2022 Elections Monitoring
By: Grace Marwa - Pattison and Vivian Nilsson - van Iperen
In 2022, nine African States held and concluded elections (presidential and/or parliamentary): Angola, Congo Rep., Equatorial Guinea, The Gambia, Kenya, Lesotho, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal and Somalia. Tunisia held the first round of the parliamentary elections in December 2022, and the second in January 2023. As the Tunisian elections concluded in 2023, they will not be included in this analysis. The elections in Chad, Guinea and Libya were also scheduled to be held in 2022 but were postponed.
In many of the nine countries, the 2022 elections resulted in positive gains concerning women’s representation and participation as the share of women elected to national parliaments increased, and there were notable gains in women’s political leadership.
By: Rafaela Kieto and Vivian Nilsson – van Iperen
The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe held its legislative elections on 25 September 2022. The election was disputed between 10 political parties and a coalition, and 123,302 voters voted, of which 50.8% were women. Overall, the country experienced peaceful and orderly electoral campaigns and polls. This atmosphere is confirmed by the attitudes of the departing Prime Minister and party leader of MLSTP/PSD, Jorge Bom Jesus. Although he claimed numerous irregularities had marred the 2022 elections, Mr Bom Jesus said he would respect the results. He urged Sao Tomeans to remain calm while awaiting the validation of the results by the Constitutional Court.
By: Vivian Nilsson – van Iperen
On November 20, 2022, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea held its presidential and legislative elections. President Obiang decreed that the elections be held simultaneously based on a recommendation from the senate and for financial reasons. The presidential elections were previously scheduled to be held in early 2023. In the days leading up to the polls, the government arrested many opposition activists accusing them of planning attacks. Even so, election day proceeded peacefully. Interest in the elections was high, with a reported 98.41% voter turnout.
By: Naomi Ndifon
On 7 October 2022, the Kingdom of Lesotho held its tenth National Assembly elections to choose the members of parliament. The election outcome surprised many onlookers. A newly formed populist party, the 6-month-old Revolution for Prosperity (RFP), beat 48 other parties, winning 56 out of 120 parliamentary seats and displacing the ruling All Basotho Convention (ABC). The Revolution for Prosperity is led by its founder, Ntsokoane Samuel Matekane, Lesotho’s richest man. Observers from the United Kingdom, African Union and European Union noted that election day processes were peaceful, inclusive, transparent and well-organized.
By: Naomi Ndifon
In what can be described as a long-awaited, high-stakes election, the Republic of Angola held its presidential and parliamentary elections on the 24th of August, 2022. The 2022 elections are the fifth since the country's independence in 1975 and its return to the multiparty system in 1992. Election day processes were generally fair. However, the final results were disputed and raised uproar amongst the main opposition party's supporters. The aftermath of the elections left several people injured.
The parliamentary elections for the Republic of the Congo took place in July 2022. The elections met several challenges, including a low voter turnout. Indeed, some opposition parties boycotted the elections, considering that these elections were “organised in total disrespect of the law” to the benefit of the former ruling party. Among other irregularities, some names of candidates on the final candidate list were omitted from the ballot papers. Petitioners appealed to the Constitutional Court based on irregularities and fraud, requesting the annulment of the published results. However, on August 14, 2022, the Court validated the election results.
Kenya held its general elections on 9th August 2022, with both presidential and parliamentary elections being conducted. The presidential election had four contenders: Deputy President William Ruto, veteran opposition leader and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, George Wajackoyah and David Mwaure. The election campaigns and voting exercises were generally peaceful and calm. However, female candidates experienced violence despite promises from the government to tackle the problem. Electoral staff experienced harassment and physical assault, as well as arbitrary arrest, and one electoral officer was abducted and tortured to death in the line of duty.
On Sunday, 31 July 2022, seven million voters voted in the Senegalese parliamentary elections. This election was deemed crucial since the absolute majority in parliament that supported the President sought to preserve its seats. The opposition, on the other hand, saw an opportunity to change the balance of power and claim more seats allowing them to gain more influence before the presidential election in 2024.
In 2022, Somalia held both presidential and parliamentary elections. Political differences and disagreements over election processes delayed the presidential election for more than 15 months and parliamentary elections for a month and a half. Some fought for direct elections as promised in the Provisional Constitution, and others believed an indirect electoral system was sufficient. The representatives of both houses of parliament elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud from the Union for Peace and Development Party as President on May 15th. It will be Mr Mohamud's second term as president, as he previously served from 2012 to 2017. In the third round of voting, Mr Mohamud won the presidency with 214 votes compared with the incumbent Mohamed Abdullahi "Farmajo" 's 110 votes.
by Naomi Ndifon
On 9 April 2022, Gambians peacefully gathered at the polls to choose 53 parliamentarians for the National Assembly. Out of 251 candidates who contested in the 2022 parliamentary election, only 19 (7.6%) were women. At the end of the voting process, only three were successful in their bids to represent their constituencies at the National Assembly, and President Barrow appointed an additional two. Before the 2022 election, women occupied only 6 out of the 58 seats (10.34%). Out of the 58 legislators who took seats in parliament, 5 (8.62%) are women.