(5 minutes read)
While 2020 had witnessed a number of elections in the African continent-some of them keenly fought, the others attracted international attention because of the controversies erupted in the process-there is no respite for polls in the 2021 also.
Just concluded polls in Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso and Togo had attracted attention not for their peaceful conduct but more for the controversies and allegations they kicked off in the process. All the polls had seen the incumbent retaining the coveted position. In a democracy that is quite alright provided one plays by the rule book. Prior to these elections, there were efforts from some of the incumbents to amend the constitution to extend the term of office of the president.
Some introspection is needed to drive home what had happened in the election process. Togo held elections in February, before Covid -19 had its toll. The February 22 poll of Togo was the first since constitutional reforms capped the presidential term limits. Yet, taking advantage of the prospective nature of the constitutional amendment, incumbent Faure Gnassingbe could run for two more terms (2020 – 2030). Despite the opposition contesting the outcome of the results, the elections body announced that the president had won 72 percent of the vote in the first round.
The case in Guinea, which conducted three layers of voting this year, was different. A referendum on extending presidential term limits, a partial legislative poll and a presidential poll could be termed as genuine election processes ,which can lend legitimacy to any democracy. But all these elections took place amid tension and widespread opposition protests to give credence to the argument that democracy has to take stronger roots in many parts of the continent. President Alpha Conde got re-elected defeating his nearest rival Cellou Diallo, who received only 33.50% of the vote,. But what stunned the whole world was the assertion of Diallo that he won the election, before the counting started.
Ivorian president Alassane Ouattara was about to demit his office until his Prime Minister and candidate of the ruling party Amadou Gon Coulibaly died. This prompted the president to contest again reversing his earlier decision to demit the office. That led to opposition mobilization against his candidature. Clashes with security forces did little to deter Ouattara who had been cleared with three others to run in the October 31 poll.
Three other polls are slated for this month. Ghana will go to polls on December 7. It will be followed in Niger 27December. The Central African Republic will also hold presidential and legislative polls on the same day as Niger. In Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo is seeking a final four-year term as also CAR, President Faustin Archange Touadera. Will Africa move into the democracy value chain when re-elections sought by tampering with constitutional amendment to extend the President’s term of office? That is the question being asked by many. Undoubtedly, it is a valid question, reminding one about the need for reimagining democracy in the continent by strengthening democratic institutions. Will Africa do that in the next decade, which will unfold on us in the next few days is the trillion dollar question being asked from several
quarters?
