By Claus Stäcker
Africa's
'Super Sunday,' polling day in five countries, almost passed unnoticed
on a weekend dominated by Cuba, terrorism and refugees. Yet the polls
reveal the vulnerability of African democracy, says Claus Stäcker.
Transparent
multiparty democracy hasn't really taken root in Africa. This was
demonstrated by elections in Benin, Niger, Congo-Brazzaville, Zanzibar
and Cape Verde on Sunday. Cape Verde is one of the continent's few
promising democracies and is constantly among the top five in any of the
recognized democracy indices. It came as no surprise that prime
minister voluntarily stepped aside in the former Portuguese colony, even
at the risk of his own party, the PAICV, being voted out of office.
The PAICV's
campaign was spearheaded by 37 year old Janira Hopffer Almanda. It was
quite remarkable of the party to field a relative young woman candidate,
especially on a continent ruled more or less exclusively by men.
But her youth
apparently failed to impress the electorate. They voted the ruling
party, which had been in power for 15 years, out of office. Conservative
candidate Correia e Silva won the election with voters evidently
believing he can cure the country's economic ills. He has promised
45,000 new jobs.
Benin
In the West African
state of Benin, President Boni Yayi stepped down after two terms in
office without a murmur of complaint. As in Cape Verde, the ruling
party's candidate failed to get elected. Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou
was defeated by opposition candidate Patrice Talon, who made his fortune
in the wool trade and harbor management. Voters clearly wanted a change
even though the low turnout suggests that Talon enjoys only modest
popularity. Nonetheless, this poll was still a respectful nod in the
direction of democratic governance.
This could not be
said of the elections in Congo-Brazzaville where President Denis Sassou
Nguesso has no intention of stepping down even though he has been in
power for 32 years. At a referendum in October 2015, which the
opposition denounced as a "constitutional coup," the two term
restriction on presidents and the maximum age limit of 70 were lifted.
Nguesso is 72. On polling day, he shut down the Internet and mobile
phone links for "security reasons" so the electorate had no opportunity
to gauge the transparency of the elections. Nguesso is a nervous
political dinosaur who has every reason to fear the younger generation.
They now make up the majority of the population and their vision of
their country's future is very different to Nguesso's.
In semi-autonomous
Zanzibar, the ruling CCM party is still clinging to power. Opposition
and media representatives, including DW's Salma Said, were subject to
intimidation in the weeks leading up to the re-run of the October
elections. The re-run was boycotted by the main opposition party, the
CUF. The CCM, which is also in power on the Tanzanian mainland, will
continue in office in Zanzibar where it polled 91 percent. The
electorate was intimidated by a huge military presence during the
elections but civil society was able to monitor events as they unfolded.
DW correspondent Salma Said was ominously abducted for two and a half
days, triggering a wave of solidarity with her across the country.
Tanzanian President John Muguli, who has become something of an
anti-corruption role model in Africa, now faces a real challenge: how to
rein in the unruly branch of his own party, the CCM, on Zanzibar.
Autocratic government
In Niger, a
declaration of victory for the incumbent Mahamdou Issoufou will be a
formality because the run-off in the country was boycotted by the
opposition. His challenger Hama Amadou was flown out of the country,
allegedly for medical treatment in France. Niger is a fragile state
exposed to the terror of al Qaeda and Boko Haram. It has made
significant progress towards democratic governance and freedom of
expression over the last few years. However, this is dependent on the
engagement of a small elite. Analysts warn that Niger is very
vulnerable. The green shoots of democracy are tender almost everywhere
in Africa. A successful election doesn't guarantee a smooth
transformation to a multiparty democracy. Hybrid forms of government -
mixtures of autocratic and semi-democratic processes - will continue to
persist in Africa for some time to come.
The African nations that top the democracy indices - such as Cape Verde
and Benin - will need to demonstrate that democracy can spell progress
in the shape of better social and welfare provisions. Tedros Adhonom,
foreign minister of Ethiopia - a country which still has a long journey
ahead of it in terms of democratic governance - recently made a very
poignant remark. "Bread without democracy tastes bitter," he said. "But
democracy without bread is fragile."
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