Same old, same old in African elections

As African democracy began with the end of the era of colonialism in the early 1960s, there was a cynical observation that the new electoral processes would lead to “One man, one vote. Once.”

It proved to be accurate as leader after African leader tried to cling on to power through the use of military force, coups d’état or stealing elections and killing or jailing any political opponents. We have to look no further than our nearest neighbours, Zimbabwe, to see evidence of that.

Although Robert Mugabe was popular for many years, by the early 2000s, he had to resort to stealing elections – and we, in South Africa, were shamefully complicit in that as the report from our election ob-servers, sent there by Thabo Mbeki, has never been made fully public.

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Now, worryingly, it appears as if the phenomenon of a sitting president refusing to relinquish power and acknowledge the results of a free and fair democratic election is taking root in Zambia.

Faced with increasing evidence that the recent polls are going to be convincingly won by his opponent, President Edgar Lungu has cried foul, claiming the results in three of the country’s provinces should be nullified.

This is in the face of no election observers on the ground –either local or from the European Union – re-porting that the polls were anything but free and fair.

The high turnout in last week’s poll was an early pointer to the fact that many Zambians have become disillusioned with Lungu’s rule and might flock to the side of his opponent, Hakainde Hichilema.Lungu must be told in no uncertain terms that, if the election is certified as free and fair, he should step aside gracefully if he loses.

Africa cannot allow this old reactionary thinking to disrupt its new democratic freedoms.