Do African citizens dislike political parties?

Political parties are central actors in democracies. One of their key roles is serving as the organising force around which elections are contested. 

With political parties and regularly held competitive elections comes a byproduct – partisans– people who become aligned with a particular political party within the democratic space.

Additionally, attachment to political parties has a way of shaping political choices as well as perceptions on matters of politics and governance.

Political parties have an interesting history on the continent. During the era of military interventions, they were always one of the first casualties with a ban on their activities.

One of the steps during the many third wave democratic transitions was lifting the ban on the activities of political parties. While political parties are freely functioning across the continent, opposition political parties in certain countries continue to face certain challenges.

The question I wrestle with in this op-ed piece is this – do African citizens dislike political parties? The question may be puzzling but insights from the Afrobarometer survey on citizens’ sentiments about political parties appear to suggest so.

A quick note. The number of participating countries in Afrobarometer has grown from 12 (Round 1, 1999-2001) to 39 (Round 9, 2021-2023).

This means, between Round 1 and 9, there are more citizens responding to the survey. This gives us an increase in the voices captured on the important questions asked by the Afrobarometer survey.

These are the years for the other Afrobarometer rounds: a) Round 2, 2002-03; b) Round 3, 2005-06; c) Round 4, 2008-09; d) Round 5, 2011-13; e) Round 6, 2014-15; f) Round 7, 2016-18; and g) Round 8, 2019-21.

Feelings about political parties

Closeness to political parties. In Round 1, when asked “do you feel close to any particular political party,” five out of 10 (54 per cent) Africans said “yes.”

By Round 6, this increased to six out of 10 (63 per cent), representing a significant nine percentage points above the maiden round. However, there has been a steady decline since then – a) 48 per cent (Round 7); b) 45 per cent (Round 8); and c) 44 per cent (Round 9).

This amounts to a significant decline of 19 percentage points (-19 per cent) in the number of Africans who express feeling close to political parties.

Trust in political parties. Since Round 2, citizens have been asked about their trust in both ruling and opposition political parties. In Round 2, only three out of 10 (31 per cent) expressed “a lot” of trust in ruling political parties.

After an initial improvement to 36 per cent (36 per cent) in the next round (Round 3), trust in ruling political parties has ranged between 18 per cent (18 per cent) and 29 per cent (29 per cent). In fact, in Round 9, only two out of 10 (18 per cent) Africans expressed “a lot” of trust in ruling political parties. This is a significant 18 percentage point drop between Round 3 and Round 9.

The story is no different for opposition political parties. In Round 2, only 16 per cent expressed “a lot” of trust in opposition political parties.

The percentages have not changed much since then – a) 16 per cent (Round 3); b) 15 per cent (Round 4); c) 14 per cent (Round 5); d) 15 per cent (Round 6); e) 15 per cent (Round 7); f) 13 per cent (Round 8); and g)11 per cent (Round 9).

Two things are clear when it comes to how African citizens feel about political parties. First, they are feeling less close to political parties. Second, they have low levels of trust in them (whether ruling or in opposition).

This may explain why in Round 9, as many as eight out of 10 (80 per cent) citizens said they “never” contacted a political party official about an important problem or express their views over a 12-month period.

What next for political parties?

There is something paradoxical though about how Africans feel about political parties. And that paradox offers a hopeful signal for them.

What is the hopeful signal? When the Afrobarometer survey asks respondents to choose between these two statements – A) Political parties create division and confusion; it is therefore unnecessary to have many political parties in [country]; and B) Many political parties are needed to make sure that [Nationality] have real choices in who governs them. Consistently, a majority have supported the statement, saying, more political parties are needed.

Between Round 2 and Round 9, the percentage saying more parties are needed has grown from 59 per cent to 67 per cent.

Yes, it sounds paradoxical to demand more of something that you feel less close to and do not trust. Let’s face it, so long as we have embraced democracy and competitive elections as the way of choosing leaders, political parties are here to stay.

Political parties must work to change this trajectory. Whether through their actions or inaction, they bear the greater share of the burden in fostering more positive sentiments among citizens.

The writer is the Project Director, Democracy Project