Channel Africa hosts Olufunto Akinduro

Channel Africa aired a live interview on May 19 with Olufunto Akinduro, a senior adviser at International IDEA, on declining trust in public institutions and the pressures that trend places on democratic systems. The segment, posted through the broadcaster’s X feed, featured Akinduro discussing democratic resilience in the context of elections and institutional legitimacy. International IDEA identifies Akinduro as its Senior Adviser, Electoral Processes, Africa and West Asia, and says she is based in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. (idea.int) (x.com) ### Who is Olufunto Akinduro, and why was she the guest? International IDEA says Olufunto Akinduro is the thematic lead on electoral processes in its Africa and West Asia regional programme. The organization says she supports election-related programmes, contributes to knowledge production, and manages support to electoral management bodies and civil society organizations in Africa. International IDEA also says Akinduro has worked in elections and democracy for more than 17 years, with experience in election assessment, project design, advocacy, research and training. (x.com) Before joining the institute, she held roles at the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa and worked in Nigeria on electoral reform advocacy, according to her profile. ### What did the Channel Africa segment focus on? Channel Africa’s May 19 post described the interview as a discussion of democratic resilience and declining trust in institutions. (idea.int) The context aligns with Akinduro’s published work and public remarks on electoral credibility, public confidence and the broader conditions that shape trust in democratic processes. International IDEA said in an August 2025 account of a regional workshop that Akinduro framed misinformation and disinformation as threats to electoral trust and credibility. (idea.int) In that account, she said protecting elections requires attention both to technical processes and to public perceptions of fairness, linking election integrity directly to confidence in democratic institutions. ### Why does “electoral processes for Africa and West Asia” matter here? (x.com) International IDEA says Akinduro’s portfolio covers electoral processes across Africa and West Asia, making elections the clearest lens for understanding her comments on resilience and trust. Her role includes support for electoral management bodies and country programmes, which places her work at the level of institutions that administer voting, handle disputes and interact directly with citizens. International IDEA said last month that Akinduro contributed regional reflections at the launch of its Integrated Framework for Protecting Elections in Addis Ababa. (idea.int) The organization said those reflections highlighted electoral violence, declining public trust and exclusion affecting women, young people and displaced people as region-specific challenges. ### What broader evidence is there behind the trust discussion? Afrobarometer said in an October 2025 analysis that democratic vulnerability in Africa is tied to institutional erosion, declining participation and worsening accountability conditions in many countries. (idea.int) The group cited the 2024 Ibrahim Index of African Governance as showing that about two-thirds of Africa’s population now lives with worse participation and accountability scores than a decade earlier. (idea.int) Brookings wrote in January 2026 that democratic resilience in Africa depends on how institutions withstand pressure and whether reform efforts can hold against backsliding. That framing does not describe Akinduro’s interview directly, but it matches the institutional-trust debate that Channel Africa put at the center of the May 19 segment. ### Where can readers find the interview, and what comes next? Channel Africa’s May 19 X post remains the primary public reference point for the segment. (afrobarometer.org) The broadcaster linked the live interview through its social feed, and the post identifies Akinduro by name as the guest. International IDEA’s current public materials continue to place Akinduro in election-focused regional work, including projects on protecting elections and cooperation with African electoral bodies. Those programmes, listed on the institute’s website, provide the next trackable marker for where her public comments on trust, legitimacy and democratic resilience are likely to surface. (brookings.edu) (idea.int) (x.com)