Elections in Africa During Covid-19: The Tenuous Balance Between Democracy and Human Security

Figures & data

Table 1. Public Trust in Governance Institutions in Africa.

	President (%)	Parliament (%)	National Election Commission (%)	Local Council (%)	Ruling Party (%)	Opposition Party (%)	Police (%)	Army (%)	Traditional leaders (%)	Religious Leaders (%)
Not at All/Just a Little	43	51	49	50	49	59	47	32	30	47
Somewhat/A Lot	53	44	44	43	44	33	51	65	48	51
Refused	1	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	0
Do not Know/Haven’t Heard Enough	3	1	7	7	4	5	2	8	8	2
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Source: Afrobarometer Round 7 (2016-2018).

Table 2. Elections, January-June 2020.

Country	Type of Elections	Date of Elections	Voter Turnout	COVID-19 Impact
Comoros	National Assembly	19 January (runoff on 23 February)	62.42	Not Applicable
Cameroon	National Assembly, Senate and Local	9 February	43.79	Not Applicable
Togo	Presidential	22 February	76.63	Not Applicable
Guinea	National Assembly and Referendum	22 March	58.04 & 61.18	Absence of international EOMs
Mali	National Assembly	29 March & Run-off on 19 April	35.58 & 35.25	Absence of international EOMs Low Voter Turnout
Benin	Local	17 May	49.14	Low Voter Turnout
Burundi	Presidential National Assembly and Local	20 May 7 June	87.71	Absence of international EOMs
Malawi	Presidential	23 June	64.81	Absence of international EOMs

Source: Electoral Institute for the Sustainable Democracy in Africa website (http://www.eisa.org). Accessed on Tuesday 4 August 2020.

Table 3. Postponed elections in 2020 due to COVID-19.

Country	Type of Election	Date	Remarks
Ethiopia	National Assembly and Local	29 August	Postponed due to COVID-19
Liberia	Senate & Referendum	13 October	Postponed to 13 December due to COVID-19
Chad	National Assembly and Local	13 October	Postponed due to COVID-19
Somalia	National Assembly	November 2020	Postponed to August 2021 due to COVID-19
Somaliland	National Assembly and Senate	Late 2020	Postponed due to COVID-19

Source: Electoral Institute for the Sustainable Democracy in Africa website (http://www.eisa.org). Accessed on Tuesday 4 August 2020.