Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Gaël Rangain
Published on 2024-03-09 08:00:09
The 2024 report from V-Dem, titled “Winning and Losing at the Ballot,” shows that autocratization continues to be the dominant trend, with countries experiencing a decline in democracy, including Mauritius in the Top 10. “Mauritius is the top stand-alone autocratizer with the most recent autocratization beginning from 2018,” highlighted the V-Dem institute, hosted by the Department of Political Science at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.
The authors argue that Mauritius, once hailed as the only democracy in Sub-Saharan Africa, has recently introduced several regulations restricting the work of broadcasting companies and journalists, with government efforts to censor the media intensifying significantly since 2019. The report emphasizes that the series of actions undermining democracy has led to Mauritius being categorized as an electoral autocracy in 2023. The 2024 V-Dem report poses a new blow to Mauritius.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, the vast majority of the population (82%) resides in electoral and closed autocracies, such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Zimbabwe, making it the third most autocratic region in the world. However, most of these countries tend to be classified as “certain” autocracies, according to V-Dem, an international collaboration involving over 4,200 researchers from more than 180 countries, with substantial support and contributions from experts, coordinators, regional directors, and project leaders. Mauritius is among the countries in the region that have lost their status as liberal democracies in the last decade, with the shift occurring in 2014 for Mauritius, 2013 for South Africa, 2015 for Ghana, and 2021 for Botswana.
V-Dem, a global reference in measuring democracy, emphasizes that freedom of expression, including media freedom, is what “aspiring autocrats” most often and to the greatest extent attack. The situation has worsened in 45 countries over the past decade. “Among the worst government offenders when it comes to increasing their efforts to censor the media are El Salvador, India, and notably Mauritius,” the report highlights. Mauritius is portrayed as a long-standing democracy where several rights and freedoms have significantly deteriorated in recent years.
The country is also among the 60 nations globally set to hold national elections in 2024, with November 30 being mentioned as the date. V-Dem’s work highlights that the level of democracy enjoyed by individuals worldwide in 2023 has fallen back to 1985 levels. It is further emphasized that since 2009, and for almost 15 consecutive years, the share of the global population living in autocratizing countries has surpassed those residing in democratic countries.
V-Dem states that the world is almost evenly divided between democracies (91 countries) and autocracies (88), with 71% of the global population, approximately 5.7 billion people, living in autocracies. Electoral autocracies have the largest population share, with 44% of the global population. Studies have also shown that freedom of expression remains the most affected indicator of democracy and has deteriorated in 35 countries last year. Another significant piece of information in the current context is the deterioration of clean elections, which is the second declining component in 23 countries. Freedom of association, including civil society, is another factor deteriorating, with at least 20 countries restricting this right, while only three extend it. Moreover, 29% of the global population live in liberal and electoral democracies.
V-Dem asserts that elections are critical events that can either trigger democratization, allow autocratization, or help stabilize autocratic regimes. This independent Swedish research organization has sounded the alarm for the fourth consecutive year regarding the situation in Mauritius. In their latest reports, researchers had assessed that the country was on the path to autocratization. “Democracy is hanging by a thread and is in free fall,” they noted.
Read the original article(French) on Le Mauricien
