B. On the obligations of State Parties to ensure effective protection of citizens’ right to participate in the government of their countries in the context of an election held during a public health emergency or a pandemic, such as the Covid-19 crisis 56. The Author submits that with the Covid-19 crisis, all African countries going through elections in 2021 “confront contemporaneous crises of public health, fiscal crunch, political stability and governmental legitimacy. In countries with limited institutional buffers, the consequences could be unpredictable for citizens, countries, regions and Africa's partners.” 57. The Author submits that “[i]n response to the Covid-19 pandemic, AU Member States have mostly taken measures to protect the right to life by limiting such rights as freedoms of movement, assembly, association and information, and also the right of citizens to effectively participate in the governance of their respective states, especially (although not limited to) through regular, free and fair elections.” 58. The Author affirms that “[t]hese measures have affected the enjoyment of basic rights such as the rights to freedom of movement, assembly, association and information, and also the right of citizens to effectively participate in the governance of their respective countries, especially (although not limited to) through regular, free and fair elections. They also have the practical effect of constraining democratic competition, which could preclude election observation, and potentially interfere with both campaigning and the exercise of franchise.” 59. The Author submits that in the absence of formal derogations, State Parties remain bound by their obligations to safeguard the citizens’ right to effectively participate in government of their countries. In this vein, it maintains that harmonized approaches that safeguard the right to participate in government, as enshrined in the African Charter and ACDEG, amongst other legal instruments, should be envisaged. 17