Kampala, Uganda | Julius Businge | On Sept.19, the European Union in Uganda in conjunction with Makerere University held a one day event to discuss the role of Parliament in shaping representative democracy in Uganda. Held at Makerere University Main Hall, the event was to commemorate the International Day of Democracy, 2019. …
Read More »Will Tunisia continue to democratise?
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Despite priding itself on being the sole country to emerge from the Arab Spring uprisings as a functioning democracy, Tunisia faces challenges on its new political path. The cradle of the autocrat-ousting movements that swept the region nine years ago, the North African country has been …
Read More »Tunisia airs first ‘great debate’ ahead of presidential poll
Tunis, Tunisia | AFP | Days before the first round of Tunisia’s presidential election, the fledgling democracy on Saturday began three nights of televised debates between the candidates, a rare event in the Arab world. The showdown between the 26 hopefuls over three nights is seen as the highlight of the …
Read More »Criminalising being poor
Why governance standards set in the West and imposed on poor countries are dangerous THE LAST WORD | ANDREW M. MWENDA | Last week, a friend posted on a social media platform an article by a US scholar about life in a democracy and an autocracy as imagined by Americans! …
Read More »U.S. ambassador calls for concrete action against gender based violence
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The United States Ambassador to Uganda Deborah Malac has tasked government to come up with Concrete actions against the violence of women in the country. Malac made the remarks at the celebration of the 243rd anniversary of the independence of the United States of America …
Read More »Democracy beyond voting and protests
We should build systems that make us accountable to each other, just as governments account to citizens Project Syndicate | Sasha Fisher | For over a decade now, we have witnessed more elections and, simultaneously, less democracy. According to Bloomberg, elections have been occurring more frequently around the world. Yet …
Read More »Fallacy of better democracy
The claim that democracy fares better in the West than in Africa is a mistake | STEVEN FRIEDMAN | One day, if they follow instructions, Africa’s new democracies will grow up to be “real” like those of Western Europe and North America. This assumption makes little sense – but it …
Read More »A look to the future: Nigeria’s first-time voters
Lagos, Nigeria | AFP | Nigeria’s upcoming presidential elections are the sixth to be held since civilian rule was restored in 1999 and the first to involve voters with no experience of military government. AFP spoke to some first-time voters in Africa’s most populous country to find out what …
Read More »33 YEARS LATER: ‘It’s all about Museveni clinging on’
`The real test of democracy is when an incumbent party or candidate or both lose an election and power’ NRM programme point No.1: Democracy Moses Khisa is a Political scientist and Assistant Professor of Political Science in the School of Public and International Affairs at North Carolina State University. He …
Read More »BOOK REVIEW: African leaders are more constrained by democratic rules than you think
Kampala, Uganda | NIC CHEESEMAN | Africa is often imagined to be a place in which presidents can do whatever they want, unencumbered by constitutional or democratic constraints. A large body of literature has developed around the idea that the law can be flouted at will, leading to a situation …
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