The club of authoritarian leaders maintaining an iron grip on power in parts of Africa, either by amending laws to extend their terms of office, hosting rubber-stamp elections or repressing opposition and civil society is fast dwindling. Nine leaders have wielded power for more than 20 years in Africa; four of them have been at the helm for more than 30 years. Equatorial Guineas President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo seized power from his uncle in 1979, the same year Angolas Jos Eduardo dos Santos rose to power. Robert Mugabe has been in office since 1980, while Yoweri Museveni won the recent election in Uganda to continue his rule after a vote marred by a lack of transparency.But Africa is about more than this club of authoritarian leaders. Aside from the growing number of leaders passing power peacefully after elections, there have also been cases of public backlash against leaders who have tried to prolong their tenures, such as Zambias Frederick Chiluba and Malawis Bakili Muluzi. In 2014, Blaise Compaors bid to extend his 27-year presidency in Burkina Faso was thwarted by a violent popular uprising, while upheaval in Burundi was sparked by President Pierre Nkurunzizas successful bid to prolong his term.Following the 2010 presidential election in Cote dIvoire, the incumbent Laurent Gbagbo began calling for the annulment of the results after losing to Alassane Ouattara. His actions incited a short period of civil unrest before he was arrested and being tried for crimes against his country-men. He has since made history by becoming the first head of state to be taken to the International Criminal Court.Similarly, Gambias presidential election that was held a few days ago, in a surprise result, opposition candidate Adama Barrow defeated long-term incumbent Yahya Jammeh. The election marked the first change of presidency by popular election in the West African country since its independence from Britain in 1965. Taking a cue from our own ex-president Jonathan, before the final results were announced, Jammeh graciously conceded defeat, shocking a populace that had expected him to retain power. BBC News called it the biggest election upset West Africa has ever seen.Also exhibiting that African democracy is maturing, political parties that has maintained power over a long period of time is being replaced via transparent and credible polls. The ANC in South Africa is losing its popularity especially after losing in the recent municipal elections having held power since the countrys independence. For the first time, a plausible alternative party of power is emerging in the liberal, business-friendly Democratic Alliance. Here in Nigeria, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which held power since the return to democratic rule in 1999 has been relegated to the opposition. Thus, the narrative that Africa is an undemocratic continent ruled by autocratic old men who pay lip service to the wishes of the people who elected them is changing.Since the end of the cold war, multi-party democracy has spread far and wide across the continent, often with impressive and moving intensity. Many of Africas worst Big Men were swept away. Mengistu Haile Mariam fled Ethiopia in 1991; Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) decamped in 1997. In parts of Africa however, autocrats are still in power and wars still rage. But most leaders now seek at least a veneer of respectability; elections have become more frequent and more regular, and economies have opened up.In a healthy democracy, you expect a rise and fall in support for a particular government, which is expressed at the ballot box. But its a cause for concern if people begin to lose support for the regimesuch as when there starts to be a growing nostalgia or sympathy for forms of authoritarian rule, such as a benevolent dictator, one- party rule, or military rule. The most serious risk to a political system is when state institutions begin to break down and citizens begin to disregard the commands of state officials or even transfer their loyalties to political groups with a rival claim to authority. At that point, civil war and outright state failure becomes a very real possibility.The last 20 years have seen gains and reversals in democracy in Africa. For democracy to work and flourish, winners must not be greedy; losers must accept defeat and both need independent and trusted institutions to act as arbiters and stabilizers (alas, in many African countries, some or all of these elements are missing). The best way for democracy to flourish would be to expand and strengthen Africas emerging middle class, strengthen institutions and abide by the rule of law. Increasingly connected to the world, Africans know better than anyone the shortcomings of their leaders. Take South Africa for instance; despite its model constitution, vibrant press and diverse economy, it has been tarnished under the current president, Jacob Zuma. He has hollowed out institutions, among them bodies tasked with fighting corruption.With the new emerging democratic governments across the continent via credible polls, they would have to confront a legacy of poverty, illiteracy, militarisation, and underdevelopment produced by incompetent or corrupt governments. Will these demands placed on these African nations by international donor institutions as well as heightened individual expectations for better lives be met by these nascent democracies, time will tell.
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