The shifting political tide in sub-Saharan Africa, which has seen the democratic removal of former liberation parties from power, has not gone unnoticed. Tanzania’s President has urged her appointees to address these challenges.

“Other areas where you will go are not calm; they are in turmoil. I have chosen you based on merit, some of you have security backgrounds. Some of you will go to frontline states, those six countries that fought for the liberation of Africa,” President Samia Suluhu Hassan told new ambassadors during the swearing-in ceremony on December 10, 2024.

“Our political situation in [the frontline states] is not good at the moment. There are tensions, for example, in Mozambique and other areas. Therefore, we want you to go out and put in more effort, especially in those liberation states, to ensure we stand strong,” President Samia emphasized.

While it remains unclear how Tanzania intends to support the liberation parties, neighboring allies like Mozambique’s Frelimo party are grappling with significant political challenges. Mozambique has faced continuous protests and mounting opposition following a disputed election, officially announced on October 21, 2024.

Mozambique’s ruling party candidate, Daniel Chapo, was declared the winner with 70.67% of the vote, defeating independent candidate Venâncio Mondlane, who received 20.67% with the backing of the Podemos party.

Following provisional results, the opposition was set to go to court and also organize protests. Mondlane’s legal counsel, Elvino Dias, and party representative Paulo Guambe were assassinated on October 19, 2024, just days before the protests began on October 21, 2024. Dias was crucial for the opposition’s legal strategy against the disputed election.

In early November, Mondlane fled Mozambique, claiming a team of assassins had attempted to kill him at his home. Since then, he has been organizing protests through Facebook. These protests have escalated from collective noise-making and singing the national anthem to more disruptive actions such as blocking public roads and sabotaging power plants. The government has responded with a harsh crackdown, resulting in 110 deaths, 3,598 arrests, and 329 people injured by gunfire.

In Botswana, the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) lost and transfer power peacefully to the opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC) after 58 years in power. Once boasting the slogan, “There is Still No Alternative,” the BDP’s grip on power ended on November 8, 2024, when Duma Boko was sworn in as President.

The BDP’s decline was exacerbated by a rift between former President Ian Khama and his successor, Mokgweetsi Masisi. Khama, who had handpicked Masisi as his successor, later fled the country and actively supported the opposition, attributing the BDP’s downfall to “self-interest before national interest.” Speaking to Newsroom Africa on November 1, 2024, Khama remarked, “They became extremely greedy and corrupt. They neglected the people. They had no people-centered policies.”

In South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) lost its parliamentary majority for the first time in 30 years. This development forced the ANC into a coalition government, with the opposition receiving 12 out of 32 cabinet positions.

In Zimbabwe, the ruling ZANU-PF party has maintained its hold on power through alleged electoral manipulation, even drawing criticism from the Southern African Development Community (SADC). In an unprecedented move, the SADC election observer mission reported that aspects of Zimbabwe’s elections “fell short of the requirements of the Constitution of Zimbabwe, the Electoral Act, and the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections (2021).” In turn, Zimbabwe’s ruling party,  accused Zambia of orchestrating a regime change because the SADC observation mission was led by former Zambian Vice President Nevers Mumba.

In Namibia, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was elected President following results announced on December 03, 2024, amid opposition claims of a flawed electoral process marred by technical and logistical challenges. Her victory ensures that the South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO), which has ruled Namibia since its independence from apartheid South Africa in 1990, retains its 34-year grip on power.

One major challenge facing liberation parties across Africa is the changing demographics of their populations, particularly younger generations who feel little connection to these parties’ liberation legacies. This disconnect has often led to the use of violence, electoral fraud, and other means to maintain power.

The entry of new player in power, especially from the opposition parties is also set to change the regional dynamic of key bodies that regional power has used to exert influence inside and outside their countries.

This, in turn, will see, for example, some opposition parties having friendly parties in power in neighboring countries, which in turn can have a similar impact as how liberation parties had relations during liberation struggles and after independence.