Whereas 75% of general elections in African countries have always been flawed in terms of
excessive rigging by the incumbent regime, citizen participation has constantly been on the
increase. In Kenya, voters turn out rose from 48% in 1983 to 69% in 1997 (Michael Cowen &
Karuti Kanyinga 1997:140). In Guinea, Bissau voter turn out increased form 49% in 1989 to
71% in 1994. In Ghana, voters turn out rose from 30% in 1992 to 80% in 1996. This huge turn
out confirms the fact that Africans have identified elections as the ideal and legitimate tool to choose a political leadership that is democratic, transparent and accountable. The evidence
presented in the previous sections which show that elections legitimize incumbent governments
is only tenable in African countries where voters do not have strong foundation in civic
education. However, in African countries where non governmental organizations and other
interest groups have mounted massive civic education programs, usually over 50% of sitting
members of parliament loose their seats in every general election to new leaders. In some
instances, members of parliament who are patronized by the incumbent head of State, too loose
in general elections as long as the electorate does not have confidence in them. In the 2007
general elections in Kenya, 70% of sitting members of parliament lost their seats to a new crop
of leaders, while 65% of the cabinet did not manage to retain their seats in parliament. All this evidence confirms that elections play a key role in facilitating the citizen to participate in governance, i.e. elections is the only medium in which the peoples power and voice is manifested.
The concept of citizenship as it relates to electioneering process is not well entrenched in
African politics. Africans can be able to control and stop the manipulation of electoral process by incumbent regimes if they have a clear perception of the roles, obligations and rights of a citizen. A regular, free, fair and transparent election is a bench mark for liberal democracies.
This is why a study of African governments that are striving to nurture democratic systems of
governance has to be located in the theoretical framework of citizenship. Carols Torres has
succinctly argued that theories of citizenship capture relations between citizens and the state on one level and intra-relations among citizens themselves. Yet democracy has to do with the
connection between forms of social and political power and intersection between representation
and participation of citizens in established institutions of governance (Carlos Torres 2006:537).
Poverty, illiteracy and limited civic education has been a barrier to Africans to understand their roles, obligations and rights as citizens. Either consciously or unconsciously Africans have submitted to the notion of their leaders being benefactors and thus exchange their votes with material and financial hand outs. A long period of African authoritarian leadership has reduced the capacity of the African people to realize that they have the power and the right to transform African leadership to become accountable to the people. Since the people seem to accept and condone the fact that once elected, African leaders will only indulge in activities for self aggrandizement the people naively argue that we will vote for the candidate that can be able to distribute hand outs. This naivety results form the difficult living conditions majority of the peasantry, pastoralists and workers find themselves in. African leadership has not put in place systems to provide welfare for citizens/people that have been adversely affected by capitalism.
It is in this perspective that Carlos Torres observes that the most significant development in
citizenship theory in the 20th century was its linkage to the welfare state. I.e. that full
citizenship in liberal democracies can only be realized if structures and systems of a welfare
state are functional. (Op.cit.359).
Traditionally citizenship refers to a people in a state/country who enjoy civil, political and
social rights. Civil rights include all rights required for individual freedom: the right to own property, freedom of speech and the right to justice). Political rights involve the rights
revolving around the electoral process (e.g. the right to vote, to elect, be elected, observe
elections, inspect register of voters). Social rights deal with the right to security, food, shelter, clothing, Medicare, education, employment, access to transport and recreation. These are rights that cut across economic, cultural and security well being of the people/citizens.
In the African context, the concept of citizenship is farfetched or almost nonexistent. This is
because Africans neither enjoy civil, political nor social rights. The idea of a welfare state in Africa is yet to be entrenched in African system of governance. Thus in references to political rights, Africans neither have the right to elect or be elected. In theory, the people are usually given a chance to go and vote, yet the same people do not have a right to vote the leaders they desire. In practice the elite manipulate rules and procedures in their respective political parties to clear certain persons to contest in elections. The persons cleared to contest might not necessarily be the choice of the people. This explains why the electoral process in Africa cannot nurture growth of democracy because the citizen’s political rights are not guaranteed.
The African electoral process has been in conflict with two major issues; namely ethno political identities and globalization. In Nigeria, Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, among other African countries ethno political identities define voting patterns. This
means that the citizens are not primarily concerned with using their political rights to elect an accountable and transparent leadership that respects the principles and culture of democracy. The electorate is concerned with electing leaders that are seen to protect and promote ethno political identity.
Globalization has consistently undermined the choice of leaders by citizens in an electoral
process. It is assumed rightly that the globe is becoming a village in the sense that modern
technology is able to expose all types of conflicts and crises in African countries. The
international community cannot ignore such political crisis for it negates the universal concept of democracy and also threatens international peace.
Thus the electorate/citizens in African countries are no longer the main determinants of the type of regime that rules African countries. This is because they cast votes but the election outcomes are usually contested by both the incumbent ruling party and the opposition political. For instance in the 2007 General Elections in Kenya and the 2008 General elections in Zimbabwe,
the elections outcome were contested forcing the international community to intervene to stop
the two countries becoming failed states. The intervention led to stopping of widespread
violence that rocked the two countries after the results of the elections were announced.
The former secretary general of United Nations Organization Kofi Anan was identified by the
international community to engage the political factions that were in disagreement over the
results of the 2007 General elections in dialogue so as to reach an agreement on sharing of
power. It took Kofi Anan and his team with the pressure of the governments of United States of
America and Britain almost a month to strike a power sharing deal between Orange Democratic
movement ODM political party which had actually won the2007 general elections and Party of
National Unity PNU which had rigged the elections and declared itself winner of the elections
and went ahead and formed a government amid protests from citizens and the international
community. The power deal witnessed the establishment of a government of National Unity
where cabinet positions were shared on a 50:50 ratio by both ODM and PNU. In Zimbabwe the
efforts of former South African president Thabo Mbeki led to a government of national unity
where power was shared between incumbent president Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai the
leader of the opposition party. The rise of governments of national unity raises the following
questions.
- What is the role of elections in nurturing good governance in Africa?
- Does it imply that if an alternative method of putting up a government of national unity
is identified then elections will no longer be relevant in liberal democracy in Africa?
- Are governments of national unity democracies?
Titany answered the question on October 28, 2021 at 12:16