The electoral commission heard that delaying local government elections will be an assault on democracy and that people’s lives should not be put at risk during the Covid crisis
IEC must stop stringing us along; they have already decided against elections, Party of Action tells inquiry
Stop those rambling family meetings, in which the public is treated like a child, and let us ask you questions
Inquiry leader and former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke emphasised the need for democratic processes not to falter because of the pandemic.
Submissions to the inquiry into elections under Covid-19 call for local government polls to run as scheduled, or move online
Defying the ban on demonstrations amid a wave of protests against King Mswati’s rule, residents have held demonstrations – and security forces have responded with violence
Changes in news consumption practices and in the information ecosystem have hit newspapers hard
Democracy is everyone’s responsibility to defend. Now is a critical time to double up efforts to guard this nation’s constitutional integrity
The hearings will be open to the media and the public, under strict level-three regulations
Complaining about ‘reverse racism’ and BEE serves no one. South Africa’s white youth should focus on entrepreneurship instead
Labelling them in the same way as youth in the US leads to false perceptions and misunderstanding
Governments’ interruption of social media is censorship is a way to control the flow of information online and amounts to censorship
The vote is likely to inflame existing tensions in the country
A new book of images and essays about the Afrophobic violence in South Africa attempts to take the narrative forward
IEC says it is technically ready for the election, but Covid-19 raises safety concerns around voting and political campaigning.
South Africa’s universities have an important role to play as they overcome legacies of inequality
Although still needed, the relevance and credibility of electoral observers requires assessment
Governments, philanthropists, Big Tech, readers and media houses themselves must work together to ensure the sustainability of the media ecosystem
Can Nigeria’s #EndSars protests restructure electoral politics? Or will they simply become a dramatic, but ineffective interlude, to the status quo?
A message to South Africa from European friends for Freedom Day
Michela Wrong debunks the myth of Rwanda as a model developmental state and a poster child for Western aid, the theme of her latest book
As Freedom Day approaches, an American reflects on how our history has become his too
A full 41 years after ‘freedom’, many Zimbabweans still strive for what they sought then – the enjoyment of their fundamental human rights and freedoms
The SABC is simply too important to South Africa’s democracy for it to be gutted: we cannot allow it to die
Restrictions to battle the pandemic offer ideal cover for authoritarian regimes to undermine and clamp down on opposition parties
Even when only one result is possible, elections can tell us a lot about what’s really going on
Sitting presidents shouldn’t be given a window to legally hijack their countries
The public’s lack of trust in formal institutions means the election is a potential tinderbox. The people of Zambia need to challenge the status quo
Democracy is under attack in Benin, argues former foreign minister Rogatien Biaou, but the world press remains silent
We must ask difficult questions about our cultures and begin reinventing our futures, writes Andile Zulu
Everything you need to know about South Africa’s options for holding municipal polls — and the dangers we face.
Zanzibar’s first vice-president in its government of national unity died of Covid-19 last week.