The question lingering in the minds of different political commentators and seekers of democracy is whether these elections will be free, fair and transparent in the effort to improve the democratic landscape of the Continent. The ISHR network should specifically follow the election closely in the respective countries. However, below is what can be summed up about the electoral processes in the respective countries.

Report from Alex Martin Musiime ISHR, Human Rights Lawyer and Activist, January 2022

The year 2023 is expected to be a year of heated political competition in a number of African countries; Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and Gabon.  The question lingering in the minds of different political commentators and seekers of democracy is whether these elections will be free, fair and transparent in the effort to improve the democratic landscape of the Continent. The ISHR network should specifically follow the election closely in the respective countries. However, below is what can be summed up about the electoral processes in the respective countries.

Nigeria

Africa’s most populous country has proven herself by resiliently striving towards full democratization. After the untimely death of military ruler Abacha, his successor, in an act rare with African leaders at the time, organized elections which saw Olusegun Obasanjo become President. The handover of power by Abdulsalami Abubakar to Obasanjo in 1999 heralded the ‘Fourth Republic’ that Nigeria is today. The fourth Republic has been characterized by general elections and peaceful transfers of power— marks of progress in the oil rich Nation. It is on those foothills that this year’s general election stands.

In February of this year, 2023, the citizens of Nigeria will head to the polls to pick their President, Senators and House Representatives. The elections will be a referendum to the current president whom many have criticized for failing to address the economic crisis and insecurity. The elections are also a test for the young people who make up the largest share of voters with over 10 million new voters according the Independent National Electoral Commission. It remains to be seen whether their voices matter and can bring effective change.

The Majority of young Nigerians have actively been critical to outgoing President Muhamaddu Buhari whose earlier failure in banning the Special Anti-Robbery Squad saw the country face her biggest protests in the recent past named #ENDSARS. Consequently, the young people are finding a hard time locating their priorities in the old guard of candidates vying for the presidency. The youngest of the front runners is 61-year-old Peter Obi. The others; Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar are both Septuagenarians with whom young people resonate less. The Young people have largely favored more liberal and younger Peter Obi in the elections, the question remains whether the numbers will show up on election day.

The election has also faced another setback  of the rising insecurity in the Northern part of the country with the electoral body suggesting a postponement.

Sierra Leon

The west African state will hold her general elections in June with the incumbent President Julius Maada Bio seeking reelection. The country which has had a history of coups and political instability seeks to assert herself in the league of democratic states by holding the regular elections of President, and parliamentarians. Whereas the ruling party maintains majority in Parliament and a predominant influence over the army and state institutions, the test is whether these will influence the outcome of the elections. The ISHR network and other international organizations are called upon to keenly monitor the situation in Seirra Leon particularly concerning guaranteed liberties such as freedom of expression and Association among others.

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe is on the spot again as the country holds her 2023 general elections. Like the case is for many countries in Africa, elections in Zimbabwe have not fallen short of violence. In 2008, the world watched with shock as violence rocked the country following the contested general elections in which the then MDC and ZANU-PF claimed victory. Whereas the elections that followed have not been as tumultuous, they have not been free of imprisonment of political opponents and state inspired violence against members of the opposition. In 2018, following the delayed release of polling results, police fired live ammunition at protestors occasioning deaths and several injuries according to Human Rights Watch. The violence reaffirmed President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s proclivity for violence against opponents.

The alleged Violence against members of the opposition has resurfaced in the build up to the July-August 2023 general elections. Social Media in Zimbabwe has been awash with a group of young people beating old people whom the Opposition’s Citizens Coalition for Change has called their members and accused ZANU-PF of masterminding the cruelty.

The main contestation is between the Incumbent 79-year-old Emerson Mnangagwa (a former Vice President of Long serving dictator Robert Mugabe) of ZANU-PF and the 44-year-old Nelson Chamisa of CCC.

Democratic Republic of Congo

East Africa’s biggest country will hold her Presidential, Senate and National Assembly this year amidst rising tensions with the neighboring Rwanda whom the DRC government accuses of sponsoring the M-23 rebels in the Eastern part of the country. With the current President Felix Tshisekedi expected to run for the second term, political tensions between major political groups cannot be ruled out.

The DRC is no stranger to instability on the grounds of politics, ethnicity, religion, intrusive neighbors, among others. These have denied the country stability which would be instrumental in the economic growth and development of the mineral rich Republic. The 2023 elections present an opportunity to test the commitment of the current government to free and fair democratic processes since its election in 2018.

In 2018, the DRC saw an unprecedented election where an incumbent was not on the ballot. This followed immense pressure from religious groups and the general civil society that forced Joseph Kabila to step down giving way to his handpicked successor Felix Tshikedi. Felix and Joseph have since fallen out and there is immense fear that this political divorce may intensify political tensions and culminate into electoral violence.

Liberia

Africa’s first and oldest Republic will head to the polls amidst challenges of a declining economy. The election will yet again be another gauge to the country’s commitment to free, fair and transparent elections. The elections will be the fourth since the end of the Second Liberian Civil war in 2003. Since then, the country has enjoyed a measure of peace and in 2018 saw the transition of power from Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to George Weah. The UN Secretary General called the election of 2017 ‘peaceful, transparent, free and fair elections.’ This year’s election will further put the incumbent president on the spotlight following accusations from his opponents of repression and overseeing a corrupt government. He has also been accused of living a luxurious life such as watching World Cup games in Qatar while his country crumbles under the weight economic hardships.

Gabon

Gabon has not had a general election without Bongo being a candidate—that is not about to change in the elections of 2023 where the incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba is expected to run for reelection. Bongo has been in power since 2009 following the death of his father, Omar Bongo Ondimba.

The country has not experienced a violent free election since independence. The most recent torrent of electoral violence was in 2016 following the disputed reelection of Ali Bongo. The BBC reported 3 deaths and over 1000 arrests.

With no reforms in place and the continued witch-hunt of the regime’s competitors such as the jailing of Sosthene Orphee Lendjedi Ibola, a presidential hopeful, there is no hope in sight that the state will not orchestrate more violence against the opposition.

Elections around the world are an opportunity for the citizenry to determine the path that their respective nations will take. They are meant to be the ultimate time when the supreme body of every nation, the people, make their decision. Owing to that, they have to be carried out in the most peaceful, transparent, fair and free environment to effectively reflect the will of the people. However, with the antecedents of the various regimes in Africa, elections are not yet free, nor fair, nor transparent according to democratic standards. The people and all institutions around the world should emphatically work towards an environment that enables free, fair, and transparent elections. It is then that we shall see the dawn of democracy on the entire African continent.