Freedom in Africa 2007

Trend	Country	Political Rights	Civil Liberties	Status
_	Angola	6	5	Not Free
Ý	Benin	2	2	Free
_	Botswana	2	2	Free
_	Burkina Faso	5	3	Partly Free
_	Burundi	46	5	Partly Free
_	Cameroon	6	6	Not Free
_	Cape Verde	1	1	Free
_	Central African Rep.	5	4	Partly Free
_	Chad	6	66	Not Free
_	Comoros	35	4	Partly Free
_	Congo-Brazzaville	66	5	Not Free6
_	Congo-Kinshasa	55	6	Not Free
_	Côte d'Ivoire	76	6	Not Free
_	Djibouti	5	5	Partly Free
_	Equatorial Guinea	7	6	Not Free
ß	Eritrea	7	6	Not Free
ß	Ethiopia	5	5	Partly Free
_	Gabon	6	4	Partly Free
ß	The Gambia	5	4	Partly Free
_	Ghana	1	2	Free
_	Guinea	6	5	Not Free
_	Guinea-Bissau	46	4	Partly Free
ß	Kenya	3	3	Partly Free
_	Lesotho	2	3	Free
_	Liberia	35	4	Partly Free
_	Madagascar	46	3	Partly Free
_	Malawi	4	35	Partly Free
_	Mali	2	2	Free
_	Mauritania	55	4	Partly Free
_	Mauritius	1	26	Free
_	Mozambique	3	4	Partly Free
_	Namibia	2	2	Free
_	Niger	3	3	Partly Free
_	Nigeria	4	4	Partly Free
_	Rwanda	6	5	Not Free
_	São Tomé & Príncipe	2	2	Free
_	Senegal	2	3	Free
ß	Seychelles	3	3	Partly Free
_	Sierra Leone	4	3	Partly Free
_	Somalia	76	7	Not Free
_	Somaliland	5	4	Partly Free
_	South Africa	26	2	Free
_	Sudan	7	7	Not Free
_	Swaziland	7	5	Not Free
_	Tanzania	4	3	Partly Free
_	Togo	6	5	Not Free
_	Uganda	5	4	Partly Free
_	Zambia	35	4	Partly Free
ß	Zimbabwe	7	6	Not Free

Criteria for designation as an Electoral Democracy: 1. A competitive, multiparty political system; 2. Universal adult suffrage for all citizens (with exceptions for restrictions that states may legitimately place on citizens as sanctions for criminal offenses); 3. Regularly contested elections conducted in conditions of ballot secrecy, reasonable ballot security, and the absence of massive voter fraud that yields results that are unrepresentative of the public will; 4. Significant public access of major political parties to the electorate through the media and through generally open political campaigning.

Benin received an upward trend arrow due to free and fair March presidential elections, which allowed for the peaceful transfer of power to an independent candidate.

Burundi’s Political Rights rating declined from 3 to 4 due to the government and ruling party’s increased repression of the opposition.

Chad’s Civil Liberties rating declined from 5 to 6 due to increased insecurity in the eastern part of the country as a result of the crisis in neighboring Sudan’s Darfur region.

Comoros’ Political Rights rating improved from 4 to 3 due to the holding of legitimate presidential elections and a decline in military influence over political choices.

Congo-Brazzaville’s Political rights rating declined from 5 to 6, and status from Partly Free to Not Free, due to decreased openness and transparency in government.

Congo-Kinshasa’s Political Rights rating improved from 6 to 5 due to the holding of successful presidential and legislative elections in 2006, the country’s first in more than 40 years.

Côte d'Ivoire’s Political Rights rating declined from 6 to 7 due to the legislature’s continuing to function without a mandate as a result of President Gbagbo’s further postponement of presidential elections.

Eritrea received a downward trend arrow due to unequal treatment for religious minorities under the law.

Ethiopia received a downward trend arrow due to the government’s repression of opposition protests.

The Gambia received a downward trend arrow because of political harassment by the National Intelligence Agency following a coup attempt in March.

Guinea-Bissau’s Political Rights rating declined from 3 to 4 due to President João Bernardo Vieira’s dismissal of the opposition prime minister, whose party held the legislative majority, in favor of a political ally.

Kenya received a downward trend arrow because of a lack of transparency regarding governmental anti-corruption efforts.

Liberia’s Political Rights rating improved from 4 to 3 due to improvements in governmental efforts to combat corruption and to greater government transparency.

Madagascar’s Political Rights rating declined from 3 to 4 due to serious irregularities during the presidential elections, including the disqualification of an opposition candidate and the use of multiple ballots.

Malawi’s Civil Liberties rating improved from 4 to 3 due to a decline in police excess against the political opposition.

Mauritania’s Political Rights rating improved from 6 to 5 due to changes to the electoral framework to include the creation of an independent electoral commission, as well as to greater political pluralism and government transparency.

Mauritius’ Civil Liberties rating declined from 1 to 2 because of an increase in crime and the government’s failure to address it.

Seychelles received a downward trend arrow because of a crackdown on the opposition, including the adoption of a bill widely perceived as designed to forestall plans by an opposition party to establish its own radio station.

Somalia’s Political Rights rating declined from 6 to 7 due to the increased consolidation of power of the Islamic Court Union—especially in Mogadishu—which is not a freely elected government accountable to the people and which has worked to limit political participation.

The breakaway region of Somaliland was judged separately from Somalia in this year’s survey.

South Africa’s Political Rights rating declined from 1 to 2 due to the ruling ANC’s increasing monopoly on policymaking and its increasingly technocratic nature.

Zambia’s Political Rights rating improved from 4 to 3 because of the successful conduct of its presidential election, reportedly the best since 1991, and concurrent legislative elections. Zambia was also designated an electoral democracy in this survey.

Zimbabwe received a downward trend arrow due to increasingly violent crackdowns on the opposition, growing militarization of state agencies and functions, and a deterioration in conditions for thousands displaced by Operation Murambatsvina.