Pan-Africanism, the African Peer Review Mechanism and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance: What Does the Future Hold?

The document examines the evolution of democratic governance in Africa from the OAU era to the AU era, focusing on the APRM and ACDEG. It argues that while the continent has shifted from 'politics of the bullet' to 'politics of the ballot', significant challenges remain, including 'illiberal democracies' and slow implementation of governance reviews. The author advocates for stronger synergies between the African Governance Architecture (AGA) and the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA), increased domestic funding for National Programmes of Action (NPoAs), and a balanced role for non-state actors to prevent 'state capture' of these initiatives.

• Between the 1960s and the late 1980s, African governance was characterized by authoritarianism, with military coups being more frequent than regular elections. The continent experienced approximately 90 military coups between the 1960s and 2012.
• The transition from the OAU to the AU marked a shift in the conception of sovereignty from a 'veil' for impunity and non-interference to 'sovereignty as responsibility', leading to the condemnation of unconstitutional changes of government.
• The African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) is a voluntary self-assessment tool, but its implementation is slow; after 11 years, only 17 of the 34 acceding countries had completed their reviews.
• National Programmes of Action (NPoAs) resulting from APRM reviews are often poorly implemented due to a lack of domestic budget allocation and an over-reliance on external donors.
• The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) differs from the APRM in that it is a compulsory, legally binding treaty with provisions for sanctions against non-compliance, particularly regarding unconstitutional changes of government.
• A contemporary threat to democratic governance in Africa is the manipulation of constitutions by incumbents to extend their tenure beyond mandated limits, a trend ACDEG specifically warns against.
• Many African states are described as 'illiberal democracies', where democratic veneers such as regular elections mask deep-seated authoritarianism, including vote-buying and restrictions on debate.
• The author proposes five strategic imperatives for the future: universal accession to the APRM, universal ratification of ACDEG, balanced engagement between state and non-state actors, synergy between the AGA and APSA, and the mobilization of domestic resources for implementation.

APA

Matlosa, K. (2014). Pan-Africanism, the African Peer Review Mechanism and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance: What Does the Future Hold? South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Occasional-Paper-190.pdf

Chicago

Matlosa, Khabele. Pan-Africanism, the African Peer Review Mechanism and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance: What Does the Future Hold? South African Institute of International Affairs, 2014. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Occasional-Paper-190.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Matlosa |first1=Khabele |title=Pan-Africanism, the African Peer Review Mechanism and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance: What Does the Future Hold? |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=June 2014 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Occasional-Paper-190.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{matlosa2014panafricanism, author = {Matlosa, Khabele}, title = {{Pan-Africanism, the African Peer Review Mechanism and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance: What Does the Future Hold?}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2014}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Occasional-Paper-190.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }