Afrobarometer: Upholding democracy in Africa through surveys at the continental level 

Upholding democracy and its core principles at a continental level is challenging to say the least. Afrobarometer has been working towards that objective by gathering, analyzing and showcasing key data through strategic surveys for the past 25 years. 60% of the total number of questions cover democracy, support for democracy and the overall demand for it. 

Recently, Afrobarometer  conducted its 10th round of surveys which  reached a total of approximately 42 countries in Africa. The data collected by the surveys has been key in supporting and advising African policy makers by showcasing citizens’ satisfaction, wants and needs in terms of democratic governance, transparency, accountability, etc. The data has also underlined the progress of governments as well as existing gaps in terms of democratic governance and political rights and participation. With its work, Afrobarometer also contributes to ensuring free and transparent election processes throughout the continent, with  Zimbabwe and South Africa being two recent examples. In both countries, pre-election surveys were conducted, highlighting political trends while successfully identifying the winning political party and showing what people think of government institutions along with the ruling political party. Besides offering key data, Afrobarometer also engages with the African governments by providing training through workshops and more to political parties and representatives of different institutions but also youth and women. It teaches them how to use and interpret their open data which is available on their platforms and may be used through specific online tools. 

The open data and the training provided by Afrobarometer as well as the online data tools, contributed significantly to influencing policy makers, governments, civil society and other key actors like the African Union, who recurrently refer to the resources of Afrobarometer. This enables them to implement well-defined policies and enhance their advocacy activities and reach. Finally, Afrobarometer also actively engages with actors like the African Union through strategic projects like the “Democracy for governance alliance” which aims at strengthening African civil society thus contributing to enhancing democracy at a continental level.