Assessments of election quality have worsened over the past decade. Key findings On average across 38 countries, about three-quarters (74%) of Africans support choosing their leaders through regular, open, and honest elections. This is the majority position in every surveyed country, although support for elections has weakened over the past decade. Strong majorities favour multiparty…
As Kenya prepares for its next general election, due in less than 20 months’ time, 2026 will prove to be a critical year. With local and global restraints on political violence being hollowed out at the very time when trust in the credibility of the election system is at an all-time low, serious trouble beckons…
The Independent Electoral Commission of Lesotho (IEC) has earned a prestigious continental accolade after the Electoral Integrity Global Report 2025 ranked Lesotho fourth in Africa for the quality and credibility of its electoral processes. According to the statement released by the Commission, the ranking affirms the significant progress Lesotho has made in strengthening the administration,…
Former President Goodluck Jonathan has identified electoral manipulation as one of the biggest threats facing democracy in the African continent. The former president said unless stakeholders synergise to rescue the situation by reforming the system, democracy may collapse in the region. Speaking at the Democracy Dialogue organised by the Goodluck Jonathan Foundation in Accra, Ghana,…
Japan’s Sanseito party wins big with ‘Japanese First’ push and anti-immigration rhetoric. Japan’s far-right Sanseito party has emerged as a major winner in the country’s upper house election, riding a wave of nationalist rhetoric, anti-immigration warnings and populist pledges on tax cuts and social welfare. Once seen as a fringe movement born on YouTube during…
The Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC) held a three-day capacity-building workshop in Lilongwe, supported by the African Union (AU), COMESA, and International IDEA, aimed at strengthening electoral risk management and addressing gender-based violence in elections. This initiative comes as the country intensifies preparations for the 16 September 2025 General Election. Speaking at the official opening of…
