The K Experience

Zimbabwe Elections: Dont generalize about Africa

Monday, 31 March 2008

Elections in Ghana

"People across Zimbabwe are anxiously awaiting the final election results, which have been slow to emerge since the close of polling on Sunday." [BBC News]

The people of Zimbabwe aren't the only ones that are "anxiously awaiting". I must say that I'm greatly interested and awaiting the results too, as I am sure many other African around the world are. But while we do wait, let's not jump to conclusions and let's not generalize...

Many people already hold negative images of Africa and African politics in particular, constantly reminding others that the leaders are crooks, they can't be trusted, they mismanage funds and are corrupt. These allegations are based on a few African countries, one of them Zimbabwe, which has had a less than fortunate history when it comes to politics with its current leader Robert Mugabe. But let's not generalize. Zimbabwe may be in Africa, but it is not Africa. Africa is a continent, containing 53 countries in total, and has a population of over 900million people. It would be gravely unfair, and totally irresponsible to have a fixed opinion on a whole continent as a result of the information gained from one, or even a few countries. There are other countries in Africa which can be hailed as having exemplary politics, not just for Africa, but other places in the world, Ghana being one of those.

Ghana elections

In 2004, I was fortunate enough to be in Ghana at the same time as the elections for the new president, and it was an experience that I enjoyed. The then president John A. Kufour, the president who the people loved (and still do, I'm sure), was expected to be re-elected, and people wanted to make sure that the elections were indeed free and fair. The pictures above are of the elections in progress. Although the voting was done in private, as you can see the votes in this area, Valley View University, in Oyibi, Accra, were counted in public, to ensure fairness. (The manageable number of people present made this possible, and I am not sure if this was the case in other places around Ghana.) Of course the people were anxious as this was an important moment in Ghana, but they felt no sense of danger.

I'm not trying to say that the fears over the Zimbabwe elections are not warrented. They are, and judging from Zimbabwe's history they are fully understandable. But let's not kid ourselves here and think that Africa is the only continent where the politics are less than trustworthy. Much of Eastern Europe still has unstable political situations. Countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan to name but a few. And if you think those countries are not fair game for this example, then I'll come right over to the United States of America. The first election of George W. Bush wasn't exactly "Kosher", and his re-election was a slap in the face for the intelligence of humanity (in more ways than one). I have often said that other nations should have a share in the votes, or at least a say as to who gets to be the president of the United States, as his or her actions tend to have an effect on the rest of the world.

Ghana Elections

I don't know what the outcome is going to be in Zimbabwe but I'm optimistic. It may be stupid to be so, but let's not lose hope. And even if things do go pear shaped let's remember that Zimbabwe is just one country out of many in Africa, and many of the others do know how to have fair elections, and live in peace.

Ghana Elections