Matthias Haunkpe, an expert on political governance in the Open Society Initiative West Africa, said it had become more difficult to get tough results on election day by filling out ballot boxes or changing the height of the vote. Politicians are changing their tactics as a result, he said.
“Slowly, those in power realized that it was becoming harder to cheat,” Mr Haunkape said in a debate online discussion. “They use the means to maintain political space.”
Around West Africa, civic space is shrinking, so a report published by the global nonprofit Civicus states that citizens are trying to hold their governments accountable for oppressive laws, arrests and sometimes death.
Case in point: The recent deadly clash in Guinea over the new constitution pushed by the country’s first democratically elected president, Alpha Conde.
Guinea’s opposition leader, Selou Dalin Diallo, said his success in manipulating power was partly due to Western negligence.
“Europeans are less attentive, and with the advent of Trump Americans are also demanding when it comes to democracy and human rights,” Mr Diallo said on a recent expedition tour to Dakar, Senegal, where the large Guinean diaspora lives. .
Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has issued two paragraphs Statement Last week warned of “the next elections in Africa” that “repression and intimidation have no place in democracies.” But many Africans commented on social media that such a blunt, blanket statement about the continent, rather than specific countries, is evidence that President Trump has little interest in the administration, which has discredited African countries with memorable nicknames in 2018.
