What impact will Africa’s busy 2026 election calendar have on the economic outlook?
Africa faces one of its most crowded electoral calendars this year at a time of shrinking global tolerance for political risk, turning the ballot box into a policy credibility test for investors rather than a purely democratic exercise. The cycle began in January with elections in Uganda, where veteran leader Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Movement – in power since 1986 – secured another five-year mandate, while, on the other end of the continent, parties aligned to Benin’s President had a clean sweep of Parliamentary elections, an outcome detractors attributed to legislative tweaks that seriously disadvantage the opposition. The Beninese return to the polls in April for Presidential elections.
Africa faces one of its most crowded electoral calendars this year at a time of shrinking global tolerance for political risk, turning the ballot box into a policy credibility test for investors rather than a purely democratic exercise. The cycle began in January with elections in Uganda, where veteran leader Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Movement – in power since 1986 – secured another five-year mandate, while, on the other end of the continent, parties aligned to Benin’s President had a clean sweep of Parliamentary elections, an outcome detractors attributed to legislative tweaks that seriously disadvantage the opposition. The Beninese return to the polls in April for Presidential elections.
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