Is it necessary for African countries to hold elections?

At independence, most African states were under dictatorships. It should be noted that there are various types of dictatorships. There are developmental dictatorships, benevolent dictatorships, dictatorships of the majority, elective dictatorships, one party state dictatorship, family dictatorships, etc. But all that changed after the end of the Cold War in 1990. Since then the international community and media have reported and applauded the nascent democracies in Africa, which many cynics question.

Just like dictatorships, there are various types of democracies. The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Democracy Index 2014 categorises democracies into the following:

1. Full democracy: Basic freedoms and civil liberties are respected and there is an effective system of checks and balance.
2. Flawed democracy: Basic civil liberties are respected, but there are significant weaknesses in governance and low levels of political participation.

3. Hybrid: Weaknesses are more prevalent than in flawed democracies – corruption tends to be widespread and the rule of law is weak. Civil society is also weak.

4. Nominal democracy: Political pluralism is absent or heavily circumscribed. Some formal institutions of democracy may exist, but these have little substance. There is disregard for abuses and infringements of civil liberties.

There is a perception that a number of elections in Africa have been full of irregularities such as disenfranchisement, gerrymandering, ballot stuffing, vote buying, intimidation, misinformation, among others. Those who have cried foul have sought redress in courts, others have protested on the streets. This begs the questions: Is it necessary for impoverished African states to hold elections which make society polarised and impedes development?

According to a columnist of News24, it costs some African states about 30 per cent of their national budgets to hold an election. Many of these states have citizens who are starving, poor quality healthcare, declining education standards, alarming inequality, and poor infrastructure and security for their citizens.

Let us not forget the human cost of elections – deaths. Election violence claimed more than 1,000 people in Kenya in 2008, 200 Ethiopians in 2005, and many other Africans. Some African democracies promote sectarianism at the cost of national unity because politics is a zero sum game.

Similarly, some African democracies have become a gold mine for the small political elite. For example, the size of some parliaments have increased through legislative processes, at a colossal cost, to appease special interest groups or patronise a number of politicians—the same can be said about the large cabinets. Through these legislative processes, Members of Parliament determine their salaries at a time the delivery of social services such as healthcare and education are declining. Isn’t this extravagance?
Unfortunately, the civil society has not done much to curb the expenses of democracy because it is weak.

The aloofness or insensitivity of the political elite is dangerous because history has shown the proletariat and peasants have risen up against the status quo, and the last thing Africa needs is civil strife. This can be avoided, but how? There is need to establish an independent commission, which makes recommendations on the size of public institutions and the salaries concerning office bearers.

Unfortunately, this will be opposed by many politicians.
Do African governments organise elections in order to get aid? After the end of the Cold War, Western states pressured African countries to democratise, which involved holding elections. This may explain the democracy deficit because a number of incumbents are compelled to fight for survival or entrench their stay in power at all costs – neglecting delivery of social services and disregarding rule of law. It would be interesting to know from the common person what they make of democracy today.

In order to have a fully fledged democracy which benefits all citizens, it is important to have a large middle class. According to research carried out by development economist Paul Collier, democracies with GDP per capita of more than $2,700 reduce the risk of political violence and those with less make society dangerous—it is important to note that there are outliers. The priority should be to improve the welfare of Africans along with ensuring they have freedom. This is something African governments, donors and civil society have to think about.

Mr Barungi is a social scientist. andybk82@yahoo.co.uk Twitter: @andybk82