The Platform for African Democrats

The Platform for African Democrats (PAD) is the outcome of an inclusive process which started four years ago, initially bringing African opposition leaders together around election monitoring missions, first in Somaliland, and later in Kenya, Lesotho and Liberia. Several workshops have accompanied this process including in Hargeisa and Cadenabbia, and culminating in a gathering in Poland which produced the Gdansk Declaration.

The Platform recognises the ongoing struggle between autocracy and democracy, the heroic democratic campaigns exemplified by the colour revolutions, and the central role of Iran, Russia and China in promoting autocracy and rejects the jaded caricature of democrats as counter-revolutionaries, neo-liberals or Western proxies.

Platform for African Democrats - Summits

  • A conference or seminar taking place in a modern library or conference space with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and multiple people seated, listening to a speaker at a podium on a stage with flags and a large digital screen displaying information.

    Gdansk Summit 2023

    The very first summit of the Platform for African Democrats from 21-23 June 2023. The event was attended by more than 50 leaders from Africa, Latin America, Poland and the Baltic States. At the end of the event, the Gdańsk Declaration was adopted unanimously. It lays out the commitment of all delegates to ending authoritarianism and introducing democracy, accountability and transparency.

    Read the 2023 Statement
  • A formal conference or meeting taking place in a historic stone-walled room with wood-paneled windows and curtains. Attendees are seated at long desks with nameplates, laptops, and water bottles, listening to a speaker or presentation.

    Cape Town Summit 2024

    The Platform for African Democrats met for their second official meeting in the Parliamentary Precinct in Cape Town on 22-23 March 2024, bringing together over 50 political and civil society leaders from across the African continent alongside president of Ukraine and leader of the Orange Revolution, Viktor Yushchenko, and the Venezuelan leader Leopoldo Lopez.

    Read the 2024 Statement
  • A group of diverse people sitting at a conference table, using laptops and listening attentively, with books, water bottles, and microphones in front of them.

    Benguela Summit 2025

    The third official meeting of the Platform for African Democrats took place in Angola on 14 March 2025. The Benguela event, entitled ‘The Future of Democracy in Africa’, was to build on previous PAD summits in Gdansk, Poland and Cape Town, South Africa, where ways of bringing greater openness and democratic accountability in the face of growing authoritarianism were discussed.

    Read the 2025 Statement

What is the Platform for African Democrats?

The Platform for African Democrats (PAD) is a forum for Africans dedicated to building democracy and ending autocratic rule. Only with democracy and the rule of law can economic growth, the delivery of services and a better life for citizens be achieved.

PAD was originally formed by the World Liberty Congress and the Brenthurst Foundation with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. The Brenthurst Foundation's involvement ended when it was closed in June 2025.