{"id":8092,"date":"2025-04-15T11:30:04","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T11:30:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ahead.africa\/?p=8092"},"modified":"2026-04-22T14:34:21","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T14:34:21","slug":"time-for-solutions-to-africas-electoral-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahead.africa\/en\/time-for-solutions-to-africas-electoral-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"Time for solutions to Africa\u2019s electoral challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Acknowledging that finding solutions to ”election integrity in Africa requires action, not just discussion,” as James Lahai from the West Africa Election Observers Network (WAEON<\/a>) puts it, from 24 to 25 March, Nairobi had a front-row seat to something big. The African Election Observers Network (AfEONet<\/a>) \u2018\u2018once just an idea\u2019\u2019, as Giovanna Tanzi, Programmes Manager at the European Partnership for Democracy reflects, is now a reality uniting election observers across Africa under an Experiential Learning Seminar (ELS).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ELS serves as ”our platform as election observers to reflect, learn, exchange best practices and solutions to electoral integrity, rebuild trust in elections, and advocate for stronger democratic institutions”, explains Dr. Sarah Bireete, Chair at The East and Horn of Africa Election Observers Network (E-HORN<\/a>). Now, let\u2019s immerse ourselves in what over 50 citizen observers from across Africa cooked up during the two days of the seminar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reinventing election observation in Africa<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was no surprise that one of the main topics of reflection was how to keep election observation independent amid shifting funding dynamics (and yes, we\u2019re not shy to say we refer to the US disruption of funding to the democracy and election observation ecosystem). While it is undeniable that election observation in Africa has shifted from traditional methods to PVT, PVRT, and study missions, the real challenge is finding the key to what Samson Itodo from Yiaga Africa calls \u201csustainable election observation\u2019\u2019, or in short, financial independence. He proposes restructuring the current donor aid architecture by (1) Establishing African-led funding models, income-generating entities, and local philanthropy; (2) Moving beyond election-centric programming to accountability and governance reforms; and (3) Leveraging AI for cost-efficiency and predictive analysis. No more mothering, it’s time to stand on our own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2024 African elections<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some years just have a way of sticking in our minds because of the milestones they bring. 2020 will forever be the \u201cCOVID year,\u201dand now 2024 will be remembered as the \u2018super election year,\u2019 thanks to digital media. However, for AHEAD Africa\u2019s regional domestic citizen election observer networks, 2024 marks the start of a \u201csuper election quadrennium\u201d (maybe we\u2019ll make this term trend). Reporting what goes wrong means little without pushing for real change before the next electoral cycle. Therefore, African citizen observers at the Experiential Learning Seminar not identified challenges to 2024 elections, but propose tailored solutions, either new or replicating from proven successful electoral initiatives:<\/p>\n\n\n\n