S2 E12: The impact of COVID-19 on elections in Africa

In conversation with Ms Bonolo Makgale

“Elections are not just a mechanical process, they are a complicated constitutional issue that goes to the heart of politics”.

Elections are vital in promoting democratic governance and fostering civic engagement in any society. The failure to conduct peaceful and fair elections, or the absence of elections, largely feeds into the prevalence of dictatorships in Africa. More often than not, these dictatorships are characterised by socio-political and economic instability which has direct negative impacts on the realisation of human rights. This episode discusses the impact of COVID-19 on the political landscape in Africa, and more specifically, its impact on elections.

Ms Bonolo Makgale is the Manager for the Democracy and Civic Engagement Unit at the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria. She has authored an article originally published by AfricLaw titled, ‘The scourge of homelessness and evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic in the City of Johannesburg’. The Democracy and Civic Engagement Unit encourages and facilitates civil society engagement with the Pan African Parliament’s  mandate, processes and activities. It also endeavours to promote the ratification of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, to support institutions that defend democracy in Africa and to tackle xenophobia in South Africa.

This conversation was recorded on 12 August 2020.

Music: Inner Peace by Mike Chino https://soundcloud.com/mike-chinoCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/b...Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/0nI6qJeqFcc