African constitutional courts and the return to the constitutional order: The electoral dimension

What has been the role of constitutional courts in upholding the constitutional order in Africa over the last three decades? Whether acting as arbiters of the constitutionality of laws, regulators of the functioning of the public authorities, or judges of elections, constitutional judges have come to occupy a central role in all the procedures and issues relating to the rule of law and the constitutional order.
From our study and the observation of political life, it emerges that, in sub-Saharan Africa, constitutional judges—tasked with ensuring the proper functioning of the public authorities, reviewing the constitutionality of laws, and protecting the fundamental rights of citizens—appear to be the best guarantors of the constitutional order, as this role often combines the responsibilities of a traditional constitutional judge with those of an electoral judge. The study attempts to explore this poorly examined aspect of constitutional law by observing and analyzing the constitutional judge’s role in relation to the constitutional order, either directly through the organization of elections or indirectly through the selection of candidates. The findings suggest that, in Africa as elsewhere—and perhaps more so in Africa—while constitutional courts contribute to the preservation of the constitutional order, they can, unfortunately, also turn into instruments of its destabilization.