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Standing by their man: Supporters of Zambia’s governing Patriotic Front and former president Edgar Lungu at his closing presidential campaign rally of the last election cycle in August 2016. (Gianluigi Guercia/AFP)

Two surveys, two wildly different predictions for Zambia’s election

But both surveys ultimately suggest that Zambia’s governing party is under considerable pressure

Pressured Mutharika fires army chiefs

A statement from the presidency said popular army commander General Vincent Nundwe, alongside his deputy Clement Namangale, had been replaced

Grave digger: Since Patriotic Front (PF) presidential candidate Edgar Lungu took power in 2015, he has steadily eroded Zambia’s hard-won democracy. (Rogan Ward/Reuters)

Lunga erodes Zambia’s democracy

A proposed amendment to its Constitution may turn Zambia into a de facto one-party state

British efforts to strengthen its position in the world are being undermined by its visa system. (Graphic: John McCann/M&G)

UK visas discriminate against Africans

No continent has suffered more from Britain’s ‘hostile environment’ immigration policy

It is safe to say that, given the risk factor involved, the pandemic has exacerbated online activities, and even if, as the severity of its effect decreases (when a vaccine has been developed, for instance), people return physically to their places of work, the current expansion of online work practices means it is likely to remain so to a significant degree.

WhatsApp played a big role in the Nigerian election. Not all of it was bad

In the recent Nigerian election WhatsApp was used to mislead voters. But it also strengthened democracy in other areas

Regime loyalists: Supporters of Algeria’s former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika (Joel Robine/AFP)

Presidents for life spell danger

Algerian and Sudanese citizens have taken to the streets and Cameroon and Uganda may be next

Africa has seen a growing number of leaders establish themselves as “presidents for life” over the last few years, including Sudan’s Omar al Bashir (AFP)

Algeria, Sudan and the danger of presidents-for-life

Unless something changes, Cameroon and Uganda might be next

Protesters set fires in the street in Khartoum, Sudan. (Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters)

Sudan is Africa’s secret crisis

Having long failed to establish a stable political system, the government of President al-Bashir has presided over a prolonged economic crisis

President John Magufuli came into power in 2015 promising to clean up corruption. What he did instead was clamp down on citizens’ freedoms, and corruption goes on. (Daniel Hayduk/AFP/Getty Images)

No, Africa doesn’t need more strongmen

The evidence is conclusive: over and over again, democrats trump dictators

Kenya’s Raila Odinga is often described as a populist but his manifestos reveal the policy concerns of a social democrat, although his campaigns have populist elements and have coalesced over popular grievances. (Marco Longari/AFP)

Africa is urbanising fast – and its leaders are struggling to adapt

Expanding cities will fundamentally change politics on the continent

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan

Cambridge Analytica’s role in Africa overstated

Claims about Cambridge Analytica’s role in elections in Nigeria and Kenya have been overstated.