Elections across Africa are moments of both democratic possibility and democratic pressure. In a recent webinar ahead of the Global Democracy Coalition Africa Regional Forum 2026, civic leaders explored how young people are responding to these tensions – mobilizing communities, confronting digital repression, and defending democratic accountability across the continent.

Elections at a critical democratic moment

Across Africa, elections remain a cornerstone of democratic governance. There are moments when citizens exercise political rights, shape leadership, and hold institutions accountable. Yet they are also moments when democratic systems face heightened pressure.

During electoral periods, civic space can narrow, political tensions intensify, and digital repression – including disinformation, surveillance, and internet shutdowns – can undermine democratic participation. These dynamics formed the focus of the GDC Africa Pre-Forum Webinar: Elections, Youth Participation, and Democratic Accountability (watch here), convened on March 4, 2026, ahead of the Forum.

Opening the conversation, McDonald Lewanika, Executive Director of Accountability Lab East and Southern Africa (ALESA), emphasized that discussions about democracy are taking place during a particularly difficult period globally. “We are basically having this conversation around elections, youth participation, and democratic accountability at a very, very difficult time,” Lewanika said. “We all know what is happening to democratic processes across the globe.”

Across the continent, recent electoral cycles have produced mixed outcomes. While some countries have demonstrated democratic resilience, others have experienced coups, contested elections, or attempts to extend presidential terms. As Lewanika suggested, democratic institutions may continue to evolve on paper while democratic trajectories in practice move in the opposite direction.

Youth as democratic first responders

Despite these challenges, one theme emerged clearly throughout the discussion: young people remain central to the future of democratic participation in Africa. Across the continent, youth-led civic actors are engaged in voter education campaigns, election observation, digital advocacy, and grassroots accountability efforts. These initiatives position young people not simply as beneficiaries of democracy, but as active defenders of democratic processes.

During the discussion, Alice Kabunda Kampengele, Voice and Democracy Manager at Restless Development, reflected on the barriers young people often face when trying to engage with civic processes.

In many communities, structural limitations – including limited infrastructure and access to civic platforms – can make participation difficult. She recalled an encounter that captured this reality: “We get to the facility and the nurse in charge was saying that people were asking, ‘Is it time for elections?’ Because that’s the only time people show up.”

The observation, Kampengele explained, illustrates how civic engagement often spikes only during electoral moments, highlighting the need for stronger civic participation between elections. She emphasized that strengthening democracy requires consistent opportunities for citizens – especially young people – to engage in governance. “If you ask the average young person, they just want their democracy to deliver – a job with dignity, safe housing, and the opportunity to live their full potential.”

Kampengele also underscored the importance of creating environments where youth civic action can thrive. “We need to be intentional about creating safe spaces for youth engagement… and we need to resource youth-led civic spaces.”

Digital spaces: Opportunity and risk

Technology has become one of the most important arenas for civic participation.

Online platforms allow young people to organize campaigns, share information, and hold leaders accountable in real time. At the same time, digital spaces are increasingly used to manipulate political narratives or restrict civic engagement.

Elvis Sitati, Founder and CEO of Uamuzi Foundation, discussed how social media has transformed political engagement across the continent. “Social media came about as a platform for communication and entertainment,” Sitati explained. “But we’ve seen a surge in political engagement where people are now keeping leaders accountable and asking hard questions online.”

Across many African countries, online civic communities have become powerful platforms for public debate and accountability. However, Sitati noted that these same platforms can also be weaponized during election periods through coordinated disinformation campaigns and digital manipulation.

Strengthening digital literacy and protecting information ecosystems, he suggested, will be essential to safeguarding democratic participation in the years ahead.

Citizen monitoring and accountability

The discussion also explored how civic actors are using digital tools and community networks to promote transparency and accountability. Nathaniel Mong’are, governance and civic engagement advocate, reflected on how citizens are increasingly documenting governance failures and rights violations using digital tools and social media.

Citizen-generated documentation, he suggested, can play an important role in ensuring that abuses remain visible and that institutions are pushed toward accountability. These practices demonstrate how democratic participation today extends beyond voting, as citizens monitor governance, share evidence, and advocate for transparency throughout the electoral cycle.

Youth expectations of democracy

Another key perspective came from Koketso Moeti, Founding Executive Director of amandla.mobi and a 2025 Charles F. Kettering Global Fellow, who stressed that democracy must be understood as more than just ballots. Reflecting on Tanzania and other contexts where electoral moments expose deeper strains in democracy, Moeti argued that vigilance cannot begin and end on election day: “It is about civic space, democracy as a whole, with elections only being one part of it.”

She also pointed to the importance of documentation and memory in moments of repression, noting that when citizens record what is happening, they are not only pursuing accountability in the present but also preserving “the archive of our memory around the injustice that is happening.”

Her contribution grounded the discussion in a broader understanding of democracy – one that extends beyond institutions and procedures to include courage, memory, and collective vigilance.

Democracy beyond election day

The conversation ultimately highlighted that democratic resilience cannot be measured only by election outcomes. 

Democracy is also shaped by the everyday work of civic actors – organizing communities, monitoring governance, documenting abuses, and advocating for transparency. Across Africa, young people continue to play a critical role in these efforts. From mobilizing communities online and offline to protecting democratic space in difficult conditions, youth civic leaders are helping ensure that democratic systems remain accountable to citizens.

As the discussion concluded, participants emphasized that supporting youth-led civic action – through partnerships, funding, and policy reforms – will be essential to strengthening democratic governance in the years ahead. In moments when democracy feels fragile, the commitment of young civic actors across the continent offers a powerful reminder that democratic renewal remains possible.

Naseera Noor-Mahomed