One year after the world was first introduced to a pandemic that continues to ravage lives and economies, African countries are still finding solid grounds on which to place their feet in anticipation of the promised worst that is to come.
Even though at least three vaccines have been invented in humanity’s fight against the coronavirus, it is hard to see a quick way out, much less for those in Africa. At the end of 2020, the African Union Center for Disease Control (AU-CDC) expressed concern about the lack of infrastructure as well as strategies in most African countries even with vaccines available.
Statistically across continents, Africa is the least affected in terms of infections and deaths. Yet the economic toll may be felt the worst on the continent of more than 1.3 billion inhabitants. Servicing foreign debts is of course one of the biggest drivers of the harder times expected.
This would have an impact on politics on national scales. With a very young population and inability to overcome the scourge of unemployment and underemployment (a fact only made worse by COVID), many African leaders will have more on the line than before when elections come up in 2021.
For some other Africans, the challenge apart from the impacts of COVID is the task of rebuilding their countries, and that ambition lies in the outcome of coming polls.
With all these in mind, these are the upcoming elections of 2021 that you should not take your eyes away from:
