In a year featuring 23 national elections across the continent, the Afrobarometer report highlights the importance of the quality and legitimacy of these high-stakes contests. The report reveals that most Africans, 75%, believe elections are the best way to choose their leaders, with more than six in ten citizens supporting elections in all surveyed countries except Lesotho (44%).
The report also indicates that nearly two-thirds (64%) of Africans favor multiparty competition to ensure voters have real choices in governance, although only one-third of Tunisians (32%) and Basotho (34%) agree.
However, the report notes a troubling decline in popular support for elections, down 8 percentage points over the past decade. This decline may reflect disillusionment after numerous elections marred by low quality, disputes, and violence, or a recognition that elections alone do not guarantee accountable governance or reliable public services.
Citizens’ assessment of their most recent national elections as largely free and fair has dropped by 7 points since 2011/2013, from 66% to 59%. Furthermore, fewer than half of Africans believe their elections ensure that members of Parliament (MPs) represent the views of voters (42%) or allow voters to remove leaders who fail to meet their expectations (45%).
Additionally, only four in ten citizens (39%) express trust in their national electoral commission ‘somewhat’ or ‘a lot,’ while 57% have little or no trust in these bodies. This lack of trust underscores the need for significant improvements in electoral processes to restore faith in democratic systems across the continent.
