2024 Elections Monitoring
Our objective is to provide a user-friendly tool to track women's roles in African elections, focusing on female candidates' status before and after elections. Access to up-to-date and reliable data on women’s political involvement and leadership access is rare. Without such data, it's challenging to objectively view, analyze, and understand women's political positions. By offering this data in an accessible format (e.g., tables), MEWC aims to be an information resource for researchers, policymakers, students, women's organizations, and local voters.
Our goal in monitoring elections and women's political participation in Africa is to offer detailed analysis through briefing papers. We'll present statistical data on women's engagement in politics, specifically looking at (i) registered female voters, (ii) women running as candidates, and (iii) women elected post-election. This analysis will also cover gender dynamics in the election's country, examining women's conditions before and how the elections affect women's lives.
On 29 May 2024, six months after the presidential polls, Madagascar held its parliamentary elections. The ruling party, IRMAR, secured the most seats, 84 out of 163, followed by Firaisankina, which gained 22 seats. Malagasy women remain underrepresented in the National Assembly, securing 16% of the seats compared to 84% among men.
On 6 May 2024, Chad held its presidential election. Mr Mahamat Idriss Déby, the transitional leader, won, securing 61% of the votes. Out of the ten presidential candidates, there was one woman. The election marked the return to civilian rule following the military takeover in 2021.
The Union for the Republic (UNIR) won 95.6% of the seats in the Togolese parliamentary elections on 29 April 2024, securing 108 out of the 113 seats. While the Alliance for Democrats for Change (ADD) won 2 seats, the National Alliance for Change (ANC), Dynamic for the Majority of the People (DMP) and Democratic Forces for the Republic (FDR) each secured one seat. Women’s representation in parliament remains low, with 21 women elected to the National Assembly.
On June 29, 2024, the Islamic Republic of Mauritania held its presidential election. The incumbent President, His Excellency Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani, won a second term in office. While observers from the African Union described the election process as peaceful the post-election environment was reportedly marked by unrest and protests. There were no female presidential candidates.
The 2024 parliamentary elections in South Africa were historic as the African National Congress (ANC) lost its majority for the first time since the end of apartheid. ANC secured 40.18% of the National Assembly seats, the Democratic Alliance received 21.81%, and the newly formed uMkhonto we Sizwe, led by former President Jacob Zuma, 14.58%). Female representation decreased slightly in the National Assembly. In contrast, the percentage of women elected to the National Council of Provinces increased. In the indirect presidential poll, incumbent President Cyril Ramaphosa of the ANC was re-elected for a second term.
In the recently concluded presidential election in the Republic of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar Faye of the Patriots of Senegal (PASTEF) Party was announced as the winner, obtaining 54.28% of the votes. He defeated former Prime Minister Amadou Ba of the ruling Benno Bokk Yakaar (BBY) Party, who received 35.79%. Among the 19 presidential candidates was one woman, Ms Anta Babacar Ngom, representing the Alternative for Citizen Relief Party. The election came following a turbulent election period marked by protests and arrests of demonstrators.
The incumbent President Azali Assoumani won the presidential elections in Comoros securing a fourth term in office. In the recently concluded poll, all candidates were male. While there was no woman vying for the presidency, there were positive developments in terms of women’s participation in elections. The Joint Election Observation Mission from the African Union (AU) and Eastern African Standby Force reported a notable mobilization of women as members of polling stations. Furthermore, in the island governor elections held simultaneously with the presidential polls, Ms Chamina Ben Mohamed was elected.