These codes endorse democracy as the preferred normative standard for governance in Africa. The AU Constitutive Act reaffirms the commitment to ‗democratic principles, human rights, the rule of law and good governance‘. The NEPAD Document declares that democracy is a precondition for development. It considers development as ‗impossible in the absence of true democracy‘ and pledges to uphold it not only in the narrow sense of elections but more broadly, including in respect of the freedom of association that underpins it. African countries will ‗respect the global standards of democracy, the core components of which include political pluralism, allowing for the existence of several political parties and workers‘ unions, and fair, open and democratic elections periodically organised to enable people to choose their leaders freely.‘ The reference to political pluralism and the existence of multiple parties is significant, as it formalises the break with one-party systems that existed in many African countries until the 1990s. elections and good governance‘,280 it is arguably the most comprehensive and authoritative pronouncement on these issues. Aspiration 3 of Agenda 2063 is also highly pertinent here: ‗An Africa of good governance, democracy, respect for human rights, justice and the rule of law‘. This Aspiration envisions elections meeting a few fundamental principles: ‗(i) multi-party, plural systems; (ii) level, transparent playing field in the political competitive process; (iii) education of the electorate to make informed choices; and (iv) Pan-Africanism, equality, diversity, excellence and solidarity.‘281 In the rest of this section, we will closely examine two critical elements of this bottleneck: elections, and constitutionalism and the rule of law. Elections The fulcrum of a democratic system is the holding of regular, free and fair elections. In this, Africa has experienced undeniable progress over the past couple of decades. As a result, the various CRRs tend to commend progress made, while often also recognising that remaining flaws exist in the democratic framework. The Nigeria CRR is instructive here. Referring to the 2007 elections as important, the CRR has some forthright criticisms of the way in which they were conducted: 282 Equally important is the reference to ‗fair, open and democratic‘ elections. This is another element of Africa‘s democratic vision – elections must facilitate real competition, and parties must be able compete on a level playing field. This demands, for example, that incumbent parties do not abuse the state for partisan purposes (such as using state media to promote partisan campaign agendas, or having state security services harass opposition activists). The standards also identify some key ways in which democracy is undermined. For example, the Declaration on the Framework for an OAU Response to Unconstitutional Changes of Government puts forward four of these:     During the CRM, many stakeholders confirmed that the 2007 elections in particular were the most poorly organised and massively rigged in the country‘s limited experience with electoral politics. This election has diminished citizens‘ confidence in electoral processes and institutions and may contribute to undermining Nigeria‘s capacity to manage its internal conflicts. military coup d‘état against a democratically elected Government; intervention by mercenaries to replace a democratically elected Government; replacement of democratically elected Governments by armed dissident groups and rebel movements; and the refusal by an incumbent government to relinquish power to the winning party after free, fair and regular elections. This analysis – the growth of electoral politics coupled with anti-democratic practices – has been well analysed by numerous scholars, arguably most prominent among them Fareed Zakaria,283 who termed it ‗illiberal democracy‘. This refers to a political system in which elections are held to choose governments, but in environments in which people‘s freedom of action and the ability to seek protection from state malfeasance are badly compromised. It is remarkable that the declaration is applicable only in respect of governments that have come to power through democratic means. To ensure that elections do meet minimum levels of democratic probity, several of the standards pay attention to their management, calling for impartial and professional electoral commissions. They also envision elections being subject to peer scrutiny, with continental bodies playing a role in election observation so as to ensure they are properly conducted. 280 One standard of direct relevance which has been included in the revised APRM questionnaire is the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG), from 2007 which entered into force in 2012. Described as the ‗first African treaty of its kind that specifically aims at promoting democracy, 281 282 283 56 „ACDEAG‟, undated, http://agaplatform.org/index.php/resources/201510-12-12-22-06. http://agaplatform.org/index.php/resources/201510-12-12-22-06 Agenda 2063, pp. 12-13. Nigeria CRR, p. 84. Zakaria F, „The rise of illiberal democracy‟, Foreign Affairs (November/December 1997).