Ongoing Russia –Ukraine conflict, which has led to the deaths of several persons and the destruction of lives and properties, has generated a heated debate among scholars, experts, analysts, and heads of government. Central to the conflict is the unresolved issue of the continuous expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Ukraine's decision to join NATO, and Russia's aggressive response. While all these issues have played out in Europe, some grave consequences have been felt globally, especially in Africa. The concerns and consequences impress on us the need to critically examine
their impact on Africa, forming the central idea behind this Issue

This edition also takes place against the backdrop of a society that has entered a period of extraordinary violence, hate speech, fake news, propaganda, murders, and endless conflicts of interest, all of which have been used as tools to impede the advancement of Africa. This edition's paper collections offer a
wealth of discussion on the potential applications of social media and artificial intelligence to advance society. These realizations will open the door to better approaches to problems pertaining to developing and promoting policies that influence African elections. I believe this edition has brought education to the modern society. This is the right direction to embrace different aspects of technological tools to advance society and we must continue to come closer to how to address different trajectories and social pathologies that threaten human existence. I believe this can be done by taking a borderless approach to understand best practices in accepting, evaluating and embracing elections and its processes in Africa. I hope that you will enjoy the balance of ideas and approaches that this edition provides.

Since the end of colonial rule, most African nations have been entangled in a vicious circle of ending political, economic, religious, and even socio-cultural challenges. The consequences of these intractable conflicts and the quest for meaningful development among African nations have led to eternal discussion among scholars and policymakers on critical sectors like industrialization, conflict prevention, education, security, human rights, political institutions, governance, economy, refugee, and migration and even terrorism. Acknowledging these problems, policymakers, NGOs, scholars, security experts, captains of industries, religious and community leaders, and even development and peace-focused institutions have continually engaged in brainstorming, deliberations, research, and critical thinking on possible ways of addressing this most pressing dilemma.