Africans want more democracy, but their leaders still aren’t listening

Key issues range from the fairness of campaign conditions to the safety and integrity of the voting environment and the transparency of the count on Election Day. [...] Perceptions that substantial numbers of members of Parliament (MPs) and officials in the office of the president are engaging in corrupt behaviour have increased steadily for the past decade, resulting in an 8-percentage-point increase for MPs and a 9-point increase for the office of the president (Figure 21). [...] Namibia’s declines include a 14-point loss of confidence in the integrity of the presidency and a remarkable 54-point collapse in the perception that the country is going in the right direction, to just 18%, one of the lowest levels recorded across 34 countries. [...] In the last three years alone, protesters have taken to the streets to demand women’s rights and representation in Cameroon and democracy in Eswatini; oppose police brutality in Nigeria, Somalia, and Tunisia; reject anti-democratic power grabs in Tunisia and Sudan and third-term efforts in Côte d’Ivoire and Togo; and voice their concerns about the cost of living and inflation in Ghana, Madagascar. [...] Institute of Peace, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, the Open Society Foundations, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the European Union, the National Endowment for Democracy, the Mastercard Foundation, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the University of California San Diego, the Global Centre for Pluralism, the World Bank Group, the Embassy of the K.