For many years now, Ghana has successfully held free, fair and credible elections, a successful and stable democracy. And the country has benefited greatly for with stable and functioning democracy the nation has stamped out corruption and mismanagement, the scourge behind the criminal waste of human and material resources in many countries in Africa.
Ghana’s working and functioning democracy was an example for other African countries to follow; a lighthouse in the black stormy night, a beckon of hope. Reports of violence and vote rigging in this week’s elections has everyone holding his/her breath - has the flickering light been extinguished!
“Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo has been re-elected after a tightly contested election on Monday,” reported BBC.
“Mr Akufo-Addo obtained 51.6% of the vote, compared with 47.4% won by his main rival, ex-President John Mahama, official results showed.
“Mr Mahama has not yet conceded defeat. His party has rejected the results, citing alleged irregularities.”
There are reports of elections related violence and five people killed!
There are many reasons why it has been near impossible to build and sustain a healthy and functioning democratic system of government in Africa. Whilst most leaders have praised to the high heaven the importance of free, fair and credible elections when they are the outside selecting to be elected.
However, once in power, most African leaders have, more often than not, worked tireless to undermine and corrupt the country’s democratic institutions to ensure the next elections will NOT be free, fair and credible. They have tasted power and giving it up again is simply unthinkable!
In Zimbabwe, the nation’s first elections to usher independence were not free, fair and credible because Mugabe and his Zanu PF cronies told the voters the civil would continue if Zanu PF lost the elections. So the people voted to end the war.
And soon thereafter Mugabe launched the Gukurahundi massacre to force the late Dr Joshua Nkomo and his PF Zapu, the country’s main opposition party, to join Zanu PF. The 1987 Zanu PF and PF Zapu Unity Accord cleared the way for the imposition of the de facto one-party dictatorship that has ruled Zimbabwe for the last 40 years and counting.
Zimbabwe had its golden opportunity during the 2008 to 2013 GNU to implement the democratic reforms and dismantle the Zanu PF dictatorship. Sadly, Morgan Tsvangirai and his MDC friends, who were entrusted the task of implementing the reforms, failed to get even one reform implemented in five years. They turned out to be breathtakingly corrupt and incompetent.
Worst of all, Zanu PF has learnt that as long as the party allowed MDC to win a few gravy train seats, the opposition will participate in elections regardless how flawed and illegal the process happened to be. The regime failed to produce a verified voters’ roll, a legal and common sense requirement, for example and still Nelson Chamisa and his MDC A participated in the 2018 elections regardless.
By participating in flawed and illegal elections the opposition have given the process credibility and the result legitimacy.
And so, as things stand, Zimbabwe has no hope of ever holding free, fair and credible elections. Zanu PF has the carte blanche powers to rig elections and, by participating in the flawed elections, MDC is providing the regime with the legitimacy cover!
Ever since the failed 2008 GNU Zanu PF and MDC have entered into a political arrangement; MDC will never implement any reforms to curtail Zanu PF dictatorial powers and will continue participating in flawed elections to give the result legitimacy. Zanu PF will rig the elections to secure 2/3 parliamentary majority and the presidency. Zanu PF will give MDC the surety of winning the remaining 1/3 of the parliamentary seats.
Sure, this Zanu PF and MDC is a marriage of convenience and trust is in short supply as each party is always on the lookout to increase its share of the spoils of power. This is a marriage of cats, there is always going to be a lot of growling, biting and swiping with those razor sharp claws but you will always get the kittens - proof the marriage was consummated!
This is Ghana's eighth presidential election since the adapting a new 1992 multiparty democratic constitution - after years of military rule - and most elections have been judge free, fair and credible. Zimbabwe had a new constitution in 2013, another product of the 2008 to 2013 GNU. It was just another wasted opportunity as the new constitution has failed to deliver free and fair elections.
So given Ghana’s reputation of holding free, fair and credible elections the whole world await the reports of independent election observers to find out whether Ghana has become just another African country incapable of holding free, fair and credible elections.
Nelson Chamisa refused to concede defeat to Mnangagwa in July 2018, just as Morgan Tsvangirai refused to do the same to Mugabe in the July 2013 elections claiming Zanu PF had rigged the elections. However, no one of substance has ever taken Chamisa and Tsvangirai serious, how can one when MDC leaders participated in the elections even without something as basic to free and fair elections as a verified voters’ roll!
In 1992 Ghana had the opportunity to reset its dysfunctional political system and it would be heartbreaking if the country is slipping back to the dark days of violent and rigged elections. In 2008 to 2013 Zimbabwe had the opportunity to reset its dysfunctional one-party dictatorship and we botched-up.
Ghana has something to hold and cherish; we are still stuck with a corrupt and ruthless dictatorship, the 2008 GNU changed nothing!
