Democracy losing support in Africa

By Gregory Simpkins

The current wave of coups in Africa demonstrates a disdain for following through on democratic governance in Africa – mostly by impatient military leaders, but also by citizens willing to shed an elected government for sudden extra-constitutional change. I was part of the international effort to assist in the wave of democratic elections in Africa in the 1990s, and African people I worked with and talked with were very much in support of democratic governance in their country.

Unfortunately, conditions in their countries made democracy seem like it was making fools of them. Leaders stole the profits from resources that should have gone to building schools, hospitals and roads and providing electricity and clean water. Instead, these leaders hoarded the profits from national treasures to turn them into their personal treasures with lavish homes and expensive cars in other countries. Unwise alliances and crooked deals, as well as stolen elections, frustrated citizens who have embraced democracy, making them willing to support the overthrow of elected governments. Their hope was that these military coups would root out the crooks and allow politicians who had their interests at heart to stand for and win the next elections.

However, that has not been the case. Often military leaders take off their uniforms and run as civilians, but the traits of mismanagement and corruption continue, so much so that many analysts have said that democracy is a Western trick on Africa and is too alien to work there. Actually, that is only partially true.

Read: What to do about Africa’s coups?

As I said in recent election training for Liberians, the ancient Greeks are credited with creating the very first democracy as we now know it, although there were almost certainly earlier examples of indigenous forms of democracy in other parts of the world such as Africa. The Greek model was established in the 5th century BC, in the city of Athens. Among a sea of autocracies and oligarchies in which only the powerful had a say in governance – which were the normal forms of government at the time – Athenian democracy stood out.

However, compared to how we understand democracy today, the Athenian model had an important difference: theirs was a form of direct democracy – in other words, instead of electing representatives to govern on the people’s behalf, “the people” themselves met, discussed questions for government and then implemented policy.

Such a system was possible partly because “the people” as they defined them was a very limited category. Those who could participate directly were a small part of the population, since women, slaves, foreigners – and of course, children – were excluded. The numbers who participated were still far more than in a modern democracy: perhaps 50,000 males engaged directly in politics, out of a population of around 300,000 people.

Democracy in Africa

In villages across Africa, there has long been what we might call proto-democracy. This varies by country and ethnic group, but it was often similar to what we know as democracy today and much like what the Greeks did in some ways. Chiefs often held office only with the acceptance of the villagers. A chief who did not rule wisely or fairly might be either de-stooled (removed from office), or the villagers might pick up and move away to a new location. In a small population, villagers might meet to discuss issues involving all the people or even hold an unofficial court to determine what to do with someone who broke the rules and traditions. Consensus was the goal of discussions so that there was acceptance of decisions by the villagers.

This proto-democracy from past times was not the case everywhere in Africa, but Africa was not built at the local level on dictators. As colonialism was ending in Africa, the European powers would often scheme to install someone at the national level who would rule the country in their favor no matter how that ruler violated traditions on the rights of the people. Ethnic conflict had been stoked to conquer African territories and maintained to keep the people from uniting against colonial rule.

Modern national democracies are representative democracies, sometimes shaped to reflect what countries like the United States operate. That means that you elect representatives who are supposed to do what you want and need – what they promise you when they run for office. Of course, that doesn’t always go that way so you may have to vote for someone to hold the office of mayor, councilor or even president in more than one election to get what you want. The challenge is: will unscrupulous leaders allow voters a genuine choice in elections that are not rigged in their favor?

When I did electoral work in East Africa in the 1990s, Ugandan leaders rejected multiparty democracy because they said it would arouse interethnic conflict. That turned out to be true in many ethnically diverse nations such as Uganda. Ethnic voting is destructive to true democracy because it channels votes to one group regardless of how they behave once in office and prevents people from effectively examining and choosing leaders who would act in the broader interests of the people.

Such blind ethnic loyalties often lead to violence, as some citizens feel personally threatened by those from different ethnic groups. Truthfully, this is a large reason why Western democratic models fail in African countries since even leaders who want to diversify their administrations are pressed by their ethnic group not to neglect their own people when making appointments, which means sometimes unqualified officeholders are appointed merely because they come from the favored group.

In countries around the world, ethnic voting also takes place – not just in Africa. However, people in countries such as the United States do vote outside their ethnic group. A prime US example was the 2008 election and 2012 re-election of Barack Obama in the United States.

In my work in Kenya in the 1990s, I repeatedly heard statements about changing the ethnic makeup of government considered to be tilted toward one group. Speaking about the need to replace the dominant Kikuyus from government, one party official from eastern Kenya told me: “It’s time for us to cut the national cake.”

Working with Nigerians over the years, I have seen ethnic jealousies and religious animosities there prevent coalition politics from taking place. During the just-completed Buhari administration, there were ongoing allegations that his Fulani people were unfairly dominating the of government officials. It was not an imaginary complaint.

In countries around the world, ethnic voting also takes place – not just in Africa. However, people in countries such as the United States do vote outside their ethnic group. A prime US example was the 2008 election and 2012 re-election of Barack Obama in the United States. He could not have won if no white voters crossed over to vote for a black candidate. Of course, the breakdown in racial bloc voting in the United States has been taking place for decades at the state and local levels as people increasingly looked to issues and faith in candidates to make their voting choices.

Additionally, there has been a widespread misunderstanding of the concept of majority rule. As I taught it in seminars on democracy in Africa, true democracy also considers protection of minority rights. That distinction is often overlooked in the United States as well. Currently, the social pendulum has swung toward safeguarding minority interests in the US, but populations change, and today’s minority can become tomorrow’s majority. Ask the Nigerians who lived in states where they overnight became minorities or majorities. That can be frustrating, disorienting and enraging – especially when it happens suddenly.

Impediments to democracy

The impediments to support for democracy have included deals favoring foreign interests, such as the continuing French neocolonialism in Francophone Africa and Chinese infrastructure deals that brought Chinese workers in who were transferred to vendor status with subsidized goods to compete with African vendors. Shady land deals, supposedly to allow more advanced farming techniques to feed African people, actually benefited these foreign interests to feed their people more while displacing African farmers.

Read: How France became a pariah in Africa

So many African people are poor that it is very easy to bribe some to vote for a particular candidate. While observing elections in Kenya, I once was approached by a man who asked if I was the one who was supposed to pay for his vote. Political parties and candidates everywhere try to influence voting before elections by providing some general benefits to the public, but these usually don’t take the form of direct payments to voters.

African nations are not like the United States or other Western countries, and when leaders try to mimic these political systems, they fail to consider the different circumstances in African countries. When I trained political parties and civil society groups on democracy, I never recommended copying the American model. That works (for the most part) in the United States because of our circumstances. But Canada, Mexico, India, the United Kingdom, Australia and others practice democracy, and their systems are designed to fit their circumstances. So too must African countries adapt democratic principles to fit their needs.

Let me share with you this quote from Nigerian novelist, poet, and activist Chinua Achebe:

A functioning, robust democracy requires a healthy, educated, participatory followership, and an educated, morally grounded leadership.

Where these conditions do not occur – wherever that may be – the seeds of democracy lack fertile ground in which to flourish.

Gregory Simpkins, a longtime specialist in African policy development, is the Principal of 21st Century Solutions. He consults with organizations on African policy issues generally, especially in relating to the U.S. Government. He also serves as Managing Director for the Morganthau Stirling consulting firm, where he oversees program development and implementation. He further acts as a consultant to the African Merchants Association, where he advises the Association in its efforts to stimulate an increase in trade between several hundred African Diaspora small and medium enterprises and their African partners.