LocationsAfrica’s super election year: bolting resilience against winds of democratic recession
April 30, 2025
The average voter turnout in the 2024 elections in Africa symbolised citizens’ sustained commitment to democratic principles and values and support for elections as a way to choose their leaders.
Africa’s new democracy narrative emerged in 2024, marking a significant chapter in the long and sometimes challenging journey toward democratic governance on the continent. The year 2024 was also billed as the “super elections year” due to the unprecedented number of elections held within a single calendar year, where at least 3.7 billion people – nearly half of the world’s population – across 74 countries were registered to vote, many for the first time. In Africa, 20 elections and a referendum took place, with at least 200 million registered voters. At least 76 million voters received support through UNDP’s electoral assistance in various initiatives promoting inclusive electoral participation, with a particular focus on women, youth, and People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs). Notably, the average voter turnout in the 2024 elections on the continent was 60.26% compared to a global average of 61%, demonstrating the remarkable resilience of African voters in light of recent challenges to democratic progress globally.
The high turnout underscores African citizens’ sustained commitment to democratic principles and values, despite the recent scourge of unconstitutional changes of government, which paradoxically enjoyed spontaneous popular support. This aligns with research findings from the UNDP and the African Union Commission’s 2023 study, “Soldiers and Citizens: Military Coups and the Need for Democratic Renewal in Africa,”which revealed Africa’s unyielding appetite for democracy. The study shows that Africans hold a high premium on democracy as a system of governance and would opt for this system over military juntas, corroborating earlier research by Afrobarometer, which indicates that 75% of Africans support fair, open, and honest elections as the best way to choose their leaders. Peaceful and democratic transfer of power was witnessed in Botswana, Ghana, Mauritius and Senegal. Accordingly, 2024 symbolised citizens’ quest for democratic renewal on the continent. For the first time since the return of multiparty democracy in the early 1990s, no other calendar year as 2024 has witnessed as many democratic elections in which ruling political parties lost power to the opposition.
As part of their strategic communications, Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) boosted voter education, fostering citizen participation in the electoral process, especially the African youth.
While history shows that socio-cultural and economic barriers have consistently impacted women’s rise to public leadership, the past year has presented a ray of hope for the future of democracy. Namibia elected Ndemupelila Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as the country’s first female president, with a female vice president appointed in March 2025, making Namibia the only African country to have both a female president and vice president. Similarly, in Ghana, Opoku-Agyemang was sworn in as the vice president, becoming the first woman to hold this office. Although some African countries that held elections in 2024 ranked highly on global indicators for elected women Members of Parliament (MPs), the continent achieved an average of 27% of elected women MPs, placing third after the Americas and Europe.
Moreover, female chairpersons in Cape Verde, Ghana, and Namibia have led the Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in organising elections that have received admiration across the continent. This underscores the necessity to boost the continent’s investment in promoting equal opportunities for both men and women, especially the youth, to achieve the aspirations of Africa Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals. To strengthen women's role in supporting democratic governance, the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa has partnered with the UN Electoral Assistance Division, UN Women, and International IDEA to harness women's key capabilities in leading electoral administration throughout the continent.
As in the past, the 2024 elections showed that technology continues to play an important role in election management, including Artificial Intelligence (AI) was equally prominent. The trust in technology was crucial, as was the confidence in the institutions tasked with electoral administration. EMBs remained the central institutions of democracy and at the heart of the transformative agenda of the continent’s democratic trajectory, even as many countries deliberately invested in the digitalisation of election management processes to enhance efficiency without impairing the cardinal principles of transparency and inclusion. As part of their strategic communications, several countries integrated AI to safeguard information integrity and boost voter education, fostering citizen participation in the electoral process, especially the African youth. UNDP’s electoral support also promoted digital information integrity by supporting countries in their fight against disinformation and misinformation during electoral processes.
In 2024 almost all African countries that went to the polls fully catered for the cost of elections, a remarkable departure from the past where some countries relied on external funding for their elections.
In light of recent economic shocks, as countries emerge from the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and global economic challenges, Africa is showing commitment to shoulder the financial responsibility of inculcating the values of democratic governance. On the back of technological advancement, it is inspiring to note that in almost all African countries which went to the polls in 2024, the cost of elections was fully catered for by the state. This marks a departure from the past when some countries relied on external funding for their elections. Nevertheless, to weave this responsibility towards future sustainable development, it is crucial to ensure that the rising costs of elections are carefully mitigated. This will enable countries to effectively manage scarce resources, which are often distributed among competing development priorities to meet the aspirations of the citizens. Africa’s 2024 democratic experience has lubricated the pedestal towards the path of resilience.