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This year, therell be four pivotal elections across the continentnamely, in Kenya, Rwanda, Angola (all in August) , and Liberia (October). These general and presidential elections could reshape not only the political institutions in these nations but are also likely to have an impact on peace and security, governance, development and economic growth.

The fear of ethnic-induced violence in Kenya, the angst around the succession plan in Rwanda, the end of the worlds longest running presidencies in Angola, and the task of replacing Africas first female president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf in Liberia will all be significant milestones, indicative of where Africas electoral politics goes from here.

In late May, president Paul Kagame gave his strongest hint yet that he could step down after the upcoming August elections. Elected in 2003 with more than 95% of the vote, Kagame has in the past promised to leave office, especially if he didnt build national institutions that would allow him to preside over a peaceful transfer of power. But that will be a step easier said than done.

Some Rwandans assert a third term would allow Kagame to consolidate the socioeconomic and technological progress the country has achieved under his leadership. Others argue that Kagame and his party, the Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), have used the memory of the genocide to limit competitive politics and undermine dissent. In fact, other observers have warned that keeping Kagame in office could produce violence in the future, and could push rivals to extricate him.

Edward Paice, the director of the Africa Research Institute, says the situation will become clearer closer to the 2024 elections. A Putin-Medvedev-style shuffle was speculated, Paice says, but nothing was put into effectshowing that even if he stands down, Kagame will still remain a central figure in [Rwandan] politics.

As a regional economic powerhouse, transport hub with a relatively open democracy, Kenyas elections attract attention well beyond its borders. In its 2013 election, more than 23,000 local and international observers monitored the Kenyan election.

The 2017 Kenyan presidential elections will be another two-horse race between Raila Odinga and the incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta. Since the bloody aftermath of the 2007 elections, Kenya has adopted a progressive constitution that devolved the system of power and mandated the distribution of resources to counties. But the biggest challenge facing the country, observers say, is the weakness of key institutions like the electoral commission. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission was only sworn in Januarya breach of recommendations that outlined commissioners be in office two years in advance. Polls also show that the Kenyan public doesnt trust the Supreme Court to handle an election petition if the results are contested by either party.

Murithi Mutiga, senior Horn of Africa analyst with the International Crisis Group, says that this means the potential for a contested outcome resulting in inter-communal conflict or violent street protests remain high.

On Saturday (June 3), thousands of Angolans protested in the streets of the capital Luanda to demand free and fair elections. After 38 years in power, president Jose Eduardo dos Santos will step down, with defense minister Joo Lourenco emerging as the chosen successor.

The election is set to mark a significant turn for the oil-rich nation, which has been ruled by one party since independence in 1975. Since he ascended to the presidency, dos Santos has been accused of crushing dissent, appointed his daughterAfricas richest womanto lead the state oil company, and his son to head the nations $5 billion sovereign wealth fund.

But Lourenco is set to inherit a country struggling with low oil prices, rising inflation rates, and increasing poverty. And those expecting radical change might be disappointed. Power in the country will remain in the hands of the military because Lourenco is a general, Nuno Dala, an opposition activist, said.

Africas oldest republic heads to the polls in October to elect a leader to succeed president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. So far, 11 candidates have registered including Alexander Cummings, a former Coca-Cola executive; vice president Joseph Boakai; and former football star George Weah. All the candidates say they want to deal with poverty and unemployment, tackle widespread health problems including Ebola risk, and improve infrastructural development.

The race also features one woman, an ex-model who wants to be the countrys second female president. MacDella Cooper is running on a five-point platform that hopes to provide free education for all, universal health care, electricity in every home, decentralizing governance, and dealing with land ownership.

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Kenya, Rwanda, Angola, and Liberia elections could show where ... - Quartz

Divisive discourse. Trumps tweets. Fake news.

The 2016 Election revealed the surprising ways the internet can shape Americans political views. Voters were exposed to strategically placed misinformation, propaganda posts composed by automated programs and an increased volume on hate speech and hostile political rhetoric.

Stanford law professor Nate Persily has written about this phenomenon in a journal article called Can Democracy Survive The Internet?

If what we saw in 2016 was just the beginning, what can we expect the next national election to be like? With all the political noise the internet is generating, can true democracy still be heard?

GUESTS

Nate Persily, James B. McClatchy professor of law, Stanford University

Zeynep Tufekci, Author, Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest; associate professor, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hills School of Information and Library Science; faculty associate at the Harvard Berkman Klein Center

Wael Ghonim, Internet activist

Aaron Sharockman, Executive director, Politifact

For more, visit http://the1a.org.

