Nasir Umaru Launi

In 2025, I found myself reflecting deeply on a few hard truths: the tension between principle and pragmatism, the importance of resilience in a chaotic world, the quiet dignity of saying no, quietly, firmly, without apology and the reality that legitimacy cannot be borrowed or bought, it must be built. Along the way, friends kept nudging me: put these thoughts into a book. They asked. I answered. After two decades of civic and political organizing, I’m sharing lessons from the trenches for young politicians, civic leaders, and activists determined to make each day count. In That Moment is a collection of reflections on leadership, power, legacy, and the decisions that shape who we become when no one is clapping. Available 20th March 2026 Get ready to grab your copy from Amazon and selected bookstores.

After months of planning, we are glad to be in #CapeTown this week for the Convergence of social movements in the global south. We at @YIAGA are so delighted to be hosting this convening with the @OpenSociety . The Movements Convergence, tagged "Connected Struggles, Many Voices" brings together movement leaders, artists, and social movement scholars from Africa, Asia, and Latin America to reimagine civic power, build cross-border solidarity, and co-create tools for democratic renewal. We are here to learn, innovate, heal, build, and express solidarity. It's going to be an exciting week of crafting a new language of democratic solidarity. Learn more about the Convergence here: southsolidarity.yiaga.org #SouthMovementsSolidarity #ConnectedStruggles @OpenSocietyAfr

I’m thrilled to be back at Tufts University, Boston to contribute to an ongoing interdisciplinary symposium focused on addressing the complex challenges facing democratic institutions and elections in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. In my submission, I highlighted three major trends in technology and elections in Africa. In my submission, I highlighted three major trends in technology and elections in Africa: 1. Biometric voter registration and electronic verification of voters remain the dominant electoral technologies employed in African elections. While the clamor for electronic voting is increasing, this trend of electronic verification is likely to remain a permanent feature in our elections. 2. Electoral technology is increasingly being weaponized by authoritarian regimes to legitimize flawed elections. We must pay close attention to elections in 2025 especially those in authoritarian contexts like Gabon, and scrutinize the role of technology vendors supplying solutions to electoral commissions. 3. Africa’s election ecosystem is polluted by harmful content and countless cybersecurity attacks targetted at electoral commissions and delegitimizing electoral outcomes. Africa needs to invest in digital infrastructure to strengthen its defence systems. Many thanks to the The Hitachi Center for Technology and International Affairs at The Fletcher School at Tufts University and The International Foundation for Electoral Systems for co-hosting such an insightful, impactful, and thought-provoking meeting. I’m inspired by the array of renowned scholars and practitioners pushing the frontiers of knowledge on technology and elections. @TuftsUniversity @IFES1987 @HitachiCenter

I was honored to share African perspectives yesterday at the Global Symposium hosted by Tufts University, Boston, under the theme Democracy on the Brink. In my remarks, I highlighted three key perspectives on Africa’s democratic experience: 1. Democratic stagnation, not backsliding: Africa’s democratic journey is still relatively young. While there are challenges, it would be imprecise to frame them as democratic backsliding. In my view, we are experiencing stagnation because democratic progress has slowed rather than reversed. This view is also shared by other African scholars of democracy. 2. Civic resistance is our hope: Despite the challenges, Africa is witnessing inspiring stories of democratic resurgence, particularly through youth-led civic movements that are challenging traditional political norms, and demanding accountability from political leaders. These movements inspire hope in the future of Africa’s democracy. 3. The dangers of disillusionment: If democracy continues to fail in delivering material benefits to citizens, prolonged disillusionment might increase the appetite for alternative forms of governance like military rule, as currently observed in Sahelian countries. It’s always a delight to share Africa’s unique perspective and experience with democracy.

Next week in Nairobi, we will launch a bold regional initiative on AI and elections in #Africa with partners in the Africa election observation ecosystem. In this super year of elections, we are exploring the opportunities and risks of AI adoption in African elections. As part of this initiative, we will lead debates on the nexus between AI and election integrity, voting rights, and election administration. We hope to expand the discourse on AI beyond information integrity to critical aspects of the electoral process that are powered by AI. Learn more about this initiative here: aiandelectionsinafrica.yiaga… Also, I am looking forward to releasing our new report on the outlook of the adoption of AI by election management bodies in Africa. The report is a product of a pilot study my team at @yiaga conducted over the past few weeks. As part of this study, we surveyed electoral commissions in 22 African countries on awareness of AI, level of AI deployment, benefits and challenges, etc. More to come. #aiadoption #AIandelections #Africanelections #elections2024