African elections are not what they used to be. There is a lot more transparency and voters participation. Citizens are taking charge of the process to democratic governance. The presence of several international observer missions before and during these elections also aid transparency.
A look at this link from the 2015 Tanzanian elections show a tight race with the populace in charge.
http://mtega.com/2015/10/election-day-report-no-4-9-30pm-from-cemot-tanzaniadecides-uchaguziwetu15/
It was rare to witness a peaceful transition of governments in Africa. Violence and corruption usually marred the electoral process as seen in the December 2007 Kenya elections, 2010 in Côte d’Ivoire, 2011 in Nigeria.
From a report by the Africa Growth Initiative, the failure to manage ethnic and religious diversity and provide institutional structures that enhance peaceful coexistence, national integration and nation-building, remained one of the continent’s most intractable governance problems.
In 2015, many countries in Africa—including the Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea, Libya, Mauritius, Niger, Nigeria, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Zambia—will conduct presidential and/or legislative elections. Most of these countries have struggled with transition to democracy at least since the mid-1980s, and some of them much more recently. The 2015 elections, then, for some, could be turning points for embracing democracy more closely, and, for others, for significantly deepening and institutionalizing democracy and emerging as democratic strongholds on the continent.
- Kirsten Okenwa
