AfricTivistes is hosting a webinar in partnership with the Club de Madrid on Wednesday October 18th from 11am GMT to explore the real causes of the coups d’État in West Africa and all the other related issues.

In less than three years, five countries in West Africa and the Sahel have experienced putsches and attempted military coups: Mali (August 2020 and May 2021), Guinea (September 2021), Burkina Faso (January 2022 and September 2022), Niger (July 2023) including attempted coups in Guinea Bissau in February 2022 and in The Gambia in December 2022. In all, in less than two years, four West African presidents have been overthrown by the military. The resurgence of this scourge is a cause for concern for those committed to good democratic governance in the region.

Moreover, they are taking place in a two-fold context. On the one hand, there is the growing threat of terrorism, which is already ravaging the countries of the Sahel and moving inexorably towards the region’s coastal countries. On the other hand, the growing presence of emerging powers in the sub-region, challenging certain established orders against a backdrop of anti-neocolonialist rhetoric, is creating a variety of tensions, all in a climate of confusion fuelled by the proliferation of fake news of all kinds.

To deep dive this issue in all its complexity and ramifications, AfricTivistes invites personalities who have played leading roles in the political governance of their respective countries, such as Moussa Mara, former Prime Minister of Mali (2014-2015) and Aminata Touré, former Prime Minister of Senegal (2013-2014). The civil society voices are Alioune Tine, founder of Afrikajom Center and Camilla Rocca, Director of Research at the Mo Ibrahim Foundation.

In this regard, the speakers will identify possible solutions for consolidating democratic governance in West Africa against a backdrop of rising terrorist threats and the increasingly conspicuous presence of emerging powers in the sub-region.

This online panel is part of the Pan-African Online Citizen Consultation, a Charter Project Africa activity. This online Consultation enables African citizens to contribute to the implementation of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) in the regional economic communities.

We call on members of civil society organisations, local initiatives, young people and activists and any citizen from the continent and its diaspora to contribute and engage in thematic discussions by clicking on this link: https://charter.africa/opportunities/consultation

Register to attend the webinar : https://bit.ly/48N3qh0