The 2025 presidential elections across Africa have drawn sharp criticism for their lack of genuine competition, with opposition figures systematically sidelined before campaigns even begin. Recent polls in Djibouti and Benin on April 10 and 12 respectively—where incumbents secured landslide victories with 97.8% and 94% of the vote—exemplify this trend. While Djibouti’s President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh and Benin’s Romuald Wadagni claimed overwhelming mandates, their triumphs reflected less about voter preference and more about structural barriers that rendered opposition participation nearly impossible.