A former president of the ECOWAS Commission, Kadré Ouédraogo, and a Gambian parliamentarian, Fatoumatta Njai, have called on African nations and political actors to safeguard democratic governance by practising internal party democracy and ensuring transparent, credible and inclusive electoral systems.

They both spoke as panellists at the 2026 Goodluck Jonathan Foundation Democracy Dialogue held on Tuesday in Bauchi. According to Mr Ouédraogo, representative democracy depends on the integrity of elections to choose legitimate leaders.

“Therefore, it is essential that the electoral system be transparent, credible and inclusive. Political parties and election management bodies must work hard for this, because there can be no sustainable democracy without transparent and credible elections,” he said.

Mr Ouédraogo urged political actors to prioritise national peace and stability above personal or partisan gains. He advised aggrieved parties to present concrete proof when challenging poll outcomes rather than relying on unfounded allegations.

“Parties must support their grievances with tangible and compelling evidence so that the appeals can be judged objectively, while respecting the legal arena adopted for correcting wrongs. It is for the judiciary to arbitrate between the parties and validate the results,” he said.

Ms Njai warned that political parties in Africa often fail to consolidate long-term democratic values because they usually mobilise close to elections. She urged political parties in Africa to emulate consolidated structures like those witnessed during Senegal’s 2024 elections.

“Political parties end up running around months or a year before elections trying to get membership. How then would they consolidate values? Senegal proved that with a consolidated political party structure, victory can be achieved even under severe adversity,” Ms Njai said.

Sharing her personal experience of standing as an independent candidate after challenging her party’s decision to align with the former ruling establishment in The Gambia, Njai emphasised that true democratic resilience begins within political organisations.

“I took my matter to court, but the decision was dragged until after the elections took place. Had I waited, I wouldn’t have contested. I opted to run independently, and justice prevailed because the electorate decided.

“Political parties need to protect democracy. They must exercise internal democracy before they can aim to protect national, continental, regional and global democracy,” she added.

(NAN)