{"id":8419,"date":"2025-08-22T07:33:18","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T07:33:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=8419"},"modified":"2025-08-22T07:33:28","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T07:33:28","slug":"africa-2025-elections-aging-leaders-cling-to-power-as-youth-demand-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/?p=8419","title":{"rendered":"AFRICA 2025 ELECTIONS: AGING LEADERS CLING TO POWER AS YOUTH DEMAND CHANGE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>By Bongubukhosi Chantelle Ncube |<br>Zim GBC News<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Across Africa, a generational battle for political control is intensifying as aging leaders seek extended rule while frustrated youth demand democratic renewal. With over 60% of Africa&#8217;s population under 25, the continent faces a stark contradiction: governments led by octogenarians while the median voter could be their grandchild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cameroon\u2019s 92-Year-Old President Seeks Historic Eighth Term<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>President Paul Biya (born 1933) \u2013 who has ruled Cameroon since 1982 \u2013 is pursuing an unprecedented eighth seven-year term in October&#8217;s elections. His 43-year reign, enabled by the 2008 abolition of term limits, continues despite:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>An unresolved Anglophone crisis that has killed thousands<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Persistent Boko Haram iinsurgenc in the north<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Widespread allegations of election rigging in 2018 polls<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;How does a leader who came to power when Michael Jackson released &#8216;Thriller&#8217; claim to understand modern Africa&#8217;s challenges?&#8221; asked Yvette M., a 24-year-old activist in Douala.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Central African Republic: Constitution Changed for Third Term<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>President Faustin-Archange Touad\u00e9ra (68) is exploiting a controversial 2023 constitutional referendum that erased term limits, allowing his third-term bid. Critics call this move:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A betrayal of 2016 peace agreements<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A trigger for renewed militia violence<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Evidence ot Russia-backed authoritarianism via Wagner mercenaries<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Guinea-Bissau\u2019s Suspicious Pre-Election Maneuvers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>President Umaro Sissoco Embal\u00f3 (54) is reshuffling military and cabinet positions ahead of November&#8217;s vote \u2013 a tactic analysts call &#8220;pre-rigging&#8221; through institutional control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zimbabwe\u2019s Long-Rule Legacy<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Robert Mugabe\u2019s 37-year rule (1980-2017) set the template for power retention through:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Land seizures that collapsed agriculture<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Hyperinflation reaching 500 billion percent<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Rigged elections condemned globally<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Current President Emmerson Mnangagwa exploits a constitutional loophole: while the 2013 charter limits presidents to two terms, it doesn&#8217;t count his first term (2017-2023), potentially allowing rule until 2033.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;The 2023 elections proved Zimbabwe hasn&#8217;t reformed \u2013 just recycled oppression with younger faces,&#8221; said political analyst Takudzwa M.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Why This Matters for Africa\u2019s Future<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With 19 African countries holding elections in 2025, the trends are alarming:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>7 leaders over 70 are running again<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>4 nations recently scrapped term limits<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Youth unemployment averages 60% under these regimes<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re told we&#8217;re &#8216;leaders of tomorrow,&#8217; but tomorrow never comes when presidents rule like monarchs,&#8221; said Kenyan activist Auma O., 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Youth Resistance<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Movements like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>NotTooOldToLead(Pan-African)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Zimbabwe\u2019s #1980sBorn35 (demanding leaders under 65)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Nigeria\u2019s EndSARS veterans<br>\u2026are mobilizing against gerontocracies.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet they face brutal crackdowns \u2013 just last month, Cameroon jailed 87 youth protesters ahead of Biya\u2019s nomination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Stakes for Zimbabwe<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mnangagwa\u2019s 2030 gambit mirrors regional power grabs. With:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>60% of Zimbabweans under 25<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>90% informal employment<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>3 million diaspora youth unlikely to return<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The question grows louder:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When will Africa\u2019s leaders realize nations can\u2019t be frozen in the 1980s forever?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;Reporting Africa\u2019s Unfiltered Truths&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Zim GBC News\u00a9\ufe0f2025<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>EXCLUSIVE \u2013 This report is part of our &#8220;Generation Stolen&#8221; series on African youth exclusion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Bongubukhosi Chantelle Ncube |Zim GBC News Across Africa, a generational battle for political control is intensifying as aging leaders seek extended rule while frustrated youth demand democratic renewal. With&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,109],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8419"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8421,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8419\/revisions\/8421"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}