Incisive Journalism in Cameroon: The Best of ��Cameroon Report�� (1978 � 1986)

62. Cameroon Report 16/11/1985: Africa and its Elections

239 62 Cameroon Report 16/11/1985: Africa and its Elections Introduction: It has become fashionable for election results to be rejected by losers in contemporary Africa each time there is a democratic experience in any of the countries on the continent. In most cases the winners claim 99.99% or as of recent a 100% victory at the polls. Our African affairs observer, Charles Landzeh explains that what sometimes contradicts such victory claims are the allegations of rigging and protests from the losers who in most cases are either brutally silenced or simply coerced and manoeuvred into obscurity: The unwillingness of those who win such elections to listen at least to the voice of the losers and the brutality with which the opposition is silenced, drives them underground or into exile and subsequently creates an undemocratic situation, in what was intended to a be a democratic experience. The newly elected or incumbent leaders quickly become dictators of sorts, using all the open or secret methods of suppression in the expensive process to keep power. Some incumbents even organise elections in their own style to proclaim themselves re-elected in the twisted process to stay longer in power. Now, all these manoeuvres and unholy democratic machinations take place against the backdrop of deep frustrations, anguish and a feeling of deceit among a given population whose aspirations for improved living standards evaporate every other day. 240 What is even more frustrating is that most incumbents centralise and personalise political power in the hands of one, in what some African political observers have described as the “divine right of presidents” to the detriment of Ministers and collaborators alike. Such a situation generates mounting discontent among the population and growing detachment from the rulers. The people readily express a willingness to embrace any move which would partially or completely change the present structures. This is, and has often been, the fertile platform for coups and coup attempts in Africa; the event which is often greeted in the early hours by smiling faces on the streets. Nigeria, Uganda and Liberia are only recent cases of the sad story on the continent in its post colonial political history. In all these, the African electorate is the big loser. Often the question is whether a voter should go to the polls or not and whether his vote will have any meaning at all. The African voter today would no longer bother himself going to the polling station since he can predict the results of the presidential election. Even in the Ivory Coast where a record 100% was scored in the presidential election or re-election, as it were recently, observers also noted a record low in the voter turnout at the polls. For many, what was normally seen as an occasion for anyone to freely exercise a civic right and choose a leader of one’s judgement in a democratic experience has evaporated. For many, the holding of any elections now more than ever before is tantamount to building platforms for coups or attempted coups in the near or distant future. Charles Landzeh 241 ...