At this year’s summit, Putin has to offer African officials a better reason than mercenaries to switch allegiance from their traditional allies
President Vladimir Putin's government is organising the second Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg in November: it is a moment of truth to prove how Russia has made a...
The military-backed clean-up and stronger export earnings are unlikely to help the economy. Reform is promised but structural change is unlikely
President Abdelmajid Tebboune's government breathed a typically Algerian sigh of relief as more stable oil prices and the higher gas prices have infused the cash-strapped treasury with funds....
Opposition parties hope to exploit factional battles in the ruling party ahead of its elective conference in December
The sight of flames blazing from the 147-year-old parliament building in Cape Town in the early hours of 2 January was a discouraging start to what is set...
As economic and security woes mount, electoral calculations will shape policy and business strategy
With presidential and national assembly elections due in February 2023, political campaigns will go into overdrive this year as alliances are made and deals struck. Outgoing President Muhammadu...
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A one-sided dialogue is unlikely to deliver peace as Prime Minister Abiy pushes for total victory
Both sides in the war between federal and Tigrayan forces will condition their willingness to negotiate on the military situation. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed starts the year having...
Government is on hold as a presidential race reliant on personalities and corralling regional blocs takes centre stage
Big challenges to President Uhuru Kenyatta's government are looming this year on the economic management front and on regional security. But barring a phenomenal new crisis, the political...
With the two parties evenly matched in parliament, the opposition NDC tries for some tactical victories against the government
Eyeing tougher economic conditions, corruption allegations and growing concerns about regional security, the opposition National Democratic Congress reckons it should be able to wrongfoot President Nana Addo Dankwa...
The battle between the generals and the resistance committees is intensifying after the exit of Prime Minister Hamdok
The resignation of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on 2 January ended the transition to civil rule and elections as defined in the August 2019 agreement. But it has...
Diplomatic spats with erstwhile European allies and rumblings in Western Sahara are unsettling the Makhzen
As they survey the country from the Makhzen (ruling establishment), King Mohammed VI (M6) and his advisors view the new year with some foreboding. The reasons aren't obvious.
Support from Russia will allow Touadéra to suppress opposition and avoid conciliation with rebels
The disputed elections last year that gave an opportunity to mercenaries from Russia's state-linked Wagner Group to assert their influence on politics in the Central African Republic will...
Embattled by the insurgency in the north and the hidden loans scandal, President Nyusi faces a bruising year
Another troubled year is in store for President Filipe Nyusi as his unpopularity in the ruling Frente de Libertação de Moçambique (Frelimo) grows due to his deep involvement...
Buoyed by strong local and international backing, the new government targets progress on debt and social policy
The big questions for President Hakainde Hichilema's new government are whether it will succeed in restructuring the country's US$14.71 billion foreign debt and live up to its pledge...
For the first time, the ruling MPLA will fight elections against an opposition coalition led by three credible contenders
Bringing together the biggest opposition parties, a new coalition will contest national elections in August on a combined ticket presenting the most serious threat to the 47-year rule...
Fruitless dialogue and the violent past of aspiring new leaders raise risks of turmoil despite the country's strong economic base
The country is entering unknown territory, with the three major political parties in various stages of disintegration. The stage is set for a era without the three men...
Chinese mining deals will help the junta fight off international pressure to hold elections, and withstand sanctions
On 27 December, prime minister Mohamed Béavogui presented his government's roadmap back to civilian rule to Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, who has ruled Guinea since a coup last September....
Amid increasingly deadly Islamist attacks, army reform is more urgent than ever and risks of a coup have risen
Reversing the spread of jihadist terrorist violence will be the dominant theme for Burkina Faso's government, especially as it has started to affect three of its four southern...
Facing little opposition at home, the President is keen to boost his standing as a regional player
With no elections on the horizon, a dominant President Abdel Fattah el Sisi has no pressing reasons to make major changes to his government line-up. He will need...
President Tshisekedi seems to have sewn up the 2023 elections, while realpolitik has put paid to his anti-corruption agenda
How time flies. In 2022 President Félix Tshisekedi enters the fourth year of his five-year 'mandate', with little so far to show the Congolese for it. His flagship...
Hanging on to power, the junta is using Russian mercenaries to counter regional pressure for elections
The colonels, in power since August 2020, seem impervious to international pressure, asserting they may need to stay in power for five more years, despite their earlier promise...
The early tide of support for Kaïs Saïed's power-grab is ebbing, harsh economic reforms and the referendum in July will be key tests
The coming year may prove Tunisia's most turbulent since 2011, when the jasmine revolution sparked the Arab Spring. President Kaïs Saïed's power-grab in July and his determination to...
Julius Maada Bio is risking his reputation for probity by suspending the respected Auditor-General, Lara Taylor-Pearce
The charges of impunity, favouritism, corruption and subverting the constitution that President Julius Maada Bio now faces uncomfortably resemble those he flung at his predecessor, President Ernest Bai...
There's little prospect of the politicians agreeing to the elections they had promised but the UN will keep trying to make it work
The legal and political causes of the failure to hold presidential elections on 24 December, the seventieth anniversary of the country's independence, look to ensure they cannot be...
The French President wants Brussels to recast its ties with Africa and adopt his policies on security and development
Facing a tough re-election race in April, President Emmanuel Macron is trying to reassure French voters that he's serious on migration and security. With fortuitous timing for Macron's...
The President's corruption of the electoral process has weakened security, presaging a more authoritarian politics
Hopes that the elections would open a new political chapter and more accountable governance look misplaced. Even if the troubled presidential elections are held in 2022, they're unlikely...