confidentially speaking
The Africa Confidential Blog
Votes, coups and cash in 2022
Blue Lines
In this special edition of Africa Confidential our correspondents take an in-depth look at the year ahead, surveying elections, conflicts, economic trends, and the next twists in the Covid-19 pandemic.
The continent's two biggest economies, Nigeria and South Africa, are in early election mode. In Nigeria, the two main parties are picking their candidates for the presidential elections in February 2023. In South Africa, the ruling ANC holds its elective conference in December to select its president, a vote that may determine the leadership of the party and government.
Presidential elections are due in Angola and Kenya in August and the results will reverberate beyond their borders. Elsewhere, much diplomatic effort will be spent on trying to coax the latest crop of military leaders – in Chad, Guinea, Mali and Sudan – to transition to civilian rule. Regional efforts will be made to broker negotiations between Ethiopia's federal forces and the Tigrayan forces to end the country's devastating war.
Other international projects will focus on the region's health security to counter Covid-19 and future pandemics. Plans include more local production of vaccines and boosting logistics. And in November, Egypt will host the UN's COP27 Climate Summit at which African states will argue for their strategies for energy transitions and the finance to deliver them.