Burkina Faso’s junta leader Ibrahim Traoré, who seized power in a 2022 coup, recently told Burkinabé people to “forget” about democracy.
“If an African wants to tell you about democracy, you should run away,” he said on state broadcaster RTB in April. “Democracy kills.”
Traoré’s statement shocked many, yet it also resonated with some segments of the population. In Burkina Faso’s capital, Ouagadougou, some argue there is no time for democracy, as the fight against jihadism and economic reconstruction take priority.
While 2026 is expected to be a politically busy election year, with many elections marked by fraud, repression, and growing alienation between young people and the political elite.
The question arises: are African democracies little more than electoral mechanisms without real accountability?
West Africa’s growing military power
A wave of military coups has taken hold in many parts of Africa, especially West Africa. In Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Guinea, the military seized power between 2020 and 2023.
Three francophone West African countries, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso – led by military junta – formally withdrew from the regional bloc ECOWAS in January 2025 and established their own partnership, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
There was also a coup in Guinea-Bissau in 2025.
This trend extends beyond West Africa. Further south in Gabon the military took power in 2023, while in the Central African country Chad a transitional military council ruled until 2025.
Mahamat Idris Déby Itno now serves as President of Chad and succeeding his father, Idris Déby Itno, who was killed by rebels in 2021 after leading the country for 30 years.
In Sudan, a violent conflict between rival factions escalated into a full-scale civil war.
Military takeovers are therefore no longer isolated events but part of regional dynamics.
Why does the coup get public support?
A 2023 report The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) cites “multidimensional poverty, inequality, manipulation of constitutional term limits, limited youth and women’s participation, governance deficits and high levels of military expenditure” as factors that increase the risk of a coup.
The study also notes that “when citizens become frustrated with the functioning of democratically elected governments, they are more likely to support non-democratic styles of governance, including military rule.”
When democracy fails to deliver
“Democracy is not a standard form of government that can be implemented equally everywhere,” said Wei Tata, who was born and raised in Cameroon but has lived in Germany since 1991 and works with the nonprofit organization Africa Positive.
Tata said many systems have been shaped by colonial legacies and are inadequately adapted to local realities. “They do not reflect the culture, ethnicity and lifestyle of the people,” he said. “If a system doesn’t provide food, doesn’t provide water, doesn’t provide education – people ask: Why do we need it?”
At the same time, civil rights are being increasingly restricted in many countries, freedom of the press is being curtailed and opposition voices are being persecuted.
Africa’s fragmented political landscape
Totalitarian systems dominate in North Africa. In West Africa, democracies such as Ghana and Senegal co-exist with military regimes in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso. Meanwhile, Cape Verde is consistently ranked among Africa’s most stable democracies.
Central Africa remains largely authoritarian, while East Africa and the Horn of Africa show a mix of hybrid systems, fragile states, and ongoing instability. In Southern Africa, stable democracies such as Botswana and Namibia co-exist with more authoritarian-leaning systems such as Zimbabwe.
South Africa, Nigeria — African models?
South Africa is often seen as a special case. Since 1994, it has built a democratic system designed to embrace social diversity. But strong institutions do not always translate into effective governance. Unemployment, inequality and corruption have eroded trust, while the ANC party remains the dominant political force despite weak support.
William Gumede, a political scientist and author, states that the goal of the Constitution’s framers was to create a uniquely South African path – a model that reflected the country’s multicultural composition, which includes large Indian, Malay, European and several African ethnic and linguistic communities.
The model took more inspiration from the Indian Constitution than classic Western examples and tried to accommodate a diverse civil society.
Today, South Africa maintains a comparatively strong civil society, a free and diverse media landscape, and institutional structures in government, judiciary and administration that – despite shortcomings – are considered relatively strong.
Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, illustrates this dilemma even more clearly.
The country is deeply divided by ethnic and religious conflicts that frequently erupt into violence. Nevertheless, its political system has repeatedly shown adaptability in recent decades.
Faruk Bibi Faruk, a political scientist at the University of Abuja, emphasizes: “There democracy is less a static state than an ongoing process.”
The 2015 transfer of power in Nigeria, in which Muhammadu Buhari defeated incumbent Goodluck Jonathan by 2.57 million votes, is widely seen as a democratic milestone.
Democracy: ideal versus reality
Experts agree that the rule of law, separation of powers and civil rights are universal values that are desirable for Africa.
Cape Verde shows that democratic models can work stably.
At the same time, Tata from Africa Positive warns that political systems must be socially embedded and reflect local realities. Due to ethnic and social fragmentation, democracy is often considered a means for specific groups.
The result is a fragile social contract in which state institutions lose public trust.
The real challenge to democracy in Africa
The central issue is less about the model than its implementation. Where institutions work, trust emerges – where they fail, disappointment grows.
For Tata, one thing is clear: “Africa needs a mental revolution” – away from corruption and clientelism, towards responsibility and the common good.
He argues that current developments do not represent a clear return to democracy, but rather a phase of renegotiation between authoritarian and democratic forces.
The key question is not whether democracy is possible in Africa, or whether “Africans can practice democracy”, but rather how it can be shaped to function in people’s daily lives – not as an abstract model, but as a lived political reality.
This article was originally written in German.