This article traces a genealogy of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG) and examines the charter's overall implementation. While there has always been a struggle between competing views of how to ensure more or less continental accountability for norms related to democratic governance in Africa, enforcement by the African Union (AU) has definitively become more robust since the ACDEG's adoption. The article argues that this development is observable in three trends: continental legalization, technocratization and judicialization of politics. It evaluates the growth of normative commitments in the field of democracy, elections and governance and their increasing consolidation into binding legal treaties; explores the increasing reliance on AU technical assistance in the implementation and interpretation of these instruments; and assesses the expanding role of continental and regional judicial bodies in enforcing commitments to democracy. Building upon a better understanding of these trends, the article identifies key contextual factors that will shape the ACDEG's future implementation.

中文翻译：

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非洲民主、选举和治理宪章：过去、现在和未来

本文追溯了《非洲民主、选举和治理宪章》(ACDEG) 的谱系，并检查了该宪章的整体实施情况。尽管关于如何确保或多或少地对与非洲民主治理相关的规范进行大陆问责的不同观点之间一直存在斗争，但自 ACDEG 通过以来，非洲联盟 (AU) 的执法无疑变得更加有力。文章认为，这种发展可以从三个趋势中观察到：大陆合法化、技术官僚化和政治司法化。它评估了民主、选举和治理领域规范性承诺的增长及其日益合并为具有约束力的法律条约；探讨在这些文书的实施和解释中越来越依赖非盟技术援助；评估大陆和区域司法机构在执行民主承诺方面的作用不断扩大。基于对这些趋势的更好理解，本文确定了将影响 ACDEG 未来实施的关键背景因素。