Ubi societas ibi jus
Election is a means of designation of the representatives by the citizens, either on a local scale or a national scale. On the other hand, democracy, in a simple, laconic and political expression, is the “government of people by people for the people” (Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States). It’s a mode of political, economic and social organization that ensures to people the master of their individual and collective destiny, through a free choice of their representatives. Modern democracy implies multiparty system, free, fair and periodic elections, an environment of freedom and human rights (freedom of expression, of association, civic rights...), change of government (change of government is a democratic principle by which a political party couldn’t stay in power indefinitely and should be replaced by another party when this latter wins the majority of the votes).
The problem now is to know if the holding of elections is a sufficient condition to talk of democracy in Africa.
Election contributes to taking root and consolidating democracy in Africa
The enshrinement of election in African countries has contributed to free the political debate. First, its has favoured the advent of individual freedoms (people have now the right to express their opinion about the management of public affairs, there are appropriate frameworks for political debates, the press in general is free) and civic rights (the right to vote or to contest a seat is opened, subject to legal conditions).
Then, the multiparty system is effective and many political parties contest seats during elections. Some electoral legislations have even enshrined the admission of independent candidacies. It is possible to observe that elections have enabled government changes in some countries like Benin, Senegal, Ghana, Mali, Central African Republic...
Apart from all those concrete facts, one of the major commitments of Africa towards the establishment of a relationship between elections and democracy is the adopting of the African Charter on Democracy, elections and governance on 30th January 2007. Article 2, paragraph 3 of the Charter provides that “the objectives of this Charter are to (...) promote the holding of regular free and fair elections to institutionalize legitimate authority of representative government as well as democratic change of governments”.
But election is not the panacea to the democratic challenge in Africa
It’s a well known fact that the holding of elections is not a sufficient condition to talk of democracy. Indeed, even Germany of Adolph Hitler and Soviet Union of Joseph Stalin were organizing elections; but they were not democracies!
The holding of an election is not sufficient to talk of democracy, first because of systematic post-electoral protests and violence, leading sometimes either to the overthrow of the victorious-proclaimed candidate, as in Cote d’Ivoire in 2010-2011, to taking of power by force (Madagascar, after the elections of 2001), or to the formation of union and consensual government, which is not yet the expression of the popular will (Kenya, following the elections of 2007, Zimbabwe after the elections of 2008). Globally it is the problem of the credibility of the electoral process.
Then, a real democracy implies other criteria like a certain level of education and development, in order to enable voters to operate thought and rational choices (it’s not always the case in Africa, where the votes sometimes are influenced by financial, religious or ethnic considerations). This criterion is also necessary to ensure a large rate of participation of people to the elections, in order to guaranty the legitimacy of the winning individual or political party.
According to me, a democracy needs finally the respect of human rights (respect of the life, prohibition of intimidation, freedom of association, meeting and manifestation...), the separation of the three branches of the power, precisely the executive, legislative and judiciary branches.
My personal view is that democracy is compatible with African values; that Africa is now ready for democracy and that free, fair and opened elections could contribute to the consolidation of democracy in our Great Continent.
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