ELECTION YEAR: Voters will go to the polls across Africa in 2012

A dozen African countries will be either holding or have planned elections this year, fittingly flagged off by the oft-praised democracy that is Senegal which went to the polls on February 26.

Controversial American author and political critic Gore Vidal once described democracies as places where elections are held at great cost - without issues and with interchangeable candidates.

Many of the countries voting this year will definitely be at wits' end as to how to fund their elections from their weak economies with Zimbabwe, Somalia and Guinea-Bissau as good examples.

For others, a lack of issues and a focus on personality-driven politics will be the defining, if not recurring, theme. Think Kenya, Angola, Lesotho.

And for the rest, the candidates up for election could be interchangeable, such are their careers interlinked with the incumbent governments: Senegal, Ghana and Madagascar spring to the forefront here.

But a few countries do offer a chance to advance a fledgling case for Africa's growing democracy, with Mali and, interestingly Egypt, as good examples.

Just two years ago, some 17 countries exuberantly celebrated their 50th independence anniversaries. Elections held since then have been seen as a measure to gauge just how far the region has come.

Last year Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Cape Verde, Liberia, Gambia, Gabon, DRC and Sao Tome and Principe held closely watched elections, with varying outcomes, but indicative of an inclination to hold regular elections, even if some like the Gambia's were dodgily organized.

Their predicaments

This trend will be up for more scrutiny this year, with various factors at play. Of course a lot has changed to force some of them to the ballot, with the Arab Spring a major game-changer for Egypt.

A notable fact is that this year, four countries operating on roadmaps will make an attempt to clamber out of their predicaments. Egypt, Somalia, Madagascar and Zimbabwe are all up against a wall, and the outcome could provide case studies in resolving political crises on the continent.

Sierra Leone and Angola will be looking to make more of plodding steps in their reconstruction paths following years of civil war.

Outside factors will also weigh in heavily on elections this year. The United States has been extremely keen to have a say in post-Hosni Mubarak Egypt, while Kenya will be grappling with the indictment of two of its declared potential candidates by the International Criminal Court on crimes against humanity charges.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has also invested heavily in Madagascar and Zimbabwe.

This year, a few of Africa's "Big Men" will face tests of their clout to influence their countries, and from the looks of things, Angola's Eduardo dos Santos looks to be firmly in control, while surprisingly Robert Mugabe looks to be getting back some of his mojo.

Eighty-five-year-old Abdoulaye Wade has also been energetically campaigning as he looks to leave office at 92, and as he says, 99 is also a possibility.

The future of dominant independence parties will also be examined in Zimbabwe, Guinea-Bissau and Angola.

Never quite far away from African elections is the potential for violence following an election. Volatile Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Sierra Leone and unexpectedly Senegal will all be closely watched on this score.

Stiff examination

The signs are already in place with almost all the countries having to deal with the ever-combustive issue of the electoral register that is usually cited when rigging claims are made.

Ghana, another model of democracy, faces a stiff test this time round. Corruption looks the main issue for the electorate as the ruling party seeks to extricate itself from a messy graft scandal.

Out of this, rebellion- and terrorism-hit Mali looks to continue a recent proud tradition of civilian rule after a near-ubiquitous military junta stint. President Amadou Toumani Toure will be stepping down after a maximum two terms.

Senegal's Wade spurned the same opportunity and has interpreted the constitution in a creative way to allow him run for a third term, infuriating the opposition and putting at risk a legacy of peaceful handovers.

Somalia, a country that the world has been struggling not to give up on entirely, will look to do what it has not done for over three decades - hold elections. A transition agreement allows for polls any time after August, but its clutch of competing interests and fighting with jihadists may make this possible only on paper.

(Africareview.com is a digital news platform established by the Nation Media Group, Kenya)