New Media and Its Role in Political Participation in Africa

Abstract:
 New media is a phenomenon that transcends borders and societies, with its social, political and economic impact on countries, especially in the societies that are closed or that are witnessing dictatorial regimes. For the first time, we witnessed the transmission of media messages in totalitarian countries from the bottom up, that is, from the audience to the decision-maker, which empowered the public, due to its unlimited reach, mobilization, and organizing capacity. That impact becomes even more important, especially in sub-Saharan African countries, which are witnessing economic conditions that may prevent the traditional media from reaching all parts of the country, and then the new media had an impact on the social and political organization, on the popular movement, and on mass mobilization behind important issues for citizens.
 In this study, we will try to monitor the impact of this new media on political participation, especially with regard to the electoral process in Africa, by answering the following main question: What is the role of new media in influencing electoral policies in Africa? as the analytical descriptive approach and quantitative research methods will be used in order to answer these research questions, as well as provide a conclusion and findings.
 This study proceeds from the hypothesis that the new media constitutes a digital public domain, which enhances political participation. Hence, this paper has been divided into main sections:  The first identifies the two main concepts of the study, namely, new media and electoral politics; The second is new media and access to Africa; the Third: Explains the actual roles of social media in relation to electoral politics; Fourth: It takes into account the difficult social and economic contexts, repressive contexts, and the repercussions of government interventions and authoritarian strategies such as monitoring the political participation of citizens, based on many models and cases.