1 JS Coleman and CG Rosberg (eds) Political Parties and National Integration in Tropical Africa (2023, University of California Press); MAM Salih African Political Parties: Evolution, Institutionalisation and Governance (2003, Pluto).

2 N Udombana Social and Economic Rights in Africa: International and Public Law Perspectives (2023, Routledge).

3 E Kibet and C Fombad “Transformative constitutionalism and the adjudication of constitutional rights in Africa” (2017) 17/2 African Human Rights Law Journal 340.

4 VJ Vanberg “Liberal constitutionalism, constitutional liberalism and democracy” (2011) 22 Constitutional Political Economy 1.

5 A Smith “Book five: Of the revenue of the sovereign or commonwealth” in A Smith An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1977, University of Chicago Press) 921 at 931.

6 J Buchanan, R Wagner and J Burton The Consequences of Mr Keynes: An Analysis of the Misuse of Economic Theory for Political Profiteering, with Proposals for Constitutional Disciplines (1978, IEA).

7 MB Steger and RK Roy Neoliberalism: A Very Short Introduction (2010, Oxford University Press).

8 M Meredith The State of Africa: A History of the Continent Since Independence (2011, Simon & Schuster).

9 For the drafting history of the constitutions of three southern African countries, see Freedom House Constitution-making in Southern Africa: The Cases of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe (2017, Freedom House).

10 For the lessons and experiences of Germany, see G Leibholz Strukturprobleme der modernen Demokratie (3 erweiterte Auflage, 1967, CF Müller).

11 For the importance of political education in African countries, even for countries with comparatively better-established democracies like South Africa, see TP Thebe “Political education for good governance in South Africa's local government and communities” (2017) 9/5 African Journal of Public Affairs 123.

12 “Why are coups making a comeback in Africa?” (13 September 2021, CNN), available at: <https://edition.cnn.com/2021/09/12/africa/africa-coups-resurgence-intl-cmd/index.html> (last accessed 27 August 2024).

13 The other 13 African countries are Angola, Botswana, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Libya, Mauritius, Morocco, Somalia and South Africa.

14 These 36 African countries are Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia and Togo.

15 The self-defense democracy was first introduced by the Basic Law of Germany. Art 21(2) further provides that “[p]arties that, by reason of their aims or the behaviors of their adherents, seek to undermine or abolish the free democratic basic order or to endanger the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany shall be unconstitutional. The Federal Constitutional Court shall rule on the question of unconstitutionality”. Two founding judgments on the self-defense democracy theory of the German Federal Constitutional Court are BVerfGE 2,1-SRP Urteil and BVerfGE 5, 85-KPD Urteil.

16 N Chazan “The new politics of participation in tropical Africa” (1982) 14/2 Comparative Politics 169; DE Arowolo and OA Aluko “Democracy, political participation and good governance in Nigeria” (2012) 1/3 International Journal of Development and Sustainability 797.

17 GT Dalyop “Political instability and economic growth in Africa” (2019) 13 International Journal of Economic Policy Studies 217.

18 B Todosijević “Integrative and divisive roles of political parties: Party attachment, ideology and satisfaction with democracy in the Netherlands” (2014) 14 Romanian Journal of Political Sciences 73.

19 G Webber “Loyal opposition and the political constitution” (2017) 37/2 Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 357; HK Gerken “The loyal opposition” (2014) 123 The Yale Law Journal 1958.

20 J Novkov “Donald Trump, constitutional failure, and the guardrails of democracy” (2021) 81 Maryland Law Review 276.

21 HWO Okoth-Ogendo “Constitutions without constitutionalism: Reflections on an African political paradox” in D Greenberg et al (eds) Constitutionalism and Democracy: Transitions in the Contemporary World (1993, Oxford University Press) 65.

22 RJ Dalton, DM Farrell and I McAllister Political Parties and Democratic Linkage: How Parties Organize Democracy (2011, Oxford University Press) at 4.

23 Texts of all African constitutions are from the website of Constitute, available at <https://www.constituteproject.org/> (last accessed 3 August 2023).

