The majority of Africans (60%) believe, according to an Afrobarometer (2005) survey, that democracy is preferable to all other forms of government. As argued by Holmquist and Ford (1992:97-110) self-appointed rulers are facing hard times all over Africa. Democracy is everywhere in the air and popular mobilization, though very uneven, is consequential. With little room for maneuver, several autocrats have fallen or pledged transitions to democracy.