Six African countries have already held elections in 2016 with 11 more scheduled to do so by year end. The continent’s Super Sunday saw Benin, Cape Verde, Niger, Republic of Congo, Senegal and Zanzibar headed to the polls to vote in presidential or parliamentary elections as well as a referendum. The status quo was maintained in some countries while others saw a change of guard.
In Benin and Cape Verde voters changed leaders and governments in a peaceful manner unlike some of their neighbors. Benin’s Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou conceded defeat to businessman Patrice Talon, in the country’s presidential elections. Benin’s independent electoral commission reported that Talon had won 65.39% of the vote, with Zinsou taking 34.61%. The main opposition party in Cape Verde, the Movement for Democracy (MpD) won its parliamentary polls taking back leadership after 15 years, in elections that were deemed free and fair. The country is supposed to hold presidential elections later this year, but so far a date has not been set.
Elections were not so peaceful in other nations around the continent. From Niger, standing President Mahamadou Issoufou reportedly took 92% of the vote in a run-off election against top runner in the first round, Hama Amadou, who campaigned from behind bars after being jailed last November. Official voter turnout was pegged at 65% while Amadou’s party charged it was only 11%. The opposition camp has rejected the results with claims of voter intimidation.
Voters took to the polls in the Republic of Congo amid protests and rounds of tear gas being dispersed into the crowds of opposition supporters. President Sassou Nguesso had pushed through legislation in October which allowed him to run for yet another term, bypassing term and age limits; he has been in office 32 of the last 37 years. The official results gave Nguesso 60% of the vote although the opposition claimed there was widespread fraud with international observers questioning the transparency of the process.
Zanzibar returned to the polls in a run-off presidential election. Incumbent Zanzibar President Ali Mohamed Shein, of Tanzania’s ruling CCM party, was declared by the electoral commission with 91.4% of the vote.
In other non-presidential elections, Senegalese voters took to the polls to decide whether constitutional reforms should be enacted to limit presidential terms to two, and whether to reduce the presidential term length from seven to five years. Also on the docket was increasing parliamentary powers of parliament, and election of a member of parliament for Senegalese nationals in the diaspora as well as creation of a position of official opposition leader. The measure passed with a majority casting a YES vote in support of the reforms spearheaded by current president Macky Sall.