
Election day in four French-speaking countries in 2024; Photos by Jean Sovon.
Throughout 2024, Africa had a busy electoral calendar: presidential, legislative, and referendum votes were scheduled in more than twenty countries across the continent, including around ten Francophone nations. However, in some countries, these elections were either canceled or postponed.
High stakes for presidential elections
The first election in Francophone Africa took place on January 14, 2024, in the Comoros Islands, where voters elected a president for a single renewable five-year term. Two days after the election, on January 16, 2024, the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI) announced Azali Assoumani’s victory, granting him a second term in office. On January 17, 2024, the day after the results were announced, the internet was shut down, leaving the local population disconnected from the rest of the world. The international community expressed concern, while the African Union (AU), with Azali Assoumani still serving as its chair until February 2024, remained silent.
On February 3, 2024, in Senegal, outgoing President Macky Sall sought to delay the presidential election, originally set for February 25 but eventually held on March 24, 2024. Sall's side attempted to hinder the chances of the opposition party, the African Patriots of Senegal for Work, Ethics, and Fraternity (PASTEF), whose two leaders, Bassirou Diomaye Faye and Ousmane Sonko, had been imprisoned since April and July 2023, respectively. The PASTEF was even dissolved. However, young people were determined to bring change to the country’s leadership and they overcame political censorship. After 64 years of independence, Senegal remains a democratic model in West Africa, a region where democracies and dictatorships coexist.
Read more: Senegal: The seeds of an institutional coup
The death of Chad’s former president, Idriss Déby Itno, on April 20, 2021, and the crackdown on protests by the ruling junta forced opposition leader Succès Masra into exile in November 2022. Yet, on January 1, 2023, he was named Prime Minister by Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, the former president’s son, who took over his father’s role. The former opposition leader thus secured the opportunity to run in the presidential election on May 6, 2024. However, the results declared Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno the winner of the election. This election also marked a strategic shift, as the country ended its defense agreement with France and moved closer to Russia.
In Mauritania, the presidential election on June 29, 2024, resulted in the re-election of Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, in office since 2019. The campaign focused mainly on slavery — officially abolished but still tolerated — highlighted by opposition leader Biram Ould Dah Ould Abeid, as well as corruption.
Legislative elections and a referendum
Non-presidential elections were also held in Togo on April 29 and in Madagascar on May 29. The elections in Madagascar were held to renew parliamentary seats at the end of their term. President Andry Rajoelina sought to secure a majority in the National Assembly following his contested re-election in November 2023 for a second term. His party ultimately won 84 out of 163 seats, giving him an absolute majority in parliament.
Togo held legislative elections in 2024. The MPs elected in December 2018 reached the end of their term in December 2023 but remained in office as they were working on a bill to amend the constitution. With the validation and adoption of this new constitution without a referendum, the country transitioned to a parliamentary system where the president is chosen by parliament rather than by the people. This new direction, imposed on the Togolese population, has sparked strong reactions from the opposition and civil society actors. Following the legislative elections, the Union for the Republic (UNIR) party of Faure Gnassingbé, in power since 2005, captured 108 out of 113 seats, gaining overwhelming control of the new parliament.
In Gabon, where the military has been in control since the August 30, 2023 coup, authorities have declared their intention to adopt a new constitution and revive all dissolved republican institutions. On November 16, 2024, the Gabonese people approved the new constitution in a referendum, with a large majority voting “yes.” The new text prohibits dual nationals from standing in presidential elections and makes military service compulsory for all Gabonese citizens, both males and females.
Two countries postpone elections
Mali and Burkina Faso, two Sahelian countries that are members of the new Sahel States Alliance (AES), withdrew from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in January 2024. Presidential elections were initially scheduled for 2024 in both countries, but the specific context of military-led regimes has made holding elections impossible. Observers have noted only that the polls have been postponed to a later date.
While 2024 was a busy year, more elections are scheduled for 2025, including in Côte d'Ivoire, where political tensions are already rising over the possibility of a fourth term for President Alassane Ouattara, who has been in power since 2011.