2017 WAMU 88.5 American University Radio.

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Can The Democracy Survive The Internet?: Lessons From 2016 - NPR Illinois | 91.9 UIS

Okay, I have kept silent long enough. I have had to change the Band-Aids on my tongue at least four times this week and at this rate I am going to need some stitches. Isaac Asimov once said something about democracy that for years I didnt understand. But today I think get it and perhaps you will too. Heres what he said; There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and the strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge. Theres an old childrens song with the lyrics something like this; Oh be careful little eyes what you see, oh be careful little ears what you hear, oh be careful little feet where you go I havent heard that song in a great long while. Nor have I heard a contemporary song with a similar message.

That great French comedian and humorist, Joseph de Maistre, okay he was actually a philosopher, said; Every country has the government they deserve. Later in the same document he said; In a democracy people get the leaders they deserve. Im just like you, I thought Abraham Lincoln said that and maybe, but if he did, he was quoting Joseph de Maistre. (pronounced Mys tray) Oh yeah, Joseph was quite a corker, a laugh a minute. Heres another rich one; False opinions are like false money, struck first of all by guilty men and thereafter circulated by honest people who perpetuate the crime without knowing what they are doing. I dont know about you but when I read that statement I instantly thought of every talking head I have seen on the news programs and several coffee break conversations I have ever had.

Here are some things that I do understand about our government. It is designed to encourage debate and the balance of power. I feel certain that no democracy cannot survive operating as a feud. Here in Kentucky most of us understand the zero sum game of a feud. Democracy requires discussion; not sound bites, collaboration not shouting matches and clear judgement not rash hysteria. Democracy should be focused upon how we all can win, not on how we make certain the others lose. And another thing Democracy needs is each of us having a practicing respect for all our laws.

Getting back to our new acquaintance and guest comedian, Joseph de Maistre. He nailed it again with this whopper. All grandeur, all power, all subordination to authority rest upon the executioner: He is the horror and the bond of human association. Remove this incomprehensible agent from the world and at that very moment order gives way to chaos, thrones topple and society disappears. Can you imagine a world where no one expects repercussions for their actions? Why, people would be texting while their driving, double parking on Main Street. Children would adorn themselves with ink and perforations. Ignorance would be a point of pride; no need to know that; no concern to me as long as I can watch my TV, iPad, electronic device of choice.

Our news commentators, radio, TV or papers are most often overflowing with bile and bitterness. Soon, no one will respect any office or voice of government. No one will care if we all suffer just so long as our supposed enemies dont get to succeed.

Instead of being a country of individuals we have become glops of demographics. I can prove that. I can prove that we have all happily clumped ourselves into nice little boxes of hims, hers, Dems, libs, indys, Repubs and this list goes on. Just look at the things that are being celebrated in the beautiful month of June. I cant list them all, I have over four double-sided pages of celebrations. Sixty celebrations claim the whole month.

Today, June 3rd is I repeat day. Today, June 3rd is I repeat day.

June 18th International Panic Day, National Splurge Day, and June 19th World Sauntering Day, you know; maybe that joker Joseph de Maistre has it right. After reviewing this massive list of celebrations, things that are important enough to claim a whole month, perhaps he is absolutely right. Perhaps, we do have the government we deserve.

One final thing; We can change that government by participation, education, attention to details, a refusal to accept half-truths, sound bites and of course; we all should vote. Now, does anyone have another Band-Aid? My tongue is bitten again.

Don Buck P. Creacy can be reached at doncreacy@gmail.com

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Democracy and June; a step too far? - News- Graphic (subscription)

The Tory party has been accused by Labour of using fake news ads on Facebook to attack Jeremy Corbyn, seen here at a campaign event in Blyth, north-east England, on 5 June. Photograph: Scott Heppell/AFP/Getty Images

Im not a Labour voter, but your front-page article (Labour accuses Tories of using fake news ads to attack Corbyn, 3 June) brought a physical reaction I dont often experience from a newspaper: faintness, dizziness, a feeling of suffocation. Of course I knew that the Tories twist the truth at every opportunity, but I had naively supposed that nowadays they preferred to leave the outright dishonesty to their friends the press barons. Such shenanigans are not unknown at constituency level, but it comes as an urgent wake-up call to see the party rolling out this poisonous fabrication nationally in the middle of an election campaign, and via a channel (Facebook) that ensures it is unchallengeable by the regulators.

This smear campaign is not so much an attack on Jeremy Corbyn as an assault on democracy a fat middle finger raised to the electorate by a sneering bully in blue. It seems there are few depths to which this party will not sink to cement its loosening grip on power. Insofar as she has a direction at all, Theresa May seems desperate to drag our country towards totalitarianism. We have to stop her. Rob Sykes Oxford

Many thanks for exposing the moral vacuum in which the Tory campaign is being planned and carried out. It is to be hoped that Theresa May, who spoke on TV on Friday night about the need for trust in public life, will fire the individuals responsible for this cyber-slander. Is it too late to remind your readers that a new Tory government will implement the constituency boundary changes quickly to ensure a Tory victory in 2022 and for several elections thereafter? The possibility of the UK becoming de facto a one-party state is frighteningly real.

