The shots in Bissau are a warning that a style of rule built on personal power, shifting deals and partisan security forces is reaching its limit in Africa. People may accept imperfect leaders, but they will not accept elections fixed to protect a small circle, institutions treated as optional and armed actors deciding when politics is allowed to function.
Guinea Bissau is not an exception. Across the continent, rulers keep elections, parliaments and commissions while weakening the constraints that give them meaning. Constitutions are stretched to extend terms.
