Africa: The Ballot Box Illusion - How Authoritarians Repackaged the African Ballot

[IPS] ABUJA, Nigeria / NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 22 2026 (IPS) - In many countries across Africa, people have recently lined up to vote. But in country after country, there has been no real choice on offer. As CIVICUS's 2026 State of Civil Society Report documents, what has frequently been on display is a procedural ceremony of democracy, orderly enough to satisfy observers, but hollow enough to leave those who hold the reins of power untroubled. Laws and structures that were supposed to promote democratic decisions

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