Shackled voices, inflated votes: Is democracy under threat in Africa?

Tanzania's President Samia Suluhu takes oath of office during her inauguration in Dodoma on November 3, 2025. [AFP]

Tanzania’s sham presidential election held last week, through which President Samia Suluhu secured a second term with nearly 98 per cent of the vote, once again highlighted the struggle between pro- and anti-democracy forces in Africa.

Among the youth, who dominate the continent’s demography, there is a renewed drive to advocate democratic principles and resist growing inequality. Protests across Kenya, Morocco, Madagascar, and Tanzania have been driven as much by unemployment as democratic idealism.