African Elections Marked by Fraud, Repression, and Youth Disconnect

Many of the 2026 elections across Africa across Africa are marked by fraud, repression and a growing disconnect between young people and political elites.

Though results have yet to be announced, Monday's election in Ethiopia, for example, is widely expected to result in a win for incumbent Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, despite deep divisions in the nation. Officials cited security concerns in suspending voting in parts of the country; the entire Tigray region was excluded from the election as tensions continue between regional and federal authorities. Tigray has not had federal representation for six years, and regional fighters fought a bloody civil war with federal forces from 2020 to 2022.

In West Africa, Ibrahim Traore, who seized power in the 2022 coup in Burkina Faso, told the Burkinabe people in April to "forget" about democracy.

"If an African wants to tell you about democracy, you should run away," he said on the state broadcaster, RTB. "Democracy kills."

Traore's statement shocked many, yet it also resonated with parts of the population. In Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, some residents argued that there is no time for democracy, as the fights against terror groups and for economic rebuilding take priority.

West Africa's coups

The national militaries over threw the governments of Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea from 2020 through 2023. In Guinea-Bissau, a coup took place in 2025.

Now led by military juntas, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso formally withdrew from the regional ECOWAS bloc in January 2025 and established their own partnership, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).

The trend extends beyond West Africa. Further south in Gabon, the military took power in 2023, while in the Central African nation of Chad, a transitional military council governed until 2025.

In Chad, in Central Africa, Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno succeeded his father, Idriss Deby Itno, as president after the elder was killed by rebels in 2021, ending his 30-year rule.

In Sudan, in North Africa, a struggle between rival factions escalated into a full-scale civil war.

Support for coups

A 2023 report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) cites "multidimensional poverty, inequality, manipulation of constitutional term limits, limited youth and women's participation, governance deficits and higher levels of military expenditure" as factors that increase the risk of coups.

The study also found "that when citizens have been disappointed with the delivery of democratically elected governments, they are more likely to support non-democratic styles of governance, including military rule."

Many governing systems in the region were shaped by colonial legacies and have been insufficiently adapted to local realities, said Veye Tatah, who was born and raised in Cameroon and since 1991 has lived in Germany, where she works with the nonprofit organization Africa Positive. "They do not reflect the culture, ethnicity, and lifestyles of the people," she said. "If a system does not deliver — no food, no water, no education — people ask: what do we need it for?"

"Democracy is not a standard form of government that can be implemented identically everywhere," Tatah said.

Continent of contrasts

Authoritarian systems dominate in North Africa. Countries in Central African are largely ruled by authoritarian regimes, as well.

In West Africa, democracies such as Ghana and Senegal exist alongside military regimes in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Meanwhile, Cape Verde is consistently ranked among Africa's most stable democracies.

East Africa and the Horn of Africa, where Ethiopia is located, show a mix of hybrid systems, fragile states and ongoing instability. In southern Africa, stable democracies like Botswana and Namibia coexist with more authoritarian-leaning systems such as Zimbabwe.

South Africa, Nigeria

South Africa is often viewed as a special case. Since 1994, it has built a democratic system designed to embrace social diversity. But strong institutions have not always translated into effective governance. Unemployment, inequality, and corruption have eroded trust, while the ANC party remains the dominant political force, despite weakening support.

William Gumede, a political scientist and writer, said the constitution's framers aimed for a uniquely South African path — a model reflecting the country's multicultural composition, including large Indian, Malay and European populations, as well as numerous African ethnic and linguistic communities.

The model drew more inspiration from the Indian constitution than from classic Western examples and sought to give space to a diverse society.

Today, South Africa maintains a comparatively strong civil society, an independent media landscape, and institutional structures in government, the judiciary, and administration that — despite shortcomings — are considered relatively robust.

Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, illustrates this ambivalence even more clearly.

The country is deeply divided by ethnic and religious conflicts that repeatedly erupt into violence. Nevertheless, its political system has repeatedly shown adaptability over recent decades.

"Democracy there is less a stable condition than an ongoing process," said Farouk Bibi Farouk, a political scientist from the University of Abuja.

Nigeria's 2015 transfer of power, in which Muhammadu Buhari defeated incumbent Goodluck Jonathan by 2.57 million votes, is widely seen as a democratic milestone.

Democracy: Ideals, reality

The central issue is less the model than its implementation. Where institutions function, trust emerges — where they fail, frustration grows.

Tatah, from Africa Positive, said political systems must be socially rooted and reflect local realities. Ethnic and social fragmentation often leads to democracy being perceived as an instrument of specific groups.

The result is a fragile social contract in which state institutions lose public trust.

"Africa needs a mental revolution," Tatah said — away from corruption and clientelism, toward responsibility and the common good.

Current developments, Tatah said, do not represent a clear retreat of democracy but rather a phase of renegotiation between authoritarian and democratic forces.

The key question is not whether democracy is possible in Africa, or whether "Africans can practice democracy," but how it can be shaped to function in people's daily lives — not as an abstract model, but as a lived political reality.

This article was originally written in German.