Secondly, I am saddened that you have not respectfully marked the demise of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. In Scotland we are being asked to vote for Ruth Davidsons Conservatives. My local candidate bills herself as Ruth Davidsons candidate, and Ms Davidson herself in an election TV broadcast asked us to Vote for me and my team. A rampant personality cult is developing here. Move over Kim Jong-un. Peter Simmons North Berwick, East Lothian

It was interesting to read Zoe Williams account of her short visit to North East Hampshire villages (Prosperity in search of a steady hand, 1 June). Those of us who live in the constituency but do not have any sympathies for, or inclination to vote for, the Tory party know only too well that so many of our friends, who we love dearly, would not normally think of voting any other way. But we also know that things can and do change. There are enough of us subversives lurking in the background to make us believe that things could turn out very differently this year. My Lib Dem poster stands out bravely in a cul de sac where only residents and dog walkers will see it, but I am still confident that this election will surprise.

In response to a taxi driver who said quite correctly, regarding Brexit negotiations, Were not at war with Europe, Zoe asked Arent we, though? If she really believes this, it is one of the most depressing asides I have read since the referendum vote. If whoever is in power goes into the Brexit negotiations with the attitude that we are at war with Europe, there is no hope whatsoever for the future of this country. Janet Davies Resident of a North East Hampshire village

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Conservatives' fake news ads are an assault on democracy - The Guardian

Organisations which fund political parties are meant to declare all major donations they receive. Yet only one ever has.

Who is funding Theresa May's campaign? Image: Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Obscure organisations have been pouring millions of pounds into the Conservative party without revealing the source of their funds, new research from openDemocracy reveals today.

Since July 2009, the Conservative party has received nearly 12 million from a little-known type of organisation called unincorporated associations.

July 2009 is relevant, because that is when a new law kicked in, regulating these sorts of donations. But new research by openDemocracy has led to serious questions about whether that law is really doing anything to prevent a flood of secret donations.

'Unincorporated associations' are defined as organisations which have a constitution and at least two members, but arent registered in any other way for example as a company or a trade union. They might be a social club or a sports club or a campaign group.

Its not just the Tories who receive money from them. Over the same period, the Labour party got over 9 million from unincorporated associations; the Liberal Democrats, over 5 million; UKIP, 80,000 and the Green Party and the SNP, nothing.

In itself, there is absolutely nothing wrong with these sorts of donations. For example, when the Gillingham and Rainham Constituency Labour Party decided to give 1,500 to the central party this year, this was counted as a donation from an unincorporated association to Labour.

But they are also open to abuse. After all, if you wanted to funnel money anonymously into a party, circumventing transparency laws, why not do it through one of these groups? And so, in 2009 Political Parties and Elections Act laid down some rules. It was designed to ensure that these sorts of organisations werent used as fronts for donations to be hidden from public scrutiny.

If you wanted to funnel money anonymously into a party, circumventing transparency laws, why not do it through one of these groups?

As the Electoral Commission website puts it:

Unincorporated Associations that donate more than 25,000 in a calendar year are required to register with us and report gifts in excess of 7,500."

The register of Unincorporated Associations is here(.xls). It includes 62 different organisations, though it isnt complete: today, openDemocracy has revealed today that the Scottish Conservatives appear to have accepted a donation of 100,000 from an unregistered group not listed here. It isnt clear how many more groups have also donated more than 25,000 without registering.

But we can also reveal today that, since the Act in 2009, only one registered unincorporated association has ever admitted to receiving a donation of more than 7,500. The spreadsheet of registered donations on the Electoral Commission website only records six donations, made over 2013 and 2014, by two donors, all to the same Association, the Conservative donors the Trevelyan Campaign Fund.

The complete register of gifts to Unincorporated Associations, 2009-2017.

This means that every other unincorporated association donating more than 25,000 claims it hasnt received any donation of more than 7,500 over the course of 12 months from any individual since 2009. Either that, or its failed to comply with this key transparency law. So extraordinarily it seems that, with one small exception, all of the 12 million which has gone to the Conservative party through these organisations came in the form of small donations.

While it is of course possible that it is true and we certainly arent accusing any specific organisation of breaching this law it does raise serious questions about the extent to which the system is open to abuse. The 2009 Elections Act was passed to ensure that unincorporated associations couldnt funnel dark money into our election system. But in reality, there are still millions of pounds flooding our democracy through these organisations. We have no idea where it is coming from. We have no idea what they are demanding of our politicians. And we have no idea what they are getting from them.

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How dark money is drowning British democracy - Open Democracy