The Expression, Information and Digital Rights Unit of the Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria, hosted a landmark session on access to information and elections and contributed to two other critical sessions at the 2026 Digital Rights and Inclusion Forum (DRIF26) held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire from 14th to 16th May organised by Paradigm Initiative. On Wednesday, 15 April 2026, the Centre convened an interactive session titled “Access to Information, Elections and Digital Resilience in Africa.” Drawing on the ACHPR’s 2017 Guidelines on Access to Information and Elections, the different country assessment reports by the Centre examine compliance with proactive disclosure obligations, the use of digital technologies, disinformation trends and barriers to access to information during recent elections. Key findings reveal that while some progress has been made, electoral management bodies, political parties, and law enforcement agencies continue to fall short of full compliance. The session offered comparative lessons for building resilient, inclusive, and transparent information ecosystems as a foundation for democratic participation across Africa.
Participants were honoured to hear from Honourable Commissioner Ourveena Geereesha Topsy-Sonoo, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Commissioner Topsy-Sonoo, who joined virtually, reaffirmed the Commission’s commitment to translating the Guidelines into tangible electoral reforms and called on stakeholders to accelerate implementation, noting that “the Guidelines must cease to be recommendations that gather dust on shelves – they must become the DNA of electoral reform across Africa.”
Belinda Matore gave a brief synopsis of the seven country assessment reports covering South Africa (2024 national and provincial elections), Zimbabwe (2023 harmonised elections), the Democratic Republic of Congo (2023 general elections), Kenya (2022 general elections), Lesotho (a situational analysis), Gambia (2021 presidential elections), Uganda (2020/2021 general elections) and The Gambia (2021 presidential election). During the panel discussion moderated by Ivy Gikonyo from the Centre, Dr. Janet Gbam, Senior Program Officer,Article 19 Senegal and West Africa, Edrine Wanyama, Programme Manager, Legal, Collaboration on International ICT Policy for East and Southern Africa Uganda) and Muthuri Kathure (Senior Advisor, Information Integrity, BBC Media Action) discussed their country findings, offering ground-level insights on the challenges and opportunities for implementing the Guidelines in their respective national contexts.
In addition, Gikonyo facilitated a session hosted by Moxii Africa (formerly Media Monitoring Africa) on the development of Guidelines under ACHPR Resolution 630. This session at DRIF26 marked the next phase of the process, which involves moving from consultation to structured, stakeholder-led validation. Rather than a traditional discussion, the session introduced the draft Guidelines and their key themes, then helped form stakeholder clusters that will carry the validation work forward after DRIF.
Gikonyo was also a panelist in a session organised by the Digital Rights Alliance Africa (DRAA) entitled “Generative Image AI and Technology-Facilitated Gender-Based Violence: Closing Accountability Gaps”. The panel explored the rapid expansion of AI’s image-generation capabilities and its misuse in non-consensual sexual imagery, deepfakes, digital nudification and impersonation-practices that constitute digital and sexual violence, disproportionately affecting women, girls and vulnerable communities. Ivy contributed insights on regional human rights frameworks and the urgent need for transparency, safeguards and remedies to prevent foreseeable harm from high-risk generative AI systems.
The discussions and evidence shared at DRIF26 confirm that while progress has been made, much work remains to ensure that access to information becomes a lived reality in every electoral cycle. The seven country reports reveal persistent gaps in transparency, accountability, and platform cooperation. The stakeholder clusters formed around Resolution 630 offer a practical pathway to turn guidelines into action. And the urgent conversation on generative AI and technology-facilitated violence reminds us that digital rights must keep pace with technological change.
Moving forward, the Centre will continue to support electoral reforms, strengthen validation processes, and advocate for human rights-centred governance of digital technologies because credible elections and healthy democracies depend on it.
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