Elections Per se do not amount to democracy
“ELECTIONS PER SE DO NOT AMOUNT TO DEMOCRACY”: EXAMPLES FROM SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA”
INTRODUCTION
The democratic process in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is in a state of crisis despite the occurrence of elections. There seems to be a gradual, but dangerous reinstitutionalization of autocratic and authoritarian regimes clad in democratic garb (Adejumobi, 2000). Elections are supposed to be a hallmark of democracy however in SSA dictatorial regimes are also holding elections resulting in their abuse and a tendency towards democratic retreat as the precepts, structures and processes of elections are mostly characterised by politics of manipulation (Gandi, 2014). Elections in their current form in Sub-Saharan African endanger the fragile concept of democracy as they do not lead to democratic transition but to a continuous disenfranchisement of minorities and abuse of human rights. This paper highlights the electoral crisis in the sub-region within its democratization efforts. The paper articulates on the elements of democracy and how elections in the region cannot be equated to democracy as they are characterized by rigging, buying of votes, manipulation of opposition parties and electoral bodies.
ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRACY: A CONCEPTUAL PERSPECTIVE
Democracy has acquired different, even contradictory, meanings. It has been used and abused to such an extent that defining has become a challenge(Boogards,2007).The word ‘democracy’ is a term that comes from Greek and it is made up with two other words demos which means people and kratein meaning to govern or to rule(Ravelosson and Becker,2008). According to Gibson and Long (2012) democracy therefore can be defined as the Government of the People or Government of the Majority or rather as Abraham Lincoln coined ‘the government of the people, by the people and for the people’. The key properties of democracy are the political participation of citizens, granting of a host of civil and political liberties which include the freedoms
INTRODUCTION
The democratic process in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is in a state of crisis despite the occurrence of elections. There seems to be a gradual, but dangerous reinstitutionalization of autocratic and authoritarian regimes clad in democratic garb (Adejumobi, 2000). Elections are supposed to be a hallmark of democracy however in SSA dictatorial regimes are also holding elections resulting in their abuse and a tendency towards democratic retreat as the precepts, structures and processes of elections are mostly characterised by politics of manipulation (Gandi, 2014). Elections in their current form in Sub-Saharan African endanger the fragile concept of democracy as they do not lead to democratic transition but to a continuous disenfranchisement of minorities and abuse of human rights. This paper highlights the electoral crisis in the sub-region within its democratization efforts. The paper articulates on the elements of democracy and how elections in the region cannot be equated to democracy as they are characterized by rigging, buying of votes, manipulation of opposition parties and electoral bodies.
ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRACY: A CONCEPTUAL PERSPECTIVE
Democracy has acquired different, even contradictory, meanings. It has been used and abused to such an extent that defining has become a challenge(Boogards,2007).The word ‘democracy’ is a term that comes from Greek and it is made up with two other words demos which means people and kratein meaning to govern or to rule(Ravelosson and Becker,2008). According to Gibson and Long (2012) democracy therefore can be defined as the Government of the People or Government of the Majority or rather as Abraham Lincoln coined ‘the government of the people, by the people and for the people’. The key properties of democracy are the political participation of citizens, granting of a host of civil and political liberties which include the freedoms
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