2006 in Africa

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Incumbents

International organizations

African Union (AU)

Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)

Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC)

West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA)

Other organizations

Elections

In the Beninese presidential election, 2006, held on March 5, the outgoing president Mathieu Kérékou was barred from entering due to the age limit. However, he still actively criticised the organization of the election after the first round, and along with several other political parties (such as the opposition Benin Rebirth Party), openly suggested electoral fraud. International observers, some from ECOWAS, concluded that the poll had taken place under satisfactory conditions and transparency. According to results validated by the constitutional court, Yayi Boni took the lead in the first round with 35.60% of the vote, in front of Adrien Houngbédji with 24.23%. In the second round, Boni won the presidency with a majority of 74.29% against Houndbédji.
In the Burkinabe municipal election, 2006, held on April 23, most of the vote went to incumbent president Blaise Compaoré's Congress for Democracy and Progress.
In the Cape Verdean legislative election, 2006, held on January 22, the African Party of Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) triumphed, garnering 50.52% of the vote (40 seats), beating the main opposition party, the Movement for Democracy (MpD) with 28 seats, and the Democratic and Independent Cape Verdean Union (UCID) with 2 seats.
In the Cape Verdean presidential election, 2006, held on February 12, Pedro Pires, the incumbent, was challenged by former prime minister Carlos Veiga. Pires, with 50.98% of the vote, narrowly beat Veiga, with 49.02%, thus retaining his presidency, in a repeat of the 2001 election.
In the Chadian presidential election, 2006, held on May 3 in the midst of the Second Chadian Civil War, incumbent president Idriss Déby won 64.67% of the vote, thus retaining his presidency. Most opposition political parties refused to participate in what they termed a "masquerade". Voter turnout was extremely low, at 53.1%.
In the Comorian presidential election, 2006, held in two rounds on April 16 and May 14, Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi defeated all opponents with a 58.02% majority of the national vote, succeeding Azali Assoumani in the first peaceful transfer of power in modern Comorian history.
In the Democratic Republic of the Congo general election, 2006, held on July 30 and October 29 in two rounds, the incumbent Joseph Kabila was elected president. The first round saw 33 candidates running for president and 9,000 candidates running for the 500 seats in the National Assembly. Kabila had garnered 44.81% of the vote, while his main opponent, Jean-Pierre Bemba, only won 20.03%. Kabila's People's Party for Reconstruction and Democracy won 110 seats in the Assembly, compared to the 64 seats won by Bemba's Movement for the Liberation of Congo. The second round, a presidential run-off, saw the deployment of the world's largest United Nations peacekeeping mission, UNMOC. On November 15, the Independent Electoral Commission (CEI) announced that Kabila had won the vote with 58.05%, while Bemba had received only 41.95% support, and declared Kabila president. Voter turnout was 65.36% for the second round. Despite Bemba's rejection of the outcome, the Supreme Court upheld the election result, stating that Kabila was the winner by "absolute majority". Throughout the year, rioting and violence was rampant in many parts of the country. This was the first multi-party election since 1960.
In the Gabonese legislative election, 2006, held on December 17, confirmed results from the constitutional court stated that the 7 government coalition parties in support of the incumbent president, Omar Bongo had garnered a majority. Out of the total 120 seats, coalition parties had won a total of 99 seats, compared to the 17 won by the 6 parties of the opposition. The remaining 4 seats were won by independents. An overwhelming 82 seats were won by Bongo's Gabonese Democratic Party alone. No major incidents related to the election were reported.
In the Malagasy presidential election, 2006, held on December 3, incumbent president Marc Ravalomanana was voted in for a second term in office with 54.80%, prevailing over 13 other candidates. Voter turnout was estimated at 61.45%. Confusion over preliminary results led opposition candidates to question the validity of the elections, and official complaints were filed to the constitutional court. On December 23, the court ruled that Ravalomanana had indeed won the election. Several weeks before, a coup attempt related to the election occurred. Furthermore, some candidates were barred from participating for various reasons.
In the Mauritanian constitutional referendum, 2006, held on June 26, 96.97% voted to adopt a new constitution. Voter turnout was 76.51%.
In the Mauritanian parliamentary and municipal elections, 2006, held on November 19 and December 3, the coalition of former opposition parties won 39 seats, while moderate Islamist independents won 41 seats. The former ruling party, the Republican Party for Democracy and Renewal, won the remaining 7 seats. The elections were considered to be free and transparent by all observers and political parties.
In the Seychellois presidential election, 2006, held from July 28 through July 30, the incumbent president James Michel of the Seychelles People's Progressive Front was re-elected with 53.73% of the vote. His main opponent, Wavel Ramkalawan of the Seychelles National Party, won 45.71% of the vote. Voter turnout was 88.7%.
In the Ugandan general election, 2006, held on February 23, the incumbent president Yoweri Museveni garnered 59.2% of the vote, compared to Kizza Besigye's 37.3%. Besigye's Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) party rejected the results, alleging electoral fraud. Judges of the Supreme Court of Uganda narrowly voted to uphold the election result, despite many mentions of irregularities. The election was also the first multi-party poll since 1986. However, a multitude of charges were brought against Besigye in the months leading up to the election, sparking claims of fabrication and widespread protests by Besigye supporters.
In the Zambian general election, 2006, held on September 28, Levy Mwanawasa won the single-round presidential election with 43.0%, beating main opponents Michael Sata and Hakainde Hichilema, with a voter turnout of 70.77%. In the simultaneously conducted parliamentary election, out of the 150 elected seats in the National Assembly, Mwanawasa's Movement for Multiparty Democracy secured 72 seats, while Sata's Patriotic Front won 46 seats, and the United Democratic Alliance returned with 27 seats.

Conflict and civil war

Darfur conflict

President of Sudan Omar al-Bashir refuses the deployment of 20,000 Blue Helmets in a United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur in accordance with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1706 adopted on September 1.

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Notes

This text is being translated from the original French-language article.

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