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The West African group of ECOWAS is supposed to play the role of mediator in regional crises, with a combination of a stick-and-carrot strategy. Regional leaders should be busy intervening constructively to prevent crises and propose remediation steps. However, as in...

How did 2023 end in the Sahel and what should we expect 2024 to look like? Firstly, Christmas in Africa this year has been gloomy to say the least. There was not much to cheer for. The political, economic, social and security environments in many African nations have been experiencing the worst-case scenario, so much so that 2024 is likely to bring more bad news for millions of people.

Unsurprisingly Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi, in power in Egypt since he overthrew the Islamist Mohamed Morsi in a coup in 2013, was re-elected as president again for another six-year term. The election was fast-tracked because holding the election in 2024 amid a projected worsening economic crisis could have constituted a bigger political problem for president el-Sissi. The election authorities reported that the latter won his third presidential election, with 89.6% of the votes, a figure that obviously makes no sense. Many accuse the government of having committed massive election fraud. As president Sisi enters his third term, what kind of problems should we expect. Perhaps the question from an outside perspective is should we expect the government to stabilize the country in the years to come? And the answer is a resounding no.