Cote d’Ivoire: Another shameful show of ‘African democracy’

By Paul Arhewe


The current tussle for Cote d’Ivoire’s presidential seat has again exposed a derogatory practice of democracy, exclusively African, to the rest of the world. Electioneering and democratic practice in the continent is shown to be deeply obscured in inconsideration, selfishness and disregard for the wishes of the electorates. No wonder Africa is singled out from the rest of the world as it has a different definition and way of practicing its democracy. This becomes mind-boggling where many non-African countries have thrived and consolidated to an extent that democracy is a norm, even instilled into infants in their societies. We may say they have been practicing democracy for centuries. Alas, Africa’s democracy is simply rotating in a circle and retrogressing, showing no sign of improvement and would remain so for long time to come if nothing drastic is done.
Cote d’Ivoire currently has two presidents differently sworn in same day; an upshot from a run-off election after the first didn’t produce any clear winner. The incumbent President Laurent Gbagbo refusing to concede defeat to the former militia leader turned prime minister Alassane Ouattara, sought judgement from a constitutional council led by his friend Paul Yao N’Dre who voided many results in the Northern region where Ouattara has many supporters. Hence, the electoral commission’s result was overturned in favour of Gbagbo.
Ouattara’s victory from the poll has attracted near-universal recognition. The African Union, ECOWAS, European Union, France (her former colonial master), United States, and the United Nation have openly backed Ouattara’s claim, and at the same time condemn Gbagbo’s continues seizure of power and occupation of the presidential palace. Ouattara is forced to operate from a small hotel room amid solid security from UN peacekeeping troops while the defiant Gbagbo still continues to pay deaf ears to global outcry requesting him to step down. He went as far as refusing to answer the telephone call of U.S. President Barack Obama.
The continent has been inundated by replicas of the current Ivorian madness where sitting presidents would prefer to reign as life president and be prepared to quash any form of oppositions aimed at their selfish quest. The practice of democracy in the continent at the electioneering and the public accountability stages are most times a replay of what happened in George Orwell’s animal farm, where those we call leaders’ are so much intoxicated and blindfolded by power to the extend they can’t differentiate what the masses want from their self propelled desires.
In 2008, the Zimbabwean prototype of current Ivorian demonstration of wanton craziness was in display. Then, the veteran president Robert Mugabe through several brutality and oppression forced his major opponent Morgan Tsvangirai to boycott an election he was favoured to win. Through a regional intervention led by former South African president Thabo Mbeki, a unity government was fashioned out. Prime Minister Tsvangirai in October this year cried out to the West that the deal is not working and threatened his party will back off. The monster in Mugabe still remain untamed as he has taken unilateral decisions in running the unity government and the prime minister’s office is redundant. The Kenyan 2007-2008 election crisis also illustrated how messy what we describe as democracy in Africa. Then incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was declared winner and sworn in a grossly rigged election, what many have termed as a daylight robbery against Raila Odinga his main opponent. The Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan was an instrument that would negotiate a power sharing deal; making the people’s choice a second fiddle to a mandate robber.
It is then worrisome seeing a new mediation process set to be headed by the same Mbeki to intervene in the Ivorian quagmire. It won’t be a surprise, as the best Mbeki can get is a power sharing deal or unity government which is fast becoming a genre of democracy exclusive for Africa. In this era where a black is American president, one is concerned that this new trend of unity governments would only lead to hamper any little consolidation the continent would dream to achieve in her democracies. Why make the electorates choice play second fiddle?
Having a near-universal acknowledgement of his victory in the poll, anything less than installing Ouattara solely in the presidential palace to execute the mandate of the Ivoirians is tantamount to encouraging more African incumbents and future leaders to continue the now contagious practice of disregarding and rubbishing electorates’ mandates and expunging peoples’ wishes, which form the nucleus of real democracy. The ECOWAS, AU and UN should at this instance combine actions to pressurise Gbagbo to step down. Persuasions and more talks would only prolong his hold on the stolen mandate. It is high time drastic measures are meted out to these power drunk and self-anointed life presidents like Gbagbo. Some analysts have suggested they are no better than coup plotters and should be treated as same.
As expected, soldiers loyal to Gbagbo have started killing protesters sympathising with Ouattara. The shedding of citizens’ bloods, whose crime is that they vote and want their ballots respected, should not be allowed to go in vain. He should be held responsible for the deaths of those innocent Ivoirians and many others who will still be used as sacrificial lambs as this madness continues.