The master is gone, but does the house still stand? The fate of single-party systems after the defeat of single parties in

Authoritarian one-party regimes were the dominant form of political organization among Africa’s 53 states on the eve of the Third Wave’s initial impact on the African continent. Between Independence (around 1960 for most states) and 1990, only four regimes held relatively free multi-party elections (Botswana, Senegal, the Gambia, and Mauritius). Since 1990, however, the vast majority of African states have held multi-party elections, both legislative and presidential. Some have not held them because of violent civil wars (Somalia). Only three states have continued to reject a multi-party system (Libya, Eritrea and Sudan).