24 The Mauritius Constitution 2016.

25 The Eritrea Constitution 1997, art 19.

26 The Eswatini Constitution 2005, art 20.

27 Such as art 57 of the Algeria Constitution 2020: “The right to establish political parties shall be acknowledged and guaranteed”.

28 Such as art 17(4) of the Angola Constitution 2010: “Political parties shall be entitled to equal treatment by entities exercising political power, impartial treatment by the state press and the right to exercise democratic opposition, under the terms of the Constitution and the law”.

29 Such as art 5 of the Egypt Constitution 2019: “The political system is based on political and partisan multiplicity…”

30 The Burundi Constitution 2018.

31 These 28 countries are Algeria, Angola, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

32 For example, art 263(3) of the Cape Verde Constitution 1992 provides: “[w]orkers in Public Administration and other agents of the State or other public entities may not be benefitted or jeopardized because of political or partisan choices or by the exercise of their rights established in the Constitution and the law”.

33 These 30 countries are Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Republic of the Congo, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo and Zimbabwe.

34 For example, art 9(1) of the Equatorial Guinea Constitution 2012 provides: “political parties are political organizations composed by persons that freely associate to participate in the political orientation of the State. They constitute the expression of political pluralism and democracy; they concur to the formation and manifestation of popular will, as fundamental instruments for political participation”.

35 For example, art 4(2) of the Guinea-Bissau Constitution 1996 provides: “political parties are equally responsible for [assuring] the organization and the expression of popular will and of political plurality”.

36 For example, art 7 of the Morocco Constitution 2011 provides: “[t]he political parties work for the structuring and for the political instruction of the citizens”.

37 These 19 countries are Algeria, Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, South Africa, Somalia, Tanzania, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

38 The Egypt Constitution, art 5.

39 The Zimbabwe Constitution 2017, art 3(3)(a).

40 Such as art 7 of the Uganda Constitution 1995: “Parliament shall have no power to enact a law establishing a one-party state”.

41 See SI Lindberg Democracy and Elections in Africa (2006, Johns Hopkins University Press).

42 These 28 countries are Angola, Burundi, Cape Verde, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.

43 For example, art 39(1)(c) of the Tanzania Constitution 2005: “[a] person shall not be entitled to be elected to hold the office of President of the United Republic save only if … he is a member of, and a candidate nominated by, a political party”.

44 For example, art 111(1) of the Angola Constitution: “[n]ominations for President of the Republic shall be proposed by the political parties or coalitions of political parties”.

45 For example, art 46 of the South Africa Constitution 2012: “[t]he National Assembly consists of … members in terms of an electoral system that: … d. results, in general, in proportional representation”.

46 Mauritius Constitution, first sch, sec 5, Allocation of eight additional seats.

47 For example, in Sao Tome and Principe, the President appoints the Prime Minister only “after consulting with the political parties”. The Sao Tome and Principe Constitution 2003, art 81(9).

48 The Seychelles Constitution 2017, art 104(2).

49 The Mozambique Constitution 2007, art 197.

50 These 25 countries are Angola, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

51 For example, art 129(1)(k) of the Zimbabwe Constitution provides: “1. The seat of a Member of Parliament becomes vacant … k. if the Member has ceased to belong to the political party of which he or she was a member when elected to Parliament and the political party concerned, by written notice to the Speaker or the President of the Senate, as the case may be, has declared that the Member has ceased to belong to it”.

52 S Rothman “One party regimes: A comparative analysis” (1967) 34/4 Social Research 675.

53 These 21 countries are Angola, Burundi, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, South Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

54 Such as art 14 of the Madagascar Constitution 2010: “[t]he Constitution guarantees the right of democratic opposition”; art 58 of the Senegal Constitution 2016: “[t]he Constitution guarantees to the political parties which are opposed to the policy of the Government the right to oppose it”.

55 For example, art 178 of the Burundi Constitution provides: “[p]arties or independents which claim to adhere to the opposition in the National Assembly participate of right in all parliamentary commissions, whether they are specialized or investigative commissions”.

