Nearly 90% of Zambians support democracy

A newly published report by Afrobarometer has recorded that 87% of people in Zambia support democracy.

In targeted analysis of Zambia, the report said “In 2021, Zambian voters resoundingly rejected their country’s slide back towards authoritarianism…Citizen activists, journalists, artists and Africa’s youth have also stepped up, using a creative mix of new technology and old-school protest tactics to fight against corruption and for better government.”

In terms of military rule, Zambia has topped the chart with 90% of people rejecting the prospect of a military government.

Looking at levels of satisfaction within the country, Zambia recorded at least 60% satisfaction rate in 2021 to 2023, which constitutes a sharp recovery from the 37% rate recorded in 2019 to 2021.

Zambia again scored second highest with 91% of its voters feeling free to vote without pressure. The report rightly recognises Zambia’s democratic trajectory over the past few years as a lesson in the power of resilience.

This stands against the backdrop of eight successful military takeovers in Africa since 2020, recent surveys have found that two thirds of people in thirty African countries still prefer democracy.

The recent breakaway of the military rulers of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the ECOWAS alliance of West African countries has brought the tensions over military takeovers to the foreground of the continent’s stability. The head of the ECOWAS commission, Omar Alieu Touray said, “our region is facing the risk of disintegration.”

Despite the uncertainty and unrest brought by the emergence of a “coup belt”, accompanied by protests against tax rises, subsidy cuts and corruption, a report by Afrobarometer saw a resilient support for democracy in Africa. The level of democratic support in the continent still exists to a greater extent than in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.