2015 elections in West Africa: turbulent times ahead

The briefing examines the precarious state of elections in West Africa in 2015, highlighting how insurgency in Nigeria, constitutional disputes in Togo, electoral list controversies in Benin, fragile security in Côte d’Ivoire, funding gaps in Burkina Faso, and the Ebola crisis in Guinea threaten the legitimacy and stability of the democratic process.

• In Nigeria, the Boko Haram insurgency has displaced nearly one million people, creating a risk that these citizens will be unable to vote in the February 14 elections, which could undermine the legitimacy of the results.
• The Nigerian political landscape has shifted due to the 2013 formation of the All Progressives Congress (APC), providing the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) with a nationwide opponent and leading to more radicalised discourse and violence.
• Togo faces a political deadlock over constitutional reforms, specifically regarding the reinstatement of a two-term limit for the presidency, which the opposition argues would restrict current president Faure Gnassingbé.
• Benin has made progress in resolving a political deadlock lasting since 2011 through the revision of the permanent digital electoral list (LEPI), with the final list expected on February 25.
• Côte d’Ivoire's security environment remains fragile ahead of October elections because 30,000 former combatants have not been demobilised and thousands of weapons remain unrecovered.
• Burkina Faso's transition government faces a significant funding shortfall for its October 11 elections, possessing only 25 billion West African franc of the planned 50.6 billion budget.
• In Guinea, the November 2015 presidential elections are complicated by the Ebola health crisis and deep-seated distrust from opposition leaders regarding the government's willingness to hold fair polls.

APA

Toupane, P. M., Ouedraoguo, F., Gnamke, E.-W., Maiga, I., & Diallo, O. A. (2015). 2015 elections in West Africa: turbulent times ahead. Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/2015-elections-in-west-africa-turbulent-times-ahead

Chicago

Toupane, Paulin Maurice, Fatimata Ouedraoguo, Esso-Wèdeou Gnamke, Ibrahim Maiga, and Ousmane Aly Diallo. 2015 elections in West Africa: turbulent times ahead. Institute for Security Studies, 2015. https://issafrica.org/iss-today/2015-elections-in-west-africa-turbulent-times-ahead.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Toupane |first1=Paulin Maurice |last2=Ouedraoguo |first2=Fatimata |last3=Gnamke |first3=Esso-Wèdeou |last4=Maiga |first4=Ibrahim |last5=Diallo |first5=Ousmane Aly |title=2015 elections in West Africa: turbulent times ahead |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=2 February 2015 |url=https://issafrica.org/iss-today/2015-elections-in-west-africa-turbulent-times-ahead |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{toupane20152015, author = {Toupane, Paulin Maurice and Ouedraoguo, Fatimata and Gnamke, Esso-Wèdeou and Maiga, Ibrahim and Diallo, Ousmane Aly}, title = {{2015 elections in West Africa: turbulent times ahead}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2015}, month = feb, url = {https://issafrica.org/iss-today/2015-elections-in-west-africa-turbulent-times-ahead}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }