When an electoral crisis, a breakdown in the legitimacy or process of a democratic election, often involving violence, fraud, or state overreach hits, it doesn’t just shake a country—it shatters trust. In places like Nigeria, where former ministers have their homes raided by the military under vague accusations of coup plotting, the line between law and power gets blurry. This isn’t just about one man, Timipre Sylva. It’s about what happens when elections are treated like battlegrounds instead of ballots. The fear isn’t just about losing—it’s about disappearing. Arrests, destroyed property, and silence aren’t side effects. They’re tactics.
These political targeting, the deliberate use of state institutions to punish or intimidate opponents ahead of elections aren’t new, but they’re getting smarter. Governments don’t always need to steal votes anymore. They just need to scare the people who might challenge them. In 2027, Nigeria’s next big election looms, and the moves happening now—raids, arrests, media blackouts—are the opening plays. This isn’t isolated. Across Africa, from Zimbabwe to Kenya, when opposition figures get too loud, the system finds ways to mute them. The same tools used to fight terrorism or corruption are now repurposed to protect power. And the people? They’re left wondering if their vote even matters.
It’s not just about who wins. It’s about whether anyone believes the game was fair. When SASSA rolls out biometric rules to stop fraud in grant payments, the public sees a system trying to clean house. But when the army raids a politician’s home with no charges filed, the same system looks broken. The difference? One protects the poor. The other protects the powerful. These election fraud, manipulation of electoral outcomes through illegal means like ballot stuffing, voter suppression, or tampering with results aren’t always about fake ballots. Sometimes, they’re about fake arrests. Fake investigations. Fake news. And when the military gets involved in politics, democracy doesn’t just weaken—it gasps for air.
What you’ll find here aren’t opinions. These are real stories—raids in Abuja, silenced voices, protests that never made the headlines. Each post pulls back the curtain on how power really works when the ballot box isn’t enough. You’ll see how culture, fear, and control twist together in the lead-up to Africa’s most critical votes. No fluff. No spin. Just what’s happening, when it happened, and who it hit hardest. If you care about who gets to lead, and how they got there, this is the collection you need to read.
Opposition leader Issa Tchiroma Bakary declared himself Cameroon's election winner, defying President Paul Biya's 43-year rule and sparking protests, government condemnation, and fears of violence as the Constitutional Council delays official results.
