When he grabbed power in 1990, Déby promised to create a democratic society, but he turned out to be a ruthless authoritarian whose main agenda was to remain in office.
Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, president of Somalia, attends a regional meeting in Ethiopia in 2019.
Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
Although polarising, parliament’s move to extend Farmaajo’s term has presented a practical road-map to hold direct elections for the first time since 1969.
Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno and French President Emmanuel Macron in France. France has been a long-time supporter of the Deby regime.
Chesnot/Getty Images
The president leaves behind a legacy of extremes, on the one hand, a leader who wanted to create a better country for his people, and on the other, a ruthless authoritarian.
Hundreds of Namibians protested against growing gender-based violence in October 2020. The Afrikaans wording on the placard says ‘We are tired’.
Hildegard Titus/AFPvia Getty Images)
The legitimacy of SWAPO, the former liberation movement that has governed since 1990, has been eroded amid growing corruption and a deepening economic crisis.
Protesters march towards a line of Kenyan riot police during post-election violence in Nairobi in 2007.
Roberto Schmidt/AFP via Getty Images
In a country where judicial review is not constitutionally guaranteed, hate speech legislation could shackle freedom of expression and limit citizens’ rights to express themselves.
National Election Board of Ethiopia personnel patrol a warehouse stacked high with boxes of polling kits in Addis Ababa in October 2020.
Photo by Eduardo Soteras/AFP via Getty Images
Ethiopia’s party system is extremely volatile due to the prevalence of weakly institutionalised and fragmented political parties.
Joseph Kazibwe, with his wife Magere, listen to radio updates of the Uganda presidential election result in January 2021.
Photo by Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images
The more President Mnangagwa’s government fails to engage democratically with its own citizens, the more it will negate any prospect of re-engagement with the West.
Following an inconclusive election in December 2020, Niger’s Independent National Electoral Commission is set for a runoff in February.
Photo by Issouf Sanogo/AFP via Getty Images
The November 2020 local and regional elections have indeed put Namibia’s political culture at a crossroads.
President Uhuru Kenyatta (centre), former opposition leader Raila Odinga (right), and Deputy President William Ruto launching the first Building Bridges Initiative report in 2019.
Tony Karumba/AFP via Getty Images
For every office holder who may lose a seat because they are prosecuted, another job opens up.
Former DRC President Joseph Kabila, left, congratulates his succesor, Felix Tshisekedi, on his inauguration in January 2019.
EFE-EPA/Kinsela Cunningham
After endless, futile negotiations with the Kabila camp, Tshisekedi appears to have finally recognised the limits of the coalition government and has lost patience.
John Magufuli (centre) waves as he arrives to give a speech at a campaign rally in August 2020.
There are individual activists and political groupings who believe violent action is legitimate and use the circumstances to actively drive such behaviour.