ECA Boss sees strong-man attitude in elections declining as Africa rises
Executive Secretary of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), Dr. Carlos Lopes has said that Africa’s rise may see a decline in strong-man attitudes during electoral processes.
Mr. Lopes made the comment at the three-day 8th edition of the African Governance Forum which ended October 18, 2012 in Gaborone, Botswana.
“As Africa grows, more and more of its citizens become better informed and urbanized; they will expect a bigger participation and a different political dispensation,” Lopes said, according to a statement issued by the ECA.
Mr. Lopes opined that when elections are denuded of substance and value, they lose their intrinsic benefits.
“Deep structural economic inequalities, social polarization amongst groups, communities, and individuals, or unstable political transitions can exacerbate electoral violence,” he said.
He informed the Forum that although elections have become more regular in Africa, their “quality and credibility are increasingly being called to question.”
According to him, 15 presidential and 20 parliamentary elections were organized in 2011 and another 15 presidential and 20 parliamentary elections scheduled for 2012.
“These processes, are however, marked by confusion, technical difficulties, participatory and inclusiveness challenges or are conducted in a rush manner,” Lopes stated.
“When elections are fragrantly manipulated and rigged, when harassment, intimidation and blackmail characterize the electoral process, violence is around the corner,” stressed Lopes.
Citing examples from recent electoral violence in Kenya, Cote d’Ivoire and Zimbabwe, Mr. Lopes explained that electoral violence leaves countries worse off than ever before and in most cases, “decelerates the rate of economic growth, reduces the inflow of foreign direct investment, affects tourism, fuels inflation and unemployment, and generally impacts negatively on economic activities.”
In the case of Kenya’s post-elections crises in 2007/2008, Lopes indicated that the economic cost of the violence was estimated at around $3.6 billion in addition to the social costs incurred, such as the destruction of lives and property, high incidence of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), general social dislocation, humanitarian crisis, and worsening inter-group relations in the country.
He pointed out that efforts have been made to address the cycle of electoral violence, such as through policy design and landmark political initiatives.
The African Governance Forum (AGF) is Africa’s flagship platform for intense and sustained policy debate on governance in Africa.
By Ekow Quandzie