Afrobarometer board chair Prof E.Gyimah-Boadi has expressed concern that democratic governance in Africa is facing severe headwinds, particularly at the level of supply.
Boadi noted this recently at a conference in Accra organised by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) noted that a majority of Africans prefer democracy over any other system of government and endorse democratic norms, institutions, and practices such as multiparty competition, constitutional limits on presidential tenure, and free media.
The conference themed “African governance futures: Strengthening democratic resilience amid disruption,” the conference brought together more than 80 governance experts from across the African continent to discuss the latest developments in the governance sector.
Speaking on “The future Africans want,” Gyimah-Boadi shed light on the aspirations of African citizens as well as challenges and their implications for democratic governance on the continent.
“Between 2014/2015 and 2021/2022, support for democracy has steeply dropped in several countries: Mali, Burkina Faso, South Africa, and Guinea, respectively by 36, 26, 21, and 15 percentage points,” Gyimah-Boadi said.
He also highlighted a softening stance toward the role of the military in national politics. While a solid majority still reject military rule, the level of opposition has declined significantly over the past decade. Only three of the 30 countries surveyed consistently between 2014 and 2022 show increases in popular rejection of military rule, and a slim majority (53%) are willing to countenance military intervention if elected officials abuse their power.
