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2019 saw setbacks for democracy in Africa, says report
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Long way to go: Hundreds of South Africans stand in line to cast their votes in the sixth general election at the Cottanlands Primary School 45 kilometers north of Durban on Wednesday, May 8, 2019. (AFP/Rajesh Jantilal)
D
emocracy in Africa declined last year, mirroring a worrying regression in many parts of the world, according to an annual report published Wednesday by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Around the globe, the average score for democracy – rated on a scale of zero to 10 – fell from 5.48 in 2018 to 5.44 in 2019, driven by declines in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa, the EIU said.
Africa's average score retreated to 4.26 last year after 4.36 in 2018 to reach its lowest level since the aftermath of the global financial crisis, according to the EIU's annual Democracy Index.
Flawed elections are widely to blame, it said.
"More than 15 African presidents have governed for more than a decade, some of them since their countries achieved independence," the EIU said.
"Some of these countries have sought to project an image of democracy without putting in place sufficient institutions or election-monitoring mechanisms to back it up.
"As such, even if held on time, elections do not automatically lead to representative governments."
The Democracy Index is based on a basket of five factors – civil liberties, political culture, political participation, governance and electoral process – as monitored in 165 states and two territories.
Twenty-three out of 44 African countries saw a worsening in their scores, while 11 saw marginal improvements.
Mauritius is the only sub-Saharan country to be deemed a "full democracy," earning a score of 8.22 out of 10.
Botswana, Cape Verde, South Africa, Ghana, Lesotho and Namibia are behind, in the category "flawed democracies".
Of Africa's other nations, 15 are categorised as "hybrid democracies," which includes Nigeria, the continent's most populous state, and 22 "authoritarian."
Bottom of the list is Democratic Republic of Congo, with 1.13 points.
Worldwide, only 76 countries can be considered to be democracies, and of these, just 22 can be considered "full democracies," although this is an increase of two over 2018, the EIU said.
Fifty-four countries, accounting for more than a third of the world's population, are authoritarian, it said.
