African Charter: Objectives

The African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance seeks to entrench on the continent a political culture of change of power based on the holding of regular, free, fair and transparent elections conducted by competent, independent and impartial national electoral bodies.

The Charter was adopted by the African Union on January 30 2007.

The objectives of the charter are to:
 
1. Promote adherence, by each state party, to the universal values and principles of democracy and respect for human rights;

2. promote and enhance adherence to the principle of the rule of law premised upon the respect for, and the supremacy of, the Constitution and constitutional order in the political arrangements of the state parties;

3. promote the holding of regular free and fair elections to institutionalize legitimate authority of representative government as well as democratic change of governments;

4. prohibit, reject and condemn unconstitutional change of government in any member state as a serious threat to stability, peace, security and development;

5. promote and protect the independence of the judiciary;

6. nurture, support and consolidate good governance by promoting democratic culture and practice, building and strengthening governance institutions and inculcating political pluralism and tolerance;

7. encourage effective co-ordination and harmonization of governance policies amongst state parties with the aim of promoting regional and continental integration;

8. promote state parties’ sustainable development and human security;

9. promote the fight against corruption in conformity with the provisions of the AU Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption adopted in Maputo, Mozambique in July 2003;

10. promote the establishment of the necessary conditions to foster citizen participation, transparency, access to information, freedom of the press and accountability in the management of public affairs;

11. promote gender balance and equality in the governance and development processes;

12. enhance co-operation between the Union, regional economic communities and the international community on democracy, elections and governance; and

13. promote best practices in the management of elections for purposes of political stability and good governance.

(Election Watch Issue No. 6, 2009)