This weekend, voters in Senegal will head to the polls after three years of deadly unrest, political uncertainty, and valid questions about the sustainability of the country’s democratic institutions. In this timely guest post, local journalist Borso Tall captures the the mood of the country on the eve of the election and reflects on what potentially lies ahead.

In this guest post, our first of 2024, Sierra Leonean journalist Alpha Kamara writes on the recent coup attempt in Sierra Leone that implicated a former president. Despite prompt regional intervention and high-level diplomacy, the crisis is far from over with potentially long-lasting negative impacts for the country’s peace and stability.

Across Africa, military leaders are more emboldened than ever, writes our executive director Jeffrey Smith. Over the past decade, there have been twenty-two coups and attempted coups across the continent, with fourteen of them taking place in the past three years. From Zimbabwe to Gabon, there is an understandable rejoice when a tyrant is toppled. But this optimism is misplaced and too often based on major misperceptions, resulting in an unnecessary defamation of democracy and democratic governance.

In this guest post, Liberian presidential candidate — and former high-ranking United Nations official — Sara Nyanti writes on the October elections taking place in her country, including the urgent need for democratic solidarity from the African Union (AU) and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

In this guest post, freelance Senegalese journalist Borso Tall writes on the democratic struggles underway in Senegal and across the region, both of which have major implications for the country’s upcoming election in Feb. 2024.

In this guest post, Togolese activist Farida Nabourema writes on the recent coup d’etat in Niger, which is now the sixth military takeover in the West African sub-region to occur over the past two years. She writes that there is a fundamental misunderstanding in regards to the seeming embrace of coup leaders by the youth: it is not because they prefer military to democratic rule, but rather that they have been stripped of hope and denied agency by those in power. In effect, electoral democracy in Africa today has become a ‘luxurious good that only the rich and powerful can afford to purchase at the expense of the sweat and blood of the poor.’

In this guest post, Nigerian author and activist Raphael Adebayo writes on ‘democratic terrorism’ and asks: When does the question arise about the delta between the process that brought Tinubu to power in Nigeria, and the ones which propel putschists to seize it? How is Tinubu’s declaration as Nigeria’s president different from the emergence of military-backed coupists like Goïta in Mali, Doumbouya in Guinea, Traore in Burkina Faso, and Tchiani in Niger?

In this guest post, activist and bestselling author Ishmael Beah reflects on the widespread restrictions of human rights in Sierra Leone in the lead up to the general elections scheduled for June 24. He argues that this ‘imposition of peace’ — and the threats from the state to enforce silence — are merely planting the seeds of future unrest and chipping away at Sierra Leone’s standing as a democratic nation.

In collaboration with African Arguments, guest author Aaron Sampson writes on the removal of term limits in Africa and how they ultimately short-circuit democracy by creating Presidents-for-Life. Importantly, third term bids inflict damage regardless of outcome simply by denying an opportunity to establish precedent. While this issue is important for the continent writ large, democracy activists in Senegal and Mozambique are now sounding the alarm over presidents Macky Sall and Filipe Nyusi’s recent refusals to rule out running for third terms.

The democratic backsliding underway in Mozambique — which has so far evaded the headlines — is characterized by a power grab by President Filipe Nyusi, who has been laying the groundwork to run for a third presidential term next year. At the same time, the country’s democratic quality, including respect for political rights and civil liberties, have consistently declined since he assumed the presidency in 2015. Researcher Steven Holmes and our director Jeffrey Smith write on the importance of this year for Mozambique and its people.

Acclaimed across the globe as the success story of the Arab spring protests a decade ago, Tunisia’s democratic transition is now on a precipice. In this guest post, David Kode argues that if nothing is done by the international community — and especially Tunisia’s main allies — then the country will further descend into full-on authoritarianism.

It has been 30 days since the brazen murder of Thulani Maseko in Eswatini. To date, the government has done nothing to show that they are prioritizing investigations into his murder — instead, it has entangled itself in contradictions about halting its tactics of intimidation and threats meted out to any pro-democracy advocates, human rights defenders, entities and individuals that espouse such values.

In this guest post, human rights activist Velaphi Mamba writes on the brazen murder of Swaziland’s most well-known activist and lawyer, Thulani Maseko. In remembering Thulani’s many contributions, he argues that it is time for the world’s democrats to unite — finally — in support of long-overdue reforms in Africa’s last absolute monarchy, which continues to rule with brazen violence and impunity.

In this guest post, social justice activist Hardi Yakubu, from Africans Rising, writes that the perception of Ghana as one of Africa’s most robust democracies is profoundly flawed. This assessment is the result of years of increasing state violence against peaceful protesters and judicial repression that has been employed to silence critical journalism and dissent. He argues that it is long past time to dig deeper, and to go well beyond the inaccurate global headlines.

This week’s guest post is from Zimbabwean activist Mantate Mlotshwa — here, she reflects on the recent appointment of Fumba Chama (AKA Pilato) to Permanent Secretary for Youth, Arts and Sports in Zambia and, particularly, what it means for young creatives such as herself and the inspiration it generates for young people across the region.

In this special guest post, Djibouti’s heralded pro-democracy leader, Daher Ahmed Farah, announces his return from exile. The time has come once again, he writes, to join his comrades and party colleagues in the struggle for human freedom despite the inevitable threats he will confront. He calls upon fellow democrats worldwide to stand up with him at this crucial and personally harrowing time.

In this guest post, activist and researcher Jean-Michel Nlandu writes on the tumultuous tenure of Felix Tshisekedi in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has been marked by a crackdown on the independent press and an increase in political prisoners, which have combined to spark fears of a “revival of a police state.”

It is undeniable that the United States government is aware that Uganda is under a dictatorship, and has evidence of atrocities committed by the Museveni regime, writes Ugandan diaspora leader Daniel Kawuma. That Museveni and other autocrats across Africa are invited to Washington this week is not only bad optics, but bad policy as well.

Congolese human rights activist Stewart Muhindo writes on the deteriorating security situation that prevails in the eastern DR Congo, a reality exacerbated by an inept government at home, one the one hand, and by violent rebels backed by Congo’s neighbors, on the other. There is a way out of the morass, however, and it begins with long overdue governance and security reforms at home.

In this guest post, human rights lawyer Bwambale Asiimwe Micheal writes on Uganda’s epidemic of torture and the impunity for perpetrators that prevails in the country — this, despite the repeated pledges and empty promises made by government officials at global meetings, including the recent U.N. Committee against Torture in Geneva.