Junta leader Ibrahim Traore's call for Burkina Faso to "forget" democracy signaled a political shift across the continent.
Ibrahim Traore, who seized power in the 2022 coup in Burkina Faso, recently told the Burkinabe people to "forget" about democracy.
"If an African wants to tell you about democracy, you should run away," he said on the state broadcaster, RTB, in April. "Democracy kills."
Traore's statement shocked many, yet it also resonated with parts of the population. In Burkina Faso's capital, Ouagadougou, some residents argued that there is no time for democracy, as the fights against terror groups and for economic rebuilding take priority.
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Many of the 2026 elections across Africa are marked by fraud, repression and a growing disconnect between young people and political elites.
The question arises: Are African democracies more than electoral mechanisms without real accountability?
West Africa's rising military power
In several parts of Africa, a wave of military coups has taken hold, particularly in West Africa. In Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, and Guinea, the military seized power between 2020 and 2023.
Now led by military juntas, the three francophone West African countries — Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso — formally withdrew from the regional bloc ECOWAS in January 2025 and established their own partnership, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES).
In Guinea-Bissau, a coup also took place in 2025.
The trend extends beyond West Africa. Further south in Gabon, the military took power in 2023, while in the Central African nation of Chad, a transitional military council governed until 2025.
Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno now serves as Chad's president and successor to his father, Idriss Deby Itno, who was killed by rebels in 2021 after 30 years leading the country.
In Sudan, a violent struggle between rival factions escalated into a full-scale civil war.
Military takeovers are therefore no longer isolated incidents, but part of a regional dynamic.
Why coups gain public support
A 2023 report from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) cites "multidimensional poverty, inequality, manipulation of constitutional term limits, limited youth and women's participation, governance deficits and higher levels of military expenditure" as factors that increase the risk of coups.
The study also notes "that when citizens have been disappointed with the delivery of democratically elected governments, they are more likely to support non-democratic styles of governance, including military rule."
When democracy fails to deliver
"Democracy is not a standard form of government that can be implemented identically everywhere," said Veye Tatah, who was born and raised in Cameroon but has lived in Germany since 1991 and works with nonprofit organization Africa Positive.
Tatah said many systems were shaped by colonial legacies and insufficiently adapted to local realities. "They do not reflect the culture, ethnicity, and lifestyles of the people," she said. "If a system does not deliver — no food, no water, no education — people ask: what do we need it for?"
Civil rights are being increasingly restricted in many countries, with press freedom curtailed and opposition voices persecuted.
Africa's fragmented political landscape
In North Africa, authoritarian systems dominate. In West Africa, democracies such as Ghana and Senegal coexist with military regimes in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso. Meanwhile, Cape Verde is consistently ranked among Africa's most stable democracies.
Central Africa remains largely authoritarian. East Africa and the Horn of Africa show a mix of hybrid systems, fragile states and ongoing instability. In southern Africa, stable democracies like Botswana and Namibia coexist with more authoritarian-leaning systems such as Zimbabwe.
South Africa, Nigeria — African models?
South Africa is often viewed as a special case. Since 1994, it has built a democratic system designed to embrace social diversity. But strong institutions have not always translated into effective governance. Unemployment, inequality, and corruption have eroded trust, while the ANC party remains the dominant political force, despite weakening support.
William Gumede, a political scientist and writer, notes that the constitution's framers aimed for a uniquely South African path — a model reflecting the country's multicultural composition, including large Indian, Malay and European populations, as well as numerous African ethnic and linguistic communities.
The model drew more inspiration from the Indian constitution than from classic Western examples and sought to give space to a diverse society.
Today, South Africa maintains a comparatively strong civil society, an independent media landscape, and institutional structures in government, the judiciary, and administration that — despite shortcomings — are considered relatively robust.
Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, illustrates this ambivalence even more clearly.
The country is deeply divided by ethnic and religious conflicts that repeatedly erupt into violence. Nevertheless, its political system has repeatedly shown adaptability over recent decades.
"Democracy there is less a stable condition than an ongoing process," said Farouk Bibi Farouk, a political scientist from the University of Abuja.
Nigeria's 2015 transfer of power, in which Muhammadu Buhari defeated incumbent Goodluck Jonathan by 2.57 million votes, is widely seen as a democratic milestone.
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Democracy: Ideals vs. reality
Experts agree that rule of law, separation of powers and civil rights are universal values that are desirable for Africa.
Cape Verde shows that democratic models can function stably.
Tatah, from Africa Positive, said political systems must be socially rooted and reflect local realities. Ethnic and social fragmentation often leads to democracy being perceived as an instrument of specific groups.
The result is a fragile social contract in which state institutions lose public trust.
The real challenge for democracy in Africa
The central issue is less the model itself than its implementation. Where institutions function, trust emerges — where they fail, frustration grows.
"Africa needs a mental revolution," Tatah said — away from corruption and clientelism, toward responsibility and the common good.
Current developments, she said, do not represent a clear retreat of democracy but rather a phase of renegotiation between authoritarian and democratic forces.
The key question is not whether democracy is possible in Africa, or whether "Africans can pratice democracy," but how it can be shaped to function in people's daily lives — not as an abstract model, but as a lived political reality.
This article was originally written in German.
