Democratization by Elections? Opposition Weakness in Africa

The position of opposition parties in national legislature is critical to any strategy of "democratization by elections". But the third wave of democratization in Africa has resulted in only a limited increase in political competition. Regardless of the nature and quality of electoral institutions, opposition parties have remained numerically weak and fragmented, and unable to carry out their role as a political counterweight to the victorious party and president. The performance of opposition parties indicates that we should question whether Africa's multiparty systems really are progressing. At the very least, the pace of democratic progress has been exceedingly slow.