East Africa

Coronavirus deals a blow to Ethiopia’s elections

By Bronwyn Bruton

On March 31, the government of Ethiopia indefinitely postponed historic elections that were scheduled to take place in August. This makes Ethiopia the first African nation, in what is likely to be a wave of countries, forced to set back highly contentious political contests in response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, with significant implications for the outcome.

Coronavirus comes to Sudan

Not yet one year into a historic political transition and in the midst of an economic collapse, Sudan’s future was already hanging in the balance. The addition of a national and global public health crisis now has the potential for a ‘make or break’ impact on the country.

Tanzania’s mild response to COVID-19 and its implications for the 2020 elections

By Neil Edwards

Tanzanian President John Magufuli received widespread criticism as he encouraged the public to continue to attend places of worship, rather than imposing stringent restrictions to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak. As the number of cases rise in Dar es Salaam, what will the spread in the city look like? With the upcoming 2020 presidential election, will Magufuli use the COVID-19 outbreak as a pretext for seeking a third term in office?

African elections in the time of coronavirus

By Luke Tyburski

African elections slated for 2020 are already being affected by COVID-19, with the potential for delays and disruptions to have significant impact on election credibility, political trust, and adherence to term limits across the continent.

Rwanda’s successes and challenges in response to COVID-19

By Neil Edwards

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has issued a nationwide shutdown that took effect midnight March 21. Two days later, on March 23, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Rwanda doubled overnight to thirty-six, the most in East and Central Africa. Although the government’s response has been robust, many challenges still loom as the Ministry of Health attempts to mitigate the spread of the virus.

Removing Sudan’s terrorism designation: Proceeding with caution

By Cameron Hudson

No aspect of US policy towards Sudan has garnered more scrutiny, from both inside and outside the country, than Sudan’s continued designation on the US State Sponsors of Terrorism list. But the issue itself—whether Sudan should remain on the list and what would be required to remove it—is vastly complicated.

Support civilian leaders in Sudan while we have them

By Cameron Hudson

Rather than serving as a wakeup call to those inside Sudan that the former regime was still a force to be feared, the assassination attempt on Prime Minister Hamdok may have instead put Western nations on notice to support the civilian government while it still can.