Africa and Stolen Elections

"Elections are so important. They affect our very lives". Kwadwo Afari-Djan, Electoral Commissioner Ghana.

Indeed this should be a universal truth. The import of elections on whether one continues to live or die is becoming more and more an African characteristic for those who care to stand up for the truth. Nigeria, Kenya and then Zimbabwe - allegations of stolen elections and ramifications that undermine human security. I have heard some persons in Ghana say even the Presidential elections in the USA between George Bush and Al Gore were no different. They cite this to support a need to win by fair or foul means. They conveniently forget the prevalence of the rule of law over communal violence in these other societies.

The African situation makes one wonder how inspite of all the assistance that countries like Ghana continue to receive from their Western development partners to bring credility into the electioneering process, there is still a dark cloud of suspicion that the December 2008 elections in Ghana could be rigged by the ruling Government. Recently, on request, a printed copy of the Voters Register was given to the main opposition NDC by the Electoral Commission(EC). It was found to contain bloated figures of voters in Government strongholds and this created quite some uproar. Thank God the EC explained that the discrepancy on the printed register was an error which did not affect the main register. By their tolerant nature, Ghanaians accepted the explanation and the matter died there.

One however cannot but ask what it is that restrains the ECs of Africa from opening up to the population. It would appear that the ECs feel rather responsible to the political parties instead of the citizenry that they are constitutionally required to be responsible to. ECs in Africa tend to ignore the citizenry completely. Thank God people are so stressed or hungry they would not have the time to question until elections are nigh. In all the hope for a perceived just society and a better future, they are sometimes frustrated into violence or succumbed by it. While the citizenry often complain of a bloated register, the registration of minors to vote etc., the ECs appear to focus on educating the citizenry on how to avoid violence during elections.

One would ask however what a difference it would make if the ECs published the Electoral Register by polling station on their web site so that the every community could verify the authenticity of the register at the community or polling station level long before the elections? One wonders what all the money from Western donors is used for if most African ECs do not have web sites to start with. Are African ECs the problem in the whole affair of election fraud and violence in Africa?