I've been following elections in the Central African Republic on @AlJazeera.

This got me thinking about "democracy in Africa". Some believe democracy is regressing, others believe it is on the rise. I think the answer is a bit complex.

I think Africans are getting tired of the ritual of holding "elections" every four years - especially as "elections" neither guarantee economic growth, internal security nor provision of public goods.

I mean, Somalia conducts "elections", but how relevant are these "elections"?

At the same time, it is impossible to ignore a yearning for more civil liberties and improvement in governance. This goes beyond "elections" - and is what drove movements like #EndSARS in Nigeria & movements in Angola, Algeria, Sudan, Uganda etc.

So it is possible that African publics will sour on the idea of electoral democracy (especially when it does not "deliver"), but still push for more inclusion, more respect for human rights and demand to be better governed.

Politics here is about to get a lot more complicated.

This will be a challenge for Western (especially US) diplomats who are a lot more interested in the "form", not the "substance" of democracy in Africa.

To these people "democracy" is a little more than a box ticking exercise, with "elections" being the only thing that matters.