Across sub-Saharan Africa, political dissent can carry severe consequences—from imprisonment to life-threatening risks. Over recent decades, numerous governments have shifted toward authoritarianism, suppressing free expression, crushing opposition voices, and rigging electoral processes whenever they occur. This trend has severely undermined democratic governance in the region.
the decline of democracy in africa
Out of 55 African nations, ten are classified as closed autocracies, while 26 operate as electoral autocracies, according to the Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) Institute. This sharp reversal reflects a broader global trend highlighted in V-Dem’s 2026 report, which warns that ‘the level of democracy for the average citizen has regressed to 1978 levels worldwide.’
The institute further notes that the ‘third wave of democratization’—sparked by Portugal’s 1974 Carnation Revolution and which inspired democratic movements across the globe—has been ‘almost entirely erased’ in many regions, including sub-Saharan Africa. Even in Western Europe and North America, democracy’s standing has fallen to the lowest point in over five decades, largely due to persistent autocratization, particularly in the United States.
In 2025 alone, 44 countries experienced declines in freedom of expression, while torture was documented as a tool to suppress political opposition. Thirty-three nations saw significant democratic backsliding, with three distinct patterns emerging: erosion in traditionally stable democracies, collapse in countries that had successfully democratized in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and the strengthening of autocracy in already authoritarian states.
sub-saharan africa: a region drifting away from democracy
The Sahel region’s surge in military coups and the consolidation of authoritarian rule in countries like the Central African Republic, Mozambique, and Togo have contributed to sub-Saharan Africa’s democratic decline. Today, 66% of the region’s population lives under autocratic regimes, while 48% reside in electoral autocracies such as Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Uganda. Only 10% live in closed autocracies, and a mere 10% reside in electoral democracies like Botswana and Ghana. The remaining 24% live in ‘gray-zone’ democracies such as Kenya and Nigeria.
top 10 closed authoritarian regimes in sub-Saharan Africa
1. Eritrea
In the mid-1990s, Eritrea experienced a brief period of openness, with independent newspapers emerging and critical voices—even within the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ)—gaining traction. A transitional assembly had set an election date, a national electoral commission was being formed, and draft laws on political parties were under discussion. After a long war for independence from Ethiopia, the country appeared to be moving toward democratization.
But in September 2001, the government abruptly reversed course. Amid global focus on the September 11 attacks in the United States, authorities shut down all independent newspapers in a single day, silencing key dissenting voices. Journalists were arrested and disappeared without trace. Simultaneously, the government detained 11 members of the G-15 group, including three former foreign ministers, a former army chief of staff, and several national assembly members. No credible information about their fate has been released since.
Since then, Eritrea’s democratic aspirations have vanished, leaving it as one of Africa’s most closed and authoritarian regimes. Despite three decades under President Isaias Afwerki, no presidential election has ever been held.
2. Burkina Faso
Since seizing power in September 2022, Burkina Faso’s military leader has openly rejected democracy. The junta suspended numerous international media outlets and expelled foreign journalists. In October 2025, it dissolved the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI), followed by the banning of all political parties in February 2026.
In a national television interview on April 2, 2026, Captain Traoré urged Burkinabés to ‘forget about democracy’ while political parties were being banned. ‘We are not even talking about elections first… people must forget about democracy. Democracy is not for us,’ he stated.
As Burkina Faso battles Islamist militant groups, the military regime has escalated repression, including the abduction of opposition figures and critics. Some dissenting voices have even been sent to the frontlines alongside soldiers, despite being civilians.
3. Mali: democracy reversed
On March 26, 1991, a popular uprising ended the dictatorship of General Moussa Traoré in Mali. Young army officer Amadou Toumani Touré assumed power with a commitment to democratization. After a transitional period, democratic elections were held, elevating Alpha Oumar Konaré to the presidency—a milestone that made Mali a democratic model in West Africa for years.
Three decades later, Mali has regressed to its authoritarian past. Since 2020, military leaders who staged two successive coups have systematically dismantled democratic processes. Civil society and political space have shrunk drastically: political parties have been banned, and civil society organizations face severe restrictions. Political leaders have been jailed, journalists and activists forced into exile, and opponents silenced.
While fighting jihadist insurgencies, the military junta—initially pledging a four-year transition—has remained in power without a clear timeline for restoring constitutional order.
4. Niger: backsliding into authoritarianism
Like its neighbors, Niger has experienced democratic decline. In the 1990s, it transitioned from a single-party system to a multiparty democracy. Civilian rule followed in the 2000s, culminating in the election of Mahamadou Issoufou in 2011, who served two terms.
The 2023 coup that ousted his successor, Mohamed Bazoum, marked a return to military authoritarianism. The junta banned political parties, indefinitely postponed elections, and delayed a transition to civilian rule while tightening control over the political apparatus and suppressing free speech.
5. south Sudan
South Sudan’s government is dominated by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement (SPLM), led by President Salva Kiir. Since the country’s 2011 independence, the SPLM has controlled the state apparatus, drastically narrowing democratic space. The 2013 civil war further entrenched power-sharing conflicts between President Kiir and his rival, Vice President Riek Machar. Democracy remains an alien concept to South Sudanese citizens.
6. Sudan
Sudan is ruled by a military regime led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chair of the Sovereignty Council. The country has been devastated by a brutal civil war pitting government forces against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group. Human rights organizations have documented widespread massacres and grave violations by both sides, committed with impunity.
7. Somalia
Since Siad Barre’s 1969 coup, Somalis have never freely elected their leaders. Barre abolished multiparty politics, suspended the constitution, and imposed an autocratic regime that plunged the country into civil war during the 1990s. Recent years have seen efforts to reintroduce universal suffrage and multiparty elections, but democracy remains distant.
8. republic of Guinea
In Guinea, despite presidential elections held in December 2025 and May 2026, the government has adopted increasingly authoritarian tactics, marked by arrests, forced disappearances, and controversial deaths of detained public figures.
In the December 2025 presidential election, military leader General Mamady Doumbouya—who seized power in a 2021 coup—was declared winner with 86.72% of the vote. Major opposition leaders had been barred from running, raising concerns about the election’s fairness.
Civil society organizations have condemned the regime’s authoritarian drift, citing the suspension of several political parties, restrictions on protests, and sanctions against media outlets by the High Authority for Communication.
9. eswatini
Eswatini is Africa’s sole remaining absolute monarchy. King Mswati III holds all executive, legislative, and judicial powers and controls the police, military, and judiciary. Since a 1973 royal decree banned political parties, the national assembly consists of 69 members, 10 of whom are directly appointed by the king.
‘Elections are competitions between political parties. Here, it’s a non-election—a system of royalist appointments. If you participate, you cannot defend political ideas,’ explained Alvit Dlamini, president of the NNLG, the country’s oldest political party, in 2018.
10. Guinea-bissau
Guinea-Bissau has long been plagued by political and institutional crises that have distanced it from democratic standards in other African nations. In November 2025, as the country conducted a highly contested presidential election and vote counting was underway, the military intervened to overthrow the incumbent president.
Unusually, the deposed president, Umaro Sissoco Embaló, publicly announced his own ouster by military forces to the international community. Following the coup, opposition figures faced restrictions, raising serious concerns about the protection of fundamental freedoms and the future of political pluralism in the country. Even before this constitutional breach, Embaló’s governance style was widely criticized as authoritarian by opponents and civil society organizations, complicating mediation efforts by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).