Voters in Namibia. An Afrobarometer survey found 72% turnout of the continent’s voting population. Photo: Gianluigi GuerciaI/AFP
In an era where democracy faces both promise and risk, citizen engagement remains an important heartbeat of Africa’s democratic journey. Two recently published reports Afrobarometer’s flagship Citizen Engagement report and the African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council’s (Ecosocc’s) State of Citizens’ Engagement Report offer compelling but distinct perspectives on how Africans are participating in governance and shaping their futures.
What’s striking is that while these reports explore the same theme, the role of citizens in governance they approach it from two fundamentally different vantage points which is one from the ground up, and the other from the top down.
Afrobarometer, relying on 53,000 face-to-face interviews in 39 countries, paints a picture of citizens who are actively participating through voting (72% turnout across the continent), protests (9%), community meetings (47%) and online activism. Countries such as Liberia, Sierra Leone and Seychelles show turnout rates above 89%, demonstrating a strong belief in elections as a vehicle for change. In contrast, Tunisia has seen a sharp decline in participation, a worrying sign amid growing authoritarianism.
One of the most powerful examples is Kenya’s 2024 Gen Z-led protests against the Finance Bill. Mobilised almost entirely online, young people filled the streets and forced the government to withdraw the Bill. Afrobarometer captures this as a sign that social media is becoming a new frontier of political expression, especially for youth, 7% of whom say they posted about politics online in the last year.
Meanwhile, the Ecosocc’s report takes us into the halls of the AU, highlighting the mechanisms that exist or should exist to absorb and reflect this citizen voice. It speaks of legal instruments such as the African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance, and institutions like Ecosocc’s, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the Pan-African Parliament. These bodies are intended to ensure citizen participation is institutionalized, not incidental.
For example, the Livingstone Formula and Maseru Conclusions lay out how civil society can become involved with the Peace and Security Council in conflict prevention and resolution. Ecosocc itself was created as an official civil society organ of the AU yet many civil society organisations (CSOs) report that access to AU processes remains ad hoc, and grassroots organisations especially struggle caused by budgetary and technical constraints.
Afrobarometer shows that the streets are alive, from protests in Kenya to civic forums in Madagascar, where more than 85% of citizens attended a community meeting in the last year. Ecosocc shows that the halls of power are open but underused, often lacking the consistent structure to absorb and act on this engagement.
Both reports point to a shared truth that engagement is not only about voice but it must be about power.
Afrobarometer finds that citizens are more likely to participate when they perceive their governments as responsive. Countries where citizens feel local councillors listen see higher levels of contact and engagement. Meanwhile, where elections are not trusted such as in Gabon, Morocco and Guinea, where majorities say recent elections were not free or fair, protests become the dominant form of expression.
On the other hand, Ecosocc reveals that despite the presence of structures for engagement, many AU organs lack coordinated tracking of how citizen inputs are integrated into policy. A survey of 222 civil society organisations shows high willingness to participate but frustrations about lack of feedback and clarity from AU institutions. Only a handful of AU bodies actively monitor how CSO recommendations are reflected in outcomes.
The challenge is not a lack of citizen energy. It is a lack of institutional reciprocity.
Bridging this gap requires more than summits and speeches. It demands the following:
- Structured platforms for regular contact, not just during AU summits;
- Funding and capacity-building support for grassroots CSOs, especially in fragile or rural contexts;
- Transparent feedback loops, where citizen submissions to AU organs are acknowledged and followed through;
- Promotion of digital civic tech tools to allow broad-based consultation; and
- Protection of civic space, including journalists, protestors, and whistle-blowers.
At a time when democracy is under siege globally, Africa stands at a crossroads. The path forward must be paved by the people but it must also be cleared and maintained by the institutions that serve them.
Because when citizens speak and no one listens, the silence that follows is not peace, it is alienation. And no union, however African or ambitious, can afford that.
Nyasha Mcbride Mpani is a project leader for the data for governance alliance project at the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation based in Cape Town.