Democracy

Watching Angolan politics involves holding a large magnifying glass to details that in another country would not be worthy of mention. A few hundred protesters calling for change at the top? A leader hinting that he might just step down

Read the rest of Angola: Demonstrations and Presidential succession (things start to get interesting…) – by Justin Pearce »

For more from Mike visit his blog Former president of  Cape Verde, Pedro Pires, has won the 2011 Mo Ibrahim African Leadership Prize. The prize is given to African leaders who have voluntarily stepped down from power, and who have

Read the rest of Pedro Pires and the Mo Ibrahim African Leadership Prize – By Mike Jennings »

The Result Shortly after 12 am local time on the 23rd of September 2011, the Electoral Commission of Zambia announced the results of this year’s tri-partite elections on ZNBC, the national broadcaster. In the presidential race, the results given were

Read the rest of Zambia: Cobra becomes King in a telling result – By Jack Hogan »

By the peaceful standards of modern Malawi, the 20th of July was a very bloody day indeed. At least 19 people were killed and many more were injured, in demonstrations against the Mutharika government that took place in and around the

Read the rest of Malawi: Bingu turns apocalyptic – By Nick Wright »

Politics in Ghana is a fraught topic and political debates should be entered into with a degree of trepidation. During my first few weeks in Accra, while trying to gauge the political sentiments of the demos, I found myself captive

Read the rest of A letter from Ghana: Nana Rawlings and the end of the Big Man? »

By Hein Marais Outside of death and taxes there are few things in life as certain as the outcome of an election in South Africa with the ruling African National Congress (ANC) on the ballot paper – as democratic South

Read the rest of South Africa Municipal Elections: ANC bloodied but not rejected »

By Renee Horne As the results rolled in and into the early hours of the morning, the top brass of the African National Congress could be found celebrating their victories in the 2011 Municipal Election.  However, there are some who

Read the rest of ANC takes a kicking for not listening, By Renee Horne »

The collapse of one of North Africa’s longest-serving rulers – Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia – sent shockwaves through the Arab world and triggered an uprising of equivalent proportions in Egypt, the most populous Arab country. The revolts, which have been on an unprecedented scale, have surprised many and prompted widespread speculation over a possible ‘domino effect’, as a result of which successive authoritarian regimes fall as the impact of developments in Egypt and Tunisia begin to be felt. In this spirit, a guessing game of ‘who’s next?’ has begun. Continue reading →

Read the rest of Middle East and North Africa: The earthquake »

Kenya PM Raila Odinga meets Laurent Gbagbo to discuss solutions to Cote d’Ivoire’s political paralysis In Tunisia, street protests; in Ivory Coast, a call for a general strike meets limited success. In one country, a long-time president leaves power, in

Read the rest of Cote d’Ivoire’s delicate stalemate »

Yesterday, former South African president Thabo Mbeki addressed the Fifth Al Jazeera Annual Forum in Doha, Qatar. He described and analysed in detail the South African experience of negotiating the transition to democracy, and drew some lessons relevant to the

Read the rest of Thabo Mbeki: "Talking to the Enemy: the South African Experience" »