Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison has finally called the 2022 federal election for May 21. It has already shown signs of being an ugly fight, with plenty of mud being thrown at both sides, often from within their own parties.

So will it be the end of the nine-year, three-prime minister Coalition government? Or will they hang on for another term?

Morrison and the Coalition will be running hard on their economic record, hoping voters might be wary of switching to a Labor government at a time of great uncertainty around the world. Labor, on the other hand, will be banking on Australians being sick of the Coalition in general, and Morrison in particular. Michelle Grattan examines why the election campaign is likely to be fought on the low political ground.

Kenya is also in the throes of election fever for a poll due in early August. Raila Odinga has four strong showings under his belt and the backing of the incumbent President Uhuru Kenyatta, making him look like the front-runner in what is proving to be an intriguing presidential race. David E. Kiwuwa sets out what an Odinga triumph would signal.

How do authoritarian rulers survive in the context of democratic institutions? In studying Uganda, Rebecca Tapscott identified a type of governance that uses unpredictability to combine democratic institutions with authoritarian power. She shows how this fragments and weakens government opposition.