Re-imagining Democracy in Africa: The Pretoria Consensus

In recent years, Africa has experienced various challenges in sustaining democracy, leading to significant discourse on its effectiveness and the level of public trust that it commands. The urgency to convene a high-level dialogue on "Re-imagining Democracy in Africa: Comparative Experiences from the Global South" stemmed from the necessity to understand the emerging challenges and realities. 

The dialogue brought together nearly 200 people and allowed for reflection and engagement on how to safeguard democracy considering current international trends and citizens’ aspirations. The Pretoria Consensus was presented at the end of the two-day event.

The event was hosted by the International IDEA in collaboration with the African Union, the Open Society Foundations, Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, the European Union, and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) of the Government of South Africa.

View this page frequently for upcoming activities and for the full Event Report.

Group photo of participants from the High-Level Dialogue on Re-imagining Democracy in Africa: Comparative Experiences from the Global South, held June 2025 in Pretoria, South Africa.

Highlights from our opening session

"The proud democracies from Africa, Latin America, and Asia represented in this room, in many cases born from long struggles for self-determination, are living proof that democracy is not a Western construct, but a universal aspiration. It is an aspiration rooted in the values that inspired South Africa’s own long walk to freedom—in the beliefs that human beings are endowed with a right to elect authorities in free and fair elections, to speak up and dissent, to organize in civic groups free from coercion, among many others." 

- Dr Kevin Casas-Zamora, International IDEA Secretary-General

“The failure to address critical economic questions impacts how citizens perceive the very concept of democracy. This convening allows us to collectively reflect on the shared challenges of the Global Majority and reimagine democracy as a tool for delivering dignity, not just holding elections.”

- Dr Chukwumeka Eze, Open Society Foundations

“I do not believe that the citizens of the world have declined to accept democracy. What I think is that the decline in democracy is the result of poor economic performance, widespread corruption, and weak governance. Most Africans are dissatisfied by how democracy is performing. When democratic governments fail, the military steps in. This does not necessarily mean that people want the military—it's a reflection of frustration and abandonment.”

- Dr Abdalla Hamdok, former Prime Minister of Sudan
 

The solution to democracy’s challenges is not to replace democracy, but to reform it so that it solves more real problems, for more real people. What is needed is not democracy for none, but democracy for all.  

- Dr Kevin Casas-Zamora, International IDEA Secretary-General, said during his closing remarks on 20 June 2025.

View more photos from the event.