Morning arrives unevenly across Africa’s capitals. In some places it breaks with the hum of traffic and radio debates; in others, with the slow unfolding of markets beneath faded campaign posters that never quite come down. Power, like weather, settles into routines. And routines, when left unexamined, can begin to shape outcomes before a single vote is cast.
It is this quiet shaping that Don has identified as the most persistent threat to the continent’s democratic life: the abuse of incumbency. The concern is not new, but it has gained sharper definition as elections multiply across the region. Incumbents, Don argues, often carry into campaign season the full weight of the state—access to public funds, command of media attention, influence over security forces, and the subtle authority that comes with office itself. None of these advantages announce themselves loudly; they simply tilt the ground.
Across recent electoral cycles, observers have noted patterns that repeat with weary familiarity. State vehicles appear at rallies, public broadcasters blur the line between governance and campaigning, and administrative decisions arrive with electoral timing that feels less than coincidental. Opposition parties, meanwhile, move through narrower corridors—limited resources, restricted permits, and a constant negotiation with rules enforced unevenly.
Don’s warning does not rest on dramatic claims of stolen ballots or overturned counts. Instead, it lingers in the spaces before election day, where fairness is decided long before polling stations open. When incumbency becomes a shield rather than a responsibility, competition turns symbolic, and participation begins to feel ceremonial rather than consequential.
The implications ripple outward. Voters, sensing imbalance, may disengage or resign themselves to outcomes that feel prewritten. Institutions, asked to referee contests while reporting to sitting leaders, strain under conflicting loyalties. Even peaceful elections can leave behind a residue of doubt, a question hanging in the air about whether choice was ever fully present.
Yet the picture is not uniform. Across Africa, reforms have emerged—term limits defended by courts, electoral commissions strengthened, civic groups trained to observe and document. These efforts suggest an understanding that democracy is not only about replacing leaders, but about leveling the field on which replacement becomes possible.
As another season of elections approaches in various corners of the continent, Don’s observation reads less like an accusation than a reminder. Democracy rarely collapses all at once. More often, it thins gradually, worn down by advantages that accumulate quietly in familiar hands.
In the end, the greatest test may not be how leaders win, but how they govern the space between campaigns—whether power is held lightly, or allowed to settle so deeply into office that it reshapes the very meaning of choice.
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Sources Reuters African Union International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance BBC News Al Jazeera