Africa Governance Report 2023 - Unconstitutional Change of Government in Africa

The Africa Governance Report 2023 (AGR23) is the third report produced by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), on behalf of the African Governance Architecture (AGA). The AGR23 focuses on unconstitutional change of government (UCG) in Africa and draws its mandate from two African Union Assembly Decisions.

The first is Assembly Decision/AU/Dec. 815(XXXV) of the 35th Ordinary Session, held in February 2022, which expressed deep concern about the resurgence of UCG in Africa. The assembly called on African Union (AU) member states to uphold constitutionalism and fully respect all AU shared values, normative instruments and legal instruments, particularly the AU Constitutive Act and the African Charter on Democracy, Election and Governance (ACDEG).

The second, the Assembly Decisions of the 16th Extraordinary Session of the African Union Assembly of Heads of State and Government on Terrorism and Unconstitutional Changes of Government held on 28 May 2022 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, as well as other AU meetings and forums, direct the focus of AGR23 on UCG and terrorism. By utilising the APRM methodologies of targeted reviews, high-level interagency consultations and expert thematic analysis as its development platform, this report represents a collective effort that highlights rigorous, evidence-based research conducted over one year.