Northern Africa includes different countries: Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Libya, and depending on how the territory is divided, we will also find Mauritania. For many years, elections within this territory have known multiple political regimes. There were constitutional monarchies of semi-democratic republics, but also so-called authoritarian republics. The history of this territory is extremely rich and very diverse, there have been social pressures, many protest movements and very strong political issues that have impacted the whole world.
In this document, we will therefore talk about the elections in North Africa, we will first see all the countries with their different characteristics and the people at stake at the electoral level and we will end with a comparison between all these countries.
Study of the different countries present on the territory at the legislative and political level
Algeria
It is the president who holds the executive power in Algeria, the presidential election takes place every five years by direct universal suffrage, the president can be re-elected once since 2020. For a long time, the FLN, the National Liberation Front, monopolized political life. Many criticize this type of election because of their lack of transparency. Things changed in December 2019, when the presidential election was won by Abdelmadjid Tebboune, even if the latter was boycotted by many people.
Even today, the institutions are mostly controlled by the army and by those who have the most power. It is one of the countries with the highest abstention rate during elections.
Tunisia
In 2011, the revolution overthrew Ben Ali and allowed the establishment of a parliamentary democracy. Since that date, there have been several legislative and municipal presidential elections. However, since 2021 Kaïs Saied has suspended parliament and wanted to amend the constitution in 2022 through a referendum. This therefore tends to call into question all democratic achievements.
Morocco
Morocco is a country that still has a king. It is therefore a constitutional monarchy. The latter appoints the head of government and plays a major role in everything related to the defense, religion and even foreign affairs. Elections are held every five years, voting has been put in place and proportional voting. Participation is generally very moderate, elections allow people to express themselves but never call into question the monarchical structure put in place.
Libya
Since 2011, the country is generally very unstable. He is indeed immersed in a civil war since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, there are two rival governments located one in the east (Haftar) and the other in Tripoli (Gun). These two governments are fighting for power. Since then, the elections are supposed to be postponed, as Libya still does not have a stable electoral framework.
Egypt
Since 2013, since the coup d'état of Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi who took power, Egypt has been organizing presidential and legislative elections. But the climate remains very authoritarian and repressive. There is in this country what is called a facade democracy, Egypt, is therefore what is closest to electoral autocracy where the vote is only present to highlight an authoritarian power.
Mauritania
For several years, Mauritania has experienced many coups d'état. Nevertheless, the country has had very regular elections since the 2000s. The president is elected by universal suffrage and the transition between presidents in 2019 marked a first in the history of the country's election. Elections are generally peaceful in this country, however there is a lot of controversy about the transparency applied. There are many complaints about possible fraud and inequalities between the means used by candidates in the elections. The last elections were won by El Insaf.
Electoral comparison between the various countries
It should therefore be noted that the vast majority of North African countries are in a situation between democracy and authoritarianism with regard to elections. Morocco and Mauritania do not question the central power. Algeria and Egypt remain very authoritarian with elections that remain symbolic. Tunisia is a case apart between democracy and a more authoritarian return to power.
What must remain constant throughout the territory is the distrust of the populations towards the electoral regime, regardless of the country. There is a lot of abstention, especially among the youngest.
In addition, the army has a very strong role in many of these countries, such as Algeria, Egypt and Libya. The army plays a role both in political life, but also in the control of everything related to elections in general. Therefore, it is clear that it is unlikely that a complete participatory democracy can be put in place.
Issues and challenges for the future
What can be said is that in the vast majority of these countries, elections are mainly set up to grant legitimacy to an authoritarian regime. The main challenge today is to be able to establish a political culture that is truly focused on participation.
Little by little, we are witnessing a strengthening of more independent groups. For example, ISIE in Tunisia. These groups are of real importance. Especially with regard to ensuring transparency in elections in the entire process. Unfortunately in several countries this type of group is absent or remains under the control of the executive branch.
It should also be noted that there are external partners such as the European Union or the Un, for example a non-exhaustive list, but who will tend to favor stability at the expense of a real democracy. in the future, it is likely that the youngest will have to become a means of transforming the entire political system.
Today, more than ever, the Internet and more particularly social networks have a decisive role in this mobilization in this desire to change things.
Conclusion
In conclusion, we can say that elections on the territory of North Africa are very complex, often reflecting the effects of many revolutions, but also the limits that democratic transitions can experience among other things. Some countries are able to highlight signs of openness, this is the case in particular of Tunisia or Mauritania, but others remain closed and dominated by authoritarian regimes, or at best hybrids. One of the main girls today is to ensure that the population is more confident in the electoral world and more generally in the political world. Without this trust, it will be difficult to establish a true democracy. It is therefore necessary to build a fairer and more transparent election system in order to take more into account what citizens want.