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Freedom in Africa 2006
 

africa_freedom_2006.gif

Table of African Countries*
Comparative Measures of Freedom
(Countries highlighted in yellow are designated as "Electoral Democracies" by Freedom House)
 
 up or down indicates a change in Political Rights, Civil Liberties, or Status since the last survey. In the Table, click on the number preceding the arrow for an explanation of the rating and/or status change in the selected country. A rating of 1 represents the most free and 7 the least free rating.
 
 Trend Arrows indicate general positive or negative trends since the previous survey that are not necessarily reflected in the raw points and do not warrant a ratings change.
 

Country

Political Rights

Civil Liberties

Status

Angola

6

5

Not Free

Benin

2

2

Free

Botswana

2

2

Free

Burkina Faso

5

   35

Partly Free

Burundi

   35

5

Partly Free

Cameroon

6

6

Not Free

Cape Verde

1

1

Free

Central African Rep.

   55

   45

   Partly Free5

Chad

6

5

Not Free

Comoros

4

4

Partly Free

Congo-Brazzaville

5

   56

Partly Free

Congo-Kinshasa

6

6

Not Free

Côte d'Ivoire

6

6

Not Free

Djibouti

5

5

Partly Free

Equatorial Guinea

7

6

Not Free

Eritrea

7

6

Not Free

Ethiopia

5

5

Partly Free

Gabon

   66

4

Partly Free

The Gambia

   56

4

Partly Free

Ghana

   15

2

Free

Guinea

6

5

Not Free

Guinea-Bissau

   35

4

Partly Free

Kenya

3

3

Partly Free

Lesotho

2

3

Free

Liberia

   45

4

Partly Free

Madagascar

3

3

Partly Free

Malawi

4

4

Partly Free

Mali

2

2

Free

Mauritania

6

   45

   Partly Free5

Mauritius

1

1

Free

Mozambique

3

4

Partly Free

Namibia

2

   25

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

Seychelles

3

3

Partly Free

Sierra Leone

4

3

Partly Free

Somalia

6

7

Not Free

South Africa

1

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

4

4

Partly Free

Zimbabwe

7

6

Not Free

*The ratings in this table reflect global events from 1 December 2004 through 30 November 2005.
 
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.
 
Status and Ratings Changes, Trend Arrow Explanations
Burkina Faso: Civil Liberties improved (from 4 to 3) due to increased press freedom and improvement in the human rights environment.
Burundi: Political Rights improved (from 5 to 3) due to fair and competitive elections at the local and national levels and a successful rotation of power. The nation was also designated as an electoral democracy in this survey.
Central African Republic: Both Political Rights and Civil Liberties improved (Political Rights from 6 to 5; Civil Liberties from 5 to 4) due to successful elections and an improvement in freedoms of expression and assembly. These improvements were significant enough to improve the nation's status from "Not Free" to "Partly Free". The Central African Republic was also designated as an electoral democracy in this survey.
Congo-Brazzaville: Civil Liberties declined (from 4 to 5) due to a steady erosion of the rule of law, including the failure of the courts to sanction high ranking military officials for a massacre of refugees.
Gabon: Political Rights declined (from 5 to 6) because of flawed, uncompetitive elections and continuing military influence over the electoral process.
The Gambia: Political Rights declined (from 4 to 5) because of the failure to allow the opportunity for a rotation of power in the lead-up to elections in 2006.
Ghana: Political Rights improved (from 2 to 1) due to fair and competitive presidential and parliamentary elections and a general maturing of the country's electoral institutions.
Guinea-Bissau: Political Rights improved (from 4 to 3) because of elections deemed fair and competitive. The nation was also designated an electoral democracy in this survey.
Liberia: Political Rights improved (from 5 to 4) because of fair and competitive elections for the presidency and legislature. The nation was also designated as an electoral democracy in this survey.
Mauritania: Due to an enhancement of the civil liberties environment following the overthrow of President [Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed] Taya, Mauritania's civil liberties rating improved (from 5 to 4). These improvements were significant enough to improve the nation’s status from "Not Free" to "Partly Free".
Namibia: Civil Liberties increased (from 3 to 2) due to improvements in the rule of law.
 
 
 
 
 

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