South African president Cyril Ramaphosa (L) and his deputy Paul Mashatile (R) flank new agriculture minister John Steenhuisen.
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A sea change in the system of governance is needed to fix South Africa and rebuild an economy plagued by serious crises.
The question of whether the constitution should continue to be supreme has become a public as well as a political issue.
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The constitution and the principle of constitutionalism will continue to be politically contested territory. So far it’s held in South Africa.
Public confidence in the Constitutional Court is key to its legitimacy.
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The court covered itself in glory in the first 15 years, but its performance has been patchy since then, coinciding with Jacob Zuma’s presidency.
Chad’s Mahamat Idriss Deby (C), cast his vote during the referendum in N'Djamena, on 17 December 2023.
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Transitional president Mahamat Idriss Déby appears to be the only winner of the Chadian constitutional referendum.
Populist politicians accuse the judiciary of stalling societal changes.
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The governing ANC’s indifference to constitutionalism has left the constitution vulnerable to opportunistic attack by politicians.
Members of the feminist group Las Tesis participate in Chile’s national protest movement in Santiago, Chile, in December 2019.
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People across Latin America are demanding greater political participation. Some countries, including Colombia and Chile, have responded by involving citizens in the making of their constitutions.
Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie (C) and Ghana’s founder and first President Kwame Nkrumah (L) during the formation of the Organisation of African Unity.
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The African Union compares well to other continental unions. It accomplishes more than the Commonwealth or the Francophonie.
Former South African constitutional court judge, Yvonne Mokgoro.
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Justice Mokgoro’s advocacy for group solidarity and reconciliation is discernible in several of her judgments.
Presidents Hage Geingob, left, and Cyril Ramaphosa at the Union Buildings in Tshwane.
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How Swapo and the ANC respond to any further decline in electoral support will define the future of democracy in both countries.
French President Emmanuel Macron welcomes President of Chad’s Transitional Military Council Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno, in Paris, in 2021.
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Expulsion of the German ambassador could be a way of warning other embassies, especially France, to steer clear of Chadian politics and support for the opposition.
Loyalists of the ANC’s Radical Economic Transformation (RET) at the Olive Convention Centre in Durban.
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Despite its vagueness, the RET has become central to the contemporary ANC. It is destined to remain a powerful bloc within the party, and a constant constraint on Ramaphosa leadership.
Americans vote In the 2022 midterm elections on 8 November.
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Despite America’s deep divisions, the electioneering showed democracy’s resilience. This should be a boost for democracy advocates across Africa.
Demonstrators protest in Tunisia’s capital Tunis in 2021 against President Kais Saied’s steps to tighten his grip on power.
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Tunisia’s democratic backslide demonstrates how autocrats can use constitutional cover to entrench authoritarianism.
Lesotho citizens queue to vote in a previous national elections.
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Despite their pretensions to support reforms, it is clear that successive governments are not interested in the reform.
A woman votes in Lesotho’s 2017 national election. New elections are due in October.
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The country has had five governments in 10 years. Every time a government collapses, the reform programme follows suit.
The Supreme Court of Kenya in Nairobi.
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The country’s courts have already exhibited a significant level of maturity in rulings touching on the executive.
A whites-only beach during apartheid in South Africa.
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Peddlers of dangerous ideas regarding the constitution should be reminded of what was done in the name of a legislative majority under apartheid.
Graffiti in Ouagadougou reads “Compaore, you’re the thug!” It appeared a few days after President Blaise Compaore stepped down.
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The events of the past seven years point to a strong democratric urge among the Burkinabe.
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Big tech is increasingly capitalising on opportunities to consolidate their power, raising constitutional questions about legitimacy, rights and democracy in the digital age.
Countries that adopt ethnic recognition go on to experience less violence, more economic vitality, and more democratic politics.
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On average, countries that adopt ethnic recognition experience less violence, more economic vitality, and more democratic politics.