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Rigging Africa
By Medhane Tadesse
Bad news is bad enough. But bad news about a country or an event
of a continental significance carries a triple whammy of pain, worry,
and “ where did we go wrong”’ type of desperation.
Last month millions of Nigerians went to the polls to choose state
and local leaders in the first stage of what was to be a landmark
election for Africa’s most populous nation. The election,
if it was successful, could have led to something new in Nigeria:
the first time one elected government hands over power to another,
a watershed moment for a nation that has suffered through repeated
coups, military rule and a grim civil war that nearly destroyed
the country. But it was rigged. Some elections could be rigged long
before the election date. In this case, the election day is characterized
as free but not fair. Many African ruling elites are accustomed
to rigging elections; say two or more years before the election
date. The majority elections belong to this category. Very few elections
are rigged on the election date. In this particular case the election
is in neither free nor fair. Extremely few are, however, rigged
after the election date. This is basically subversion. This is counter
insurgency and not election. The Nigerian case belongs to the second
category. The act of rigging during the voting date was open and
without any sophistication. In some cases a group of men would come
on a motorbike with policemen and stamped the ballot papers. Just
like that. Many of them have been intimidating all the voters in
and around polling stations. Almost all outlets reported systematic
electoral abuses that were similar to the worst reports nationally
by major observer groups. The international community, independent
Nigerian observers and both domestic and foreign media have already
labeled the elections as ‘not credible’ (U.K High Commissioner)
and ‘seriously flawed’ (United States State Department).
Some say elections are just one among many that could ensure democracy.
Democracy is not only about elections, but there will never be democracy
without free and fair elections. Infact, elections are more than
an event or a process. It is everything about governance, institutions
and structures. Holding free and fair elections symbolizes many
things. It symbolizes political will, it reflects the ruling elite’s
readiness for civil dispute mechanism, it ensures that militarized
political culture is no more the dominant ruling culture, and above
all it shows that the ruling elite in question is ready to take
the country to a responsible political transition. Rigging an election
is tantamount to rigging the history, people and future of a country.
It is like stealing the soul of a country. This being the case,
all rigged elections lead to a destructive path. The systematic
disenfranchisement of the population provides support for groups
advocating for or seeking to justify armed struggle. As such election
is less a problem than what comes after it. It is a pity that a
country destined to become the largest democracy in Africa became
the largest rigging field.
While voting, Nigerians seem to have trusted the process, and next
to that they must have relied on the decency and courage of the
fellow Africans and their institutions to stand with them. But at
the margins, many also had every reason to rely on the major powers
of the continent. What has the feeble continent done to stand up
for its declared values of freedom and liberty? When was the last
time the AU even spoke on behalf of free and fair elections? I would
have liked to share other countries’ reaction when they were
informed that the Nigeria elections were a sham. I know the reaction
of many Nigerians. More disturbing is the silence of the leading
African democracies, such as South Africa. As if to demonstrate
to them that they have just welcomed the rigging, the new president
of Nigeria provided them more exhibits by visiting them first and
standing in their soil. The reaction of global powers is no different.
In the post election period key western governments, including the
United States, have moved from condemnation of the polls to a ‘willingness
to work with the Nigerian government’, without an apparent
full appreciation of the long-term damage of taking this position.
African institutions and partners should have taken a principled
position against the blunt subversion of democracy in Africa. It
is only through such demonstration of moral consistency and political
determination to support the cause of those struggling to build
up new democracies that Africa’s peace and security organizations,
such as the AU and NEPAD can regain the lost moral high ground.
Wait, there is also the African Peer Review Mechanism/APRM/ or Peer
Rigging Mechanism?I can’t wait to see what will happen to
the APRM in which Nigeria plays one of the big daddies.
This aside, I should hasten to add that the democratic progress
in Africa is handicapped by election fraud and rigging, a trend
left largely unchecked. Countries that have oil or friendly regimes
at the helm tend to be treated differently and their leaders, behaving
like spoiled kids, expect no reprimand and show no remorse in their
acts of fraud and rigging. Many political systems are structured
in a way to facilitate and hasten rigging. Unless we see changes
on how these particular political systems are constructed, we will
see the consolidation of election fraud and rigging. Now, the damage
is already done. International actors must move to demand, in the
case of Nigeria, immediate reforms from the incoming government.
A fundamentally reconstituted and truly independent Electoral Commission
should be a minimum demand. Attention should now be focused on the
Local Government elections, due to hold after June. The international
community as well as interested African countries and institutions
should use these as a key marker of whether the new administration
intends to make early reforms of the electoral system. Failure to
act decisively leaves a high risk of post election conflict and
further destabilization in Nigeria.
Nigerian society, the continental leadership and the international
community now have no other choice than to tackle head on this subversion
of democracy. The alternative is to consign the African continent
to years of misrule, misery and violent conflict. Failure to act
will also undermine Nigeria’s ability to credibly play a role
in the African Union, ECOWAS and NEPAD while also lowering the bar
for democratic conduct in other African countries. Without any clear
and specific international demands for reform the message to Nigerian
political elites - by extension to African ruling parties will be
clear - that even the most blatant electoral fraud is tolerable
as long as oil flows or the statuesque is respected. The international
community has a limited but clear opportunity to act collectively
and support domestic demands for reform in Nigeria. However, if
the international response is weak or half hearted the chance of
serious instability and conflict increases dramatically, not only
in Nigeria but also throughout Africa. In terms of democratic elections
Africa is sliding toward the end of the rope, and in such a situation
tie the KNOT and hang on. And do you know what that knot at the
end of the rope is? Independent Electoral Commissions-the missing
link between African liberation and democracy.
May 18, 2007
Medhane Tadesse of CPRD is a long time specialist on
issues of peace and security in the Horn of Africa. He can be reached
at mt3002et@yahoo.com |
