouya, who extended his “warmest congratulations” to the new Algerian government. He was meant to hold elections at the end of 2024, when the transition period that Doumbouya had set for himself was due to expire. Instead, in May the government announced there would be no elections and by October 53 political parties were dissolved to “clean up the political chessboard”, according to the ministry of territorial administration and decentralization. Two major opposition parties, Rally of the Guinean People of former president Alpha Condé and Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea, were among dozens more put under observation.
Like Guinea, South Sudan also decided not to hold scheduled elections. This is the second time the country has postponed elections, extending a fragile transitional period which started in 2020. The government is already struggling to generate revenue with restrictions on oil exports arising from the logistical challenges of moving it through war-torn Sudan. This adds to the woes of South Sudanese who have been held captive by the same elite since the country became independent in 2011. Analysts agree that holding elections in the current conditions would be pointless–”a waste of money” said one–in light of the fact that a constitution isn’t ready, there is no census or party registration.
In the heart of the Sahara, Chad witnessed an official extension of the Déby family’s rule on May 6 – their unofficial dynasty has now entered its fourth decade with its second prince. Interim leader and candidate of the Patriotic Salvation Movement, Mahamat Idriss Déby, won the presidential election in the first round with 61% of the vote. This was followed by a legislative election which was boycotted by the opposition in which Déby’s party similarly secured two-thirds (124 of 188 seats) of the vote.
In southeastern Africa, election-related violence in Mozambique continues to escalate as Mozambique’s new president, Daniel Chapo, takes office. Over 300 people have been killed according to local NGOs, during protests rejecting the ruling FRELIMO party’s claimed electoral victory. Domestic and international observers widely reported significant fraud in these elections, underscoring that the country’s multiparty system remains nominally under FRELIMO’s historical dominance of state institutions.
Though circumstances differ greatly in these countries, one clear theme ties these examples and others together. The constitutional arrangements in many of these nations are being jettisoned either because they aren’t being respected by autocratic rulers or because the methods they employ to channel public feedback aren’t robust enough to reflect the complex nature of their societies. This neglect of the public is driving unrest in some cases like Mozambique, or is creating conditions under which young people are seeking to leave in search of greater fortunes.
Healthier democracies
When Duma Boko was elected in Botswana he made one of the most remarkable speeches of any incoming leader in Africa. “I dare not fail, I dare not disappoint and I pledge, with every fibre of my being, that I will do everything not to fail,” said Boko, adding: “And so that is why I lay myself open to criticism, even if it is acerbic and fierce and vicious, I will listen and heed, and try always to do what is right by the people by them and for the country.”
It was remarkable for two reasons. The moment wasn’t one for humility. Boko, a lawyer, defeated a party that had ruled the country for more than six decades and was tied to its founder. But his victory was also a crushing one, with the ruling party reduced to just four seats, while Boko’s Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) won 32. It was a strong mandate for a new kind of country.
It was a promising start for an exciting new leader.
Another explosive result came from South Africa, where the ruling African National Congress’s share of the vote fell to its lowest level since the end of apartheid three decades ago, forcing it to enter into a coalition with its longtime rival, the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA). The development signals the decline of liberation-era legitimacy across Africa, but the ANC still secured 40% of the vote, which on its own is a massive result.
Mauritania has begun embracing political openness after a long history of military coups. This trend was reaffirmed in the election of 29th June, where President Mohamed Ould Ghazouani secured a second term in a vote characterised by relative pluralism and competition. Ghazouani came to power in 2019, marking the first time in the country’s history that it saw a transition from one president to another. Ould Ghazouani, the candidate of the Equity Party, won 56% of the vote, while Biram Dah Abeid of the Democratic Alternation Party garnered 22%, and Hamady Ould Sidi Mokhtar of the National Rally for Reform and Development (Tawassoul) received 13%.
In Senegal, the country upheld its reputation as a beacon of democracy in a tumultuous region. Despite concerns that Macky Sall might steer it towards authoritarianism, Senegal successfully held two separate elections—presidential in March and early legislative elections in November. Both results favoured the opposition Pastef party, led by President Bassirou Faye and Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko, who aim to usher in a new chapter in Senegal’s political history. The insurgent and popular candidates have channeled public frustrations about Dakar’s relationship with France similar a growing sentiment across the Sahel belt. This result demonstrates the effectiveness of democratic and open elections in producing outcomes that truly reflect the public’s will. Ayisha Osori, Director of the Open Society Foundations and author of Love Does Not Win Elections, described it as a “People’s Coup”.
In other more open countries, other ruling parties also entered what the Financial Times has called “2024’s graveyard of incumbents”.
In west Africa, Ghana, like Senegal, saw its opposition triumph in both the presidential and parliamentary elections held on 7th December. In Ghana’s more mature democratic space, featuring 12 candidates, former president John Mahama returned to power with 56% of the vote, defeating incumbent vice president Mahamudu Bawumia, who garnered 41%. The peaceful and competitive election appeared to reflect a country at ease with how power exchanges hands between competing elites.
The interesting outlier was Somaliland—a self-declared independent state— which saw opposition candidate Abdirahman Irro win the November 13 election in a unique democratic experience. Somaliland employs a system where political associations compete for voters’ approval to earn legal recognition as political parties for a ten-year period, creating a distinctive model of governance in the Horn of Africa.
The outcome was widely anticipated, given the frustrations with the incumbent Muse Bihi, who oversaw a turbulent era. Irro’s promise of a new direction resonated with voters.
This year, one-third of Africans engaged with the ballot box in a rare moment for the continent.
In many countries, this occasion became a catalyst for change in governance and politics, as citizens increasingly favored ballots over bullets—a hallmark of civilization and human progress. This shift signals a growing trend of electing new political forces rather than perpetuating the dominance of those in power since independence.
Opposition parties in countries like Senegal, Botswana, South Africa, and Somaliland led this wave of change, achieving victories that reflect a significant milestone. Today, Africans in several nations are showing their ability to compete and contend through the will of the people rather than resorting to weapons or external interventions, which often come with high costs.
The election results also highlight a rising awareness among Africans of the opportunities presented by the international context. Until recently, political power in many countries was contingent on the approval of global powers rather than the votes of local citizens. This time, Africans are asserting their right to self-determination through peaceful and democratic means.