9 comments:
Ghana has been one of the few countries in Africa to regularly hold of free, fair and credible elections, a beckon of hope to the rest of Africa. One can only pray that Ghana is not slipping backwards to join the likes of Zimbabwe who are sinking in their own world of chaos, poverty and despair dogged by the curse of rigged elections and bad governance.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC)’s efforts to fight graft is being hindered by corruption rocking the institution, chairperson Justice Loice Matanda-Moyo has admitted.
“If we want to win against corruption, we really have to go all the way so what we are doing right now is that the Judicial Service Commission has actually set up Anti-Corruption Courts throughout the country and we expect the NPA to provide the prosecutors in all those courts.
“However, the biggest risk that we have is corruption itself in fighting corruption. Our institutions are not free from corruption. Be it the Zacc, police, NPA, the judiciary, we are also struggling with corruption and we want to deal with this corruption under those pillars that we have established.
“Corruption matters must be dealt with swiftly. Once there has been an investigation, prosecution must be swift. They must be dealt with within a short period of time because if you give these people time, they will start offering bribes (to investigators and prosecutors) and those cases will die a natural death,” she said.
As long as Zanu PF remains in power there will be corruption because those in power are the godfathers of corruption!
"In his speech, the President acknowledged the role of the diaspora in Zimbabwe's economic development. They must be encouraged to do more. However, there cannot be responsibility without rights. Therefore, this country has to allow the diaspora vote.
"Other countries like Malawi, Mozambique and Russia allow their nationals stationed in Zimbabwe to vote in their national elections while they are in Zimbabwe. My party – the MDC-T is working on concrete proposals on how to make the diaspora vote safe, fair and credible.”
Mwonzora is a corrupt and incompetent just like all the other MDC leaders; they had the golden opportunity to implement the democratic reforms during the 2008 to 2013 GNU that would have ended the Zanu PF dictatorship. They failed to implement even one reform in 5 years. If the MDC supporters had been anything else other than the half-shilling they are - not even one of them would still be following sell-outs like Mwonzora!
It is one thing for former President John Mahama to claim the elections were rigged, he might be playing the Donald Trump card; "If I do not win the elections, then the elections were rigged!" Trump started saying this long before the elections; he started accusing his opponents of rigging without ever producing the evidence.
FBI, Congress and all the other American institutions had carried out their own investigation of Trump's vote rigging claims and have found no evidence. Trump is just a bad loser, period!
One hopes that Ghana's democratic institutions will be robust and independent to carry out a thorough investigation into all allegations of election irregularities and illegalities and make sure all those who broke the rules are punished. Ghana has thrived and prospered ever since the country because a healthy and functioning democracy in 1992; the country must not let a few bad apples spoil it all for the nation.
Ghana must not slip back to the bad old days of rigged elections and military rule!
Zimbabwe does not have the robust and independent democratic institutions to investigate election irregularities and illegalities; the Police, Court, parliament, etc., etc. have all been corrupted and Zanufied. And to crown it all, the opposition too has been Zanufied!
Of course, MDC leaders are corrupt, incompetent and sell-outs and hence the reason they did not implement even one democratic reform when they had the golden opportunity to do so during the 2008 to 2013 GNU. It is impossible to enforce the rules, even if the Police, Courts, etc. were robust enough to do so, if the contestants themselves ignore the rules. One cannot take ZEC to task for failing to produce a verified voters' roll, a legal and common sense requirement, if Chamisa et al were aware there was no verified voters' roll and still participated in the elections.
If Zimbabwe is ever to hold free, fair and credible elections, we must implement the democratic reforms. The reforms should have been implemented by now was it not for the fact we have entrusted this to corrupt and incompetent MDC leaders. We need to appoint competent and focused individuals in place of MDC to implement the reforms or we will forever be chasing our tails like kittens!
Zanu-PF's vanquished Generation 40 and Gamatox have joined forces in a bid to destabilize President Emmerson Mnangagwa and the party ahead of the 20203 polls, a senior official from the liberation movement has said.
Zanu PF secretary for security in the politburo, Lovemore Matuke, also said remnants of the former two factions were also responsible for the chaos that marred the district co-ordinating committee election this past weekend.
This is not surprising at all given the country’s official opposition party, MDC, have all but disappeared. The MDC has always been weak and feeble ever since the party’s formation in 1999.
Other than the common desire to get into power the MDC leaders had nothing else in common; no ideology, no principles and they did not even have any idea of how to get into power! Empty heads, as we all know, have a It is therefore little wonder the MDC leaders showed this rotten and obnoxious propensity to make mountains out of mole-hills and fight over it! And so MDC have been fight among themselves and dividing like amoeba.
