How the Opposition Can Win Unfair Elections: learning from Senegal and other successes
Wednesday, 24 April 2024
12pm Washington D.C.
4pm Dakar
5pm London / Kinshasa / Lagos
6pm Paris / Cape Town / Cairo
7pm NairobiGiven the global decline of democracy over the last twenty years -- in Africa and elsewhere -- it is easy to succumb to defeatism. Yet even in the darkest authoritarian regimes there is democratic light. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, two countries moved towards and have since consolidated their democracy. Coincidentally, they were both in southern Africa: Malawi and Zambia.
Despite the overall gloom, every year seems to deliver democratic victories for the opposition – sometimes entirely unexpected. Senegal is just the latest example of an opposition party that managed to win against all the odds. Senegal, of course, is not alone. Opposition parties were able to win even when they had been outspent, violently repressed, and written off in countries such as The Gambia and Nigeria.
These successes demonstrate that it is sometimes possible to overcome authoritarian forces and produce political change, even when the government is not committed to democracy. This show will explore what strategies and tactics have proved to be the most effective. Together, we will learn how to outmaneuver authoritarian regimes from activists and leaders on the frontlines with a track record of success. Join us!