Page 4 - Nile Explorer Issue 006

Central African Republic (CAR); the had modest or little positive results – it’s
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). either a stalemate or truce, temporary
In South Sudan, the formation of ceasefire between the combatants.
Government of National Unity by 22
February 2020, in accord with the 2018 Amidst all the crises and uncertainties
Revitalized Peace Agreement, is uncer- the year 2020 is a year of presidential,
tain in spite of the deepened diplomatic parliamentary and local council
engagements towards the implementa- elections in several African countries.
Kisemei Mutisya tion of the agreement. Mention of elections takes us to the
Managing Editor -The Nile Explorer memory lane of post-election conflicts.
In the face of this uncertainty and the As these countries (Table 1) go to the
spate of security concerns, diplomatic polls in 2020, it may be asked: Is the year
Africa still has standoff and tensions between Uganda going to be another year of post-elec-
challenges to and Rwanda persist, casting an ominous tions violence marked by unnecessary
overcome in 2020 counterpane over the Great Lakes loss of lives and wanton destruction of
region, despite attempts to normalize
property? At the backdrop of this ques-
S ince the dawn of independence relations and restore full diplomatic tion is a sense of anxiety and trepidation
relations between the two countries.
down the spines of peace loving citizens
decades ago Africa has been peren-
nially crisis-ridden or, at best, perma- Political conflicts in the eastern DRC, and concerned observers. This should
nently in transition. Will the year 2020 Libya and Central African Republic still not be farfetched given the near zero
be different? Two decades into the 21st rage on with devastating effects on probability that relevant electoral agen-
century there seems to be very little or human life and the society and economy cies can hardly guarantee substantially
nothing to suggest that the year2020 at large. While some of the challenges free and fair elections on the African
shall be any different from the years have received the attention of the continent, except in a few countries.
past; notwithstanding some notable United Nations, African Union and
success. Evidently, the phenomenal regional agencies, their resolve has only
economic growth rates of several
African countries, including Ghana,
Mozambique, Tanzania and Rwanda, in
the past decade or so, are not only
commendable but also indicative of the
continent’s potential. However, at the
backdrop of the successes are the conti-
nent’s perennial demons which refuse to
be exorcised, e.g., terrorism, immigra-
tion and border closures, intra- and
international conflicts, the rise of
authoritarianism and/or decline of
democracy, corruption, poverty and
gross social inequalities within and
among nations.

Insecurity on the continent is particu-
larly telling. Acts of terrorism have
intensified from the Horn of Africa
through the Sahel and the Lake Chad
Basin. Boko Haram is causing havoc
across the northern Nigeria; the Al
Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb and ISIS/-
Daesh conduct acts of terror across the
Sahel with impunity; armed and low
intensity conflicts prevail in Libya,
Table 1. Africa: 2020 Elections Timetable

Adapted from https://www.eisa.org.za/calendar2020.php
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