News & Analysis: Political impact
“A fast-deteriorating health situation has added to Tunisia’s political and economic woes as the aggressive Delta variant of coronavirus takes hold in a country with low vaccinations and the Arab world’s highest COVID-19 death rate.”
“In prioritising public health, governments have drawn on emergency legislation to implement lockdown regulations. These measures narrow the gap between authoritarianism and democracy and can be used as a pretext for authoritarian regimes to hold on to power.”
“Three statehouse employees have succumbed to COVID-19. This was confirmed by press secretary Alfredo Hengari on Wednesday morning.”
“Namibian President Hage Geingob and First Lady Monica Geingob have tested positive for COVID-19, the Namibian presidency said in a statement on Thursday. They were informed of their results on Wednesday evening.”
“In Kenya, citizens have protested allegations of corruption in the procurement and supply of COVID-19 equipment worth $71.96 million by a government agency. But the latest scandal to envelop the country has had international implications, pulling in a Canadian firm and American regulators.”
“If African populations are skeptical now of limits on digital media, that opposition might grow as more enter the digital space for commerce, work, education, entertainment and social communications. Shutdowns will generate not only higher economic costs, but likely greater public outrage as well.”
“With one of the weakest health systems in the world and a government in turmoil, Somalia is struggling with a new wave of coronavirus infections that will likely lead to a surge in unrecorded and unrecognised deaths, health officials and aid workers warn.”
“Botswana’s president will miss a Southern African regional meeting he had been due to chair on Thursday to discuss recent attacks on Mozambique after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19, prompting him to self-quarantine, his office said on Tuesday.”
“Presidents may not be constitutionally required to report on their health, but the secretive nature of all these deaths robbed countries of timely opportunities for reflection and frank discussions of health and illness.”
“COVID-19 may have increased the risk of electoral violence in four key ways: facilitating clampdowns on political opposition, fueling the proliferation of disinformation, worsening economic fragility and delaying elections.”
A hub for information, analysis, and the global response to COVID-19’s impact on Africa