56 For example, art 60 of the Tunisia Constitution 2014 provides: “[t]he opposition is assigned the chair of the Finance Committee, and rapporteur of the External Relations Committee”.

57 The Cape Verde Constitution, art 108(3).

58 Id, art 313(1)(g).

59 The Mozambique Constitution, art 187(3).

60 M Basedau, A Mehler and G Erdmann (ed) Votes, Money and Violence: Political Parties and Election in Sub-Saharan Africa (2007, Nordic Africa Institute).

61 For the history of campaign finance, see RJL Raja Small Change: Money, Political Parties, and Campaign Finance (2010, University of Michigan Press).

62 M Koß The Politics of Party Funding: State Funding to Political Parties and Party Competition in Western Europe (2010, Oxford University Press).

63 These 14 countries are Angola, Burundi, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Seychelles, South Africa and Zambia.

64 Art 87 of the Egypt Constitution: “… [t]he use of public funds, government agencies, public facilities, places of worship, business sector establishments and non-governmental organizations and institutions for political purposes and electioneering is forbidden”.

65 These 35 countries are Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Togo.

66 For example, art 6 of the Djibouti Constitution 2010: “[i]t is forbidden to them to identify themselves to a race, to an ethnicity, to a sex, to a religion, to a sect, to a language or to a region”.

67 For example, art 79(d) of the Liberia Constitution 1986 demands: “the name, objective, emblem or motto of the association or of the independent candidate and his organization is free from any religious connotations or divisive ethnic implications…”

68 For example, art 91(g) of the Kenya Constitution 2010 mandates political parties to “promote the objects and principles of this Constitution and the rule of law…”

69 For example, art 75(3) of the Mozambique Constitution mandates: “[p]arties shall contribute towards peace and stability in the country through the political and civic education of citizens”.

70 These 17 countries are Angola, Burundi, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

71 The Ghana Constitution 1996, art 55(7)(b).

72 The Liberia Constitution, art 79(c)(i).

73 The Tanzania Constitution, art 20(e).

74 Id, art 39(1), art 67(1) and art 77(3)(a).

75 These 43 countries are Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

76 For example, art 101 of the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of the Congo provides: “[t]he National Deputy represents the Nation. Any imperative mandate is null”.

77 The Burundi Constitution, art 154.

78 Id, art 189.

79 Art 53(6) of the Malawi Constitution 2017: “[n]otwithstanding that the Speaker, Deputy Speaker or any other presiding member has been elected as a member of a political party to the National Assembly he or she shall not be subject to the control, discipline, authority or direction of that political party or any other political party in the discharge of the functions and duties of that office and in the exercise of the powers of that office”.

80 Id, art 65(2): “… all members of all parties shall have the absolute right to exercise a free vote in any and all proceedings of the National Assembly, and a member shall not have his or her seat declared vacant solely on account of his or her voting in contradiction to the recommendations of a political party, represented in the National Assembly, of which he or she is a member”.

81 The Malawi Constitution, art 65(1).

82 The Kenya Constitution.

83 The Somalia Constitution 2012.

84 For example, art 111 of the Madagascar Constitution 2010 bans any magistrate to have connection with activities of political party.

85 For example, art 147(3) of the Tanzania Constitution prohibits any member of the defense and police force to join any political party.

86 For example, art 66(6)(b) of the Lesotho Constitution 2018 excludes office-bearer of a political party to be member of the Electoral Commission.

87 For example, art 166(3) of the Ghana Constitution bans founding member or leader of a political party to become member of the National Media Commission.

88 “The mandate of President of the Republic is incompatible with the exercise of any public or private function and with belonging to the directive instances of a political party”. Mauritania Constitution 2012.

89 The Democratic Republic of the Congo Constitution 2011, art 96.

90 The Republic of the Congo Constitution 2001, art 72.

91 The Côte d'Ivoire Constitution 2000, art 54.

92 The Madagascar Constitution, art 49.

93 The Niger Constitution 2017, art 55.

94 The Guinea Constitution 2010, art 38.

95 The Comoros Constitution 2009, art 15.

96 The Egypt Constitution, art 140.

97 The Somalia Constitution, art 65.