future of politics

Political year ahead in Africa: Which governments will lose power in 2023?

in depth

This article is part of the dossier:

Political Capital

By Nic Cheeseman

Premium badge Reserved for subscribers

Posted on December 20, 2022 15:29

© Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari delivers a speech during the Paris Peace Forum, in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari delivers a speech during the Paris Peace Forum, in Paris, Thursday, Nov. 11, 2021. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

The dust is just beginning to settle on President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo’s farcical election victory in Equatorial Guinea. Not satisfied with ruling the country since 1979, he engineered one of the most one-sided elections the world has ever seen. This included giving himself 97% of the vote in the presidential election and preventing the opposition from winning a single legislative seat. Equatorial Guinea is now a one-party state in all, but name.

Things look very different in Kenya, which also held elections in 2022.

Ahead of the polls, it became clear that President Kenyatta would respect term limits and support his former rival, Raila Odinga, as his successor.

There's more to this story

Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa. Africa. Unlocked.

Subscribe Now

cancel anytime

Also in this in Depth:

unenlightened

South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe: Blackouts to total darkness? To observers, it’s incomprehensible that countries with active perennial waterways – via Zambezi River – teeter on the verge of energy poverty.

pulling all stops

Zimbabwe: A strategic presidential pardon? With less than three months left to the general elections, Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa has decided to grant clemency to nearly one-fifth of prisoners.

People power

America’s African diaspora: An unmatched advantage in the soft power competition for influence The soft power competition for political and business influence in Africa has never been so fierce.

cover up

Africa: The terrible power of political assassinations On Monday 15 May, the people of Lesotho woke to the news that one of the country’s most prominent journalists had been gunned down the night before. Ralikonelo “Leqhashasha” Joki had just finished his popular radio show when he was shot “at least 13 times” in cold blood as he was leaving Tsenolo FM.