Nelson Chamisa’s unconstitutional seizure of power following Tsvangirai’s death in 2018 has divided the MDC, the cut has been deep and to the core, there is chaos and pandemonium in the party rending it utterly useless.
The vanquished G40 and Gamatox factions of Zanu PF are regrouping and filling the opposition power vacuum! The people of Zimbabwe know the G40 and Gamatox factions are as corrupt and toxic as the incumbent Lacoste Zanu PF faction in power after all they are all peas from the same Zanu PF pod. Still a G40 opposition is better than the utterly useless MDC opposition!
The Foreign Affairs ministry requested for $55,2 billion or US$672, 600 but was allocated $9,4 billion (US$114,100), or 17% of its bid.
"Some embassies abroad are dilapidated, while other residences have been abandoned.
"For example, the ambassadors' residences in New York, South Africa, Zambia and Mozambique," Paradza said.
"Non-payment of rentals is still a major threat, in some cases; staff have been evicted or locked out," he said.
Paradza said government's failure to pay its workers in foreign lands had resulted in perennial salary arrears amounting to US$20,3 million incurred between September 2010 and October 2020 for both home-based and foreign-based diplomats.
"Consequently this means Zimbabwe has been breaching international labour law by not paying workers accordingly," he said.
Paradza said as a result, morale was low at most embassies as members of staff were failing even to pay school fees and medical bills for themselves and their families.
For years now, we have heard teachers and health workers complaining of their wages being inadequate to meet even their most basic needs, they are “incapacitated”! Well, it looks like they are not the only ones!
It must be said that Zimbabwe has always had a bloated civil service, Army, Police, cabinet, etc., etc. and foreign mission appointments was no exception. Being appointed ambassador or embassy official was the cushy patronage appointments.
Both Mugabe and now Mnangagwa’s power base are founded are buttressed on patronage and so it is almost certain Zimbabwe has one of the highest number of embassies and embassy staff per GPD in the world. Most of these staff member spend most of their time twiddling their thumb given Zimbabwe is a pariah state that few want to engage with.
Zimbabwe must reduce the number of embassy and embassy officials to match the nation’s needs and financial ability. Frankly, I would rather see few ambassadors than teachers and health workers!
@ Darwin Matthew
“There are many reasons why it has impossible to build and sustain à healthy and functional democracy system of government in Africa. Whilst most leaders have praised to the high heaven the importance of free, fair and credible elections when they are the outsider selecting to be elected and once.” The writer has the answer as to why MDC found it difficult to implement electoral reforms from above paragraph and the one after that. It’s only that the writer has some personal issues with Mr Nelson Chamisa which are not known to those more concerned about a Healthy Democracy prevailing. That is why he keeps accusing Nelson Chamisa for what happened from 2008_2013 where Chamisa wasn't the principal to that party nor MDC Alliance was there.
Are you saying it is OK for leaders to praise free and fair elections whilst they are out of power and then undermine the democratic institution as soon as they get into power? You are right, that is exactly what MDC leaders did and should be condemned for it.
You argument that Chamisa should not be held to account for what happened during the GNU although he was a senior member of MDC is as feeble as those saying the same thing about Mnangagwa not being accountable of Mugabe days.
Chamisa was MDC leader in 2018, why did he agree to contest that year’s elections when ZEC failed to produce something as basic as a verified voters’ roll?
The trouble with narrow minded people like you is that you think this is about Chamisa and MDC, he and the party are small fry. The matter of failing to implement reforms and failure to hold free and fair elections are the reason why Zanu PF has rigged elections and we are stuck with the regime with the political and economic consequences of landing us in this hell-on-earth.
To get out of this hell-hole, we need to implement the reforms quick smart and since Chamisa and MDC have failed to do it we will get others who will. Of course, it is foolish that millions must continue to live in abject poverty for the sake of saving Chamisa’s political career!
What has happened in America these last 4 years has demonstrated the influence leaders have on their followers. Who would have believed that so many Americans, with all their education, sophistication and worldly experience will so easily be taken in by Trump and his antics. The country's health experts argued the people to wear mask and yet millions ignored the advice to listen to Trump!
Thank God America's democratic institutions were not so easily swayed by Trump and threw out his court challenges of the elections being rigged because he failed to produce the evidence.
In Africa court judges are just as easily swayed as the ordinary people! As a people, we must fail to understand that the democratic institutions we are undermining are what save us from chaos and the curse of bad governance.
Dadaya High School in Zvishavane, Midlands Province is the latest school in Zimbabwe to be hit by the coronavirus after 32 learners tested positive for the novel virus.
The government's testing and tracking system is utterly useless. For the government to have 32 corona virus cases means the authorities have not been testing and tracking as thoroughly as they should and so is playing catch-up all the time.
The only real saving grace here is that corona virus is not as deadly as Ebola!
Post a Comment