LINDIWE MAZIBUKO | In Africa and the Global South, democratic reform has never been more urgent

Across Africa and much of the so-called Global South, a new generation of citizens is redefining how political power is expressed and seized — and it is not at the ballot box.

Africa’s regional blocs — the AU, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc) and the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) — all prohibit what they term “unconstitutional changes of government”. The AU defines this as the removal of a government by force, the refusal of an incumbent to relinquish power, or the manipulation of constitutional terms to extend rule.

Yet, in its 2022 declaration, the AU acknowledged that youth unemployment, corruption and captured institutions are driving this trend. So much so that over the past 18 months some of the most consequential transfers of power have occurred not at the ballot box but in the streets — often with the support of the very youth these institutions claim to empower.

In Bangladesh, Kenya, Madagascar and Senegal, youth-led protests have unseated or reshaped governments, their movements fuelled by rising unemployment, state capture and an erosion of faith in public institutions.

Last year’s student protests in Bangladesh over a job-quota system evolved into a nationwide uprising that forced the prime minister, Sheikh Hasina, to flee to India. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus now heads an interim government.

Gen Z Kenyans mobilised digitally last year and mounted a series of protests under the banner #RejectFinanceBill, forcing President William Ruto to withdraw new tax laws, fire his cabinet and form a grand coalition government with the opposition in an attempt to quell youth dissent.

The president of Madagascar, Andry Rajoelina, was removed from office just three weeks ago, amid a wave of youth protests over the erosion of access to basic services. His ouster was a textbook “popular coup” that united youth-led demonstrators and a highly influential section of the country’s armed forces.

Africa’s young people are turning to protests to overthrow ineffectual governments because they are fed up with elections that feel predetermined — undermined by boycotts, judicial capture and vote-rigging, all of which erode public trust.

Africa’s young people are turning to protests to overthrow ineffectual governments because they are fed up with elections that feel predetermined — undermined by boycotts, judicial capture and vote-rigging, all of which erode public trust. They live in so-called democracies where public institutions are captured, and electoral commissions and courts often serve ruling elites.

Daily life for many is marked by economic precarity and indignity. With roughly 35% of African youth not in employment, education or training, protest offers both visibility and catharsis. Social media has become an important tool in this context, lowering the cost of organising while amplifying discontent, and providing a channel for youth mobilisation amid widespread desperation.

Most importantly, protest “works”. Leaders fall or concede under pressure, reinforcing the belief that the only way for young people failed by their leaders to achieve justice is through extra-constitutional means. When power listens only to the sound of breaking glass, it teaches citizens to throw stones.

Africa is home to more than 400-million citizens aged 15-35; in many countries, about two-thirds of the population is under 30. In the Sadc region, 75% of the population is under 35, while the median age in the Ecowas region is 18. Africa’s youth are consequently the largest voting bloc in the world, yet they are also the least likely to participate in electoral and democratic processes.

The demographic data in those countries where youth protest has had the most consequential outcomes is telling: under-35s account for roughly three-quarters of Kenya’s population, yet — according to its Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s latest voter registration report — youth registration in 2022 was under 40%. In Bangladesh, youth make up about one-third of the population, yet three-quarters of young people have never voted in general elections at all, believing them to be neither free nor fair.

Youth-driven mobilisation this week propelled Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old Ugandan-born democratic socialist assemblyman, into elected office as New York City’s youngest mayor in over a century, and its first Muslim leader. The city’s young voters and campaigners backed him by a 43-point margin, with record turnout. When electoral systems remain accessible and responsive, youth energy can translate directly into transformative victories.

These victories are the result of years of sustained youth civic engagement. When youth voter participation reaches historic levels, it does not merely alter election results; it profoundly reshapes political priorities and holds power accountable to the demands of a new generation.

If protest action leading to extra-constitutional changes of government becomes the norm in the democracies of Africa and the Global South, we risk entrenching the very instability and authoritarianism that young people are working to challenge as part of the status quo. History has shown how quickly democracy can turn to dictatorship when self-determination and accountability, underpinned by a just constitutional order, are sidestepped. Democratic reform and the restoration of free, fair and just electoral systems have never been more urgent.