The post-Cold War democratisation process in most African countries has induced election related risks and informed the resolve of the African Union (AU) to uphold democracy without jeopardising peace and stability. To this end, through the deployment of the AU Panel of the Wise (PoW) in electoral processes, the AU has increasingly engaged in preventive diplomacy in elections likely to cause instability and violence. This policy briefing reviews some lessons learned from the involvement of the PoW as a key pillar of the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) in preventing election-related conflicts on the continent.
