Democracy appears to be facing challenges worldwide, with rising authoritarianism and the spread of disinformation reshaping political landscapes.
According to Graham Hopwood, Director of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), these trends are also evident in Africa, where military coups in West and Central Africa have disrupted democratic progress, mirroring global patterns.
Graham Hopwood was speaking at the 2024 election review conducted by Namibia Fact Check.
He said there is a growing number of young voters expressing a preference for strongman leaders over elected governments across Africa.
Namibia, he argued, has the potential to resist these trends and strengthen its democratic institutions, but the controversy surrounding the country's recent elections presents both challenges and opportunities.
"So, quite a number of key features. Of course, the ones that people tend to remember, particularly if you were in a queue for a long time, are the logistical issues around this election and the various controversies around the voting and the extensions for the voting. As I said, I won't get into that because we know that's a big one, contested in the courts through two legal challenges in the Electoral Court and the Supreme Court on the National Assembly election and the presidential election. The other thing that was notable."
Hopwood described Namibia's recent election as historic, marked by the election of the country's first female president and an impressive voter turnout of 76%, one of the highest in years.
While the ruling party retained power, its majority in the National Assembly was significantly reduced, and the opposition delivered its strongest performance since the pre-independence elections of 1989, he said.
Hopwood noted that the closely contested election reflected a more engaged electorate, particularly among younger voters.
He said that Namibia remains peaceful, in contrast to the post-election unrest seen in Mozambique.
Hopwood is of the view that while many countries have experienced a rejection of ruling parties, such as in Botswana and South Africa, Namibia's political balance has shifted without a complete realignment.
"My feeling, as it is on a lot of issues, is that actually, in this context of declining democracy, Namibia could actually, and should, be a role model for the development of an extension of democracy. And we could be getting a lot of things right when around the world governments and countries are getting things quite badly wrong. And that's why it's disappointing that this previous election is unfortunately mired in a lot of controversy."
Beyond Namibia, Hopwood pointed to troubling global trends, including the rising popularity of authoritarian figures among younger voters.
He noted the growing admiration for West African military leaders such as Captain Ibrahim Traoré on Namibian social media, often without a full understanding of the political realities in those countries, is worrying.