Democracy at the crossroads: real test for the ACDEG

Why has the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance had limited impact and can it be improved?

Date: 2019-10-03

Time: 09:30 to 12:30

Venue: Radisson Blu Hotel, Addis Ababa

RSVP: Sossina Mekonnen, Phone: +251 115 156 320, Email: [email protected]

This seminar will focus on the African Union’s (AU) mandate to advance democracy and participatory governance. The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) aims to transform governance to support peace and security on the continent. However, despite the charter’s adoption in 2007, intra-state violent conflict is still pervasive in Africa.

This seminar will critically re-examine the ACDEG’s impact on Africa’s democratic development. The ACDEG and the African Peer Review Mechamism (APRM) are intertwined and mutually reinforcing. Both must be pursued simultaneously if democracy is to get a new lease on life. This is the real test for both the ACDEG and APRM.

This seminar is co-hosted by the ISS and the Department of Political Affairs, AU Commission.

Chair: Dr Roba D Sharamo, Regional Director, ISS Addis Ababa

Speakers: 

Dr Khabele Matlosa, Director, Department of Political Affairs, AU Commission

Prof Adebayo Olukoshi, Director for Africa and West Asia, International IDEA, Addis Ababa