Who Becomes Africa’s Next Hero?

Ghana heads to the polls on December 7 with huge expectations from the entire globe. Touted as an oasis of peace in a turbulent region and a shining example of democracy in Africa, a lot is expected from Ghana during, and after the 2016 elections.

But, besides turning its attention to the small West African nation as a whole, the world’s lenses will specifically be focused on two key actors: Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party) and Mr John Dramani Mahama (Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress). The two men had already contested each other at the 2012 polls and for Mahama, this is an opportunity to get a back-to-back victory over his main challenger; whilst for Akufo-Addo, this is an opportunity to get even.

Elections in Africa are usually full of drama characterized by schemes and machinations by competing candidates to get power. Incumbent candidates have almost always pulled a fast one on the electorate thus emerging “victorious”. Several countries on the African continent have gone to the polls in the last 18 months. Some of these polls went peacefully without trouble whiles the least said about others the better.

The campaigns in Ghana’s elections have reached a crescendo and the candidates are on the hustings promising almost everything that has a name: one-this, one-that; free-this, free-that, etc.

The Stakes!

The stakes in Ghana’s December 2016 elections are as high as they were in Nigeria’s March 2015 Presidential elections where many had feared the worst would happen if the loser refuses to concede defeat. Elections in Nigeria, (Africa’s most populous nation) have always been characterized by violence propelled by allegations of vote rigging and fraud. However, incumbent Goodluck Jonathan (of the PDP) surprised everyone by quickly conceding defeat and congratulating his opponent, Muhammadu Buhari of the All People’s Congress).

Many hailed the development as historic for the country and the African continent in general. The polls could have been particularly destabilizing because of the level of acrimony between the parties, as a result of regional and religious claims of entitlement to the presidency. A fallout after a disputed election win would have affected not only the country but the whole West African region, where Nigeria remains an economic powerhouse, single-handedly accounting for more than three quarters of the entire Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) region’s economy.

Before any further progress, getting a working definition for ‘hero’ and ‘villain’ would suffice. A hero—by the Nigerian example and expectations of African voters is—a politician who concedes defeat after losing an election and impresses on his followers to respect the will of the majority. A villain on the other hand is—someone who remains intransigent, refusing to accept election results and incites his followers to take up arms.

The Nigerian election has, to a very large extent, become the standard by which subsequent elections on the African continent are measured—in terms of electoral register, the credibility and pedigree of election officials and the timely release of election materials. Other elections held in Africa after the Nigerian one include:

Togo

Togo had its Presidential elections on 25 April 2015. The polls which were originally scheduled for 15 April 2015, had to be postponed by ten days. The National Independent Election Commission declared Faure Gnassingbé winner with about 59% of the votes giving him a third term in office.

Burundi

Presidential elections in Burundi took place on July 21, 2015 despite calls by African leaders and Western powers for it to be delayed due to the tensions in the country. Incumbent President, Pierre Nkurunziza won a new term having been said to have garnered 69.41 percent of the votes cast, with his nearest rival, Agathon Rwasa, taking 18.99 percent of the votes.

Nkurunziza’s decision in April 2015 to seek a third term had plunged the country into its biggest crisis since the civil war ended in 2005 with the opposition saying Nkurunziza’s bid violated the constitution. The opposition consequently called for Nkurunziza to form a Unity government to avert a new civil war but even before Nkurunziza could think of the demand, violent clashes erupted in December (three months after the elections leaving most people on the African Continent calling for Nkurunziza’s resignation). Hero or Villain?

Cote d’Ivoire

Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara won a second five-year term with 83.66 percent of votes on October 25, 2015

A December 2010 polls led to tension in the country with his predecessor Laurent Gbagbo refusing to concede defeat and hand over power. This sparked a wave of violence which left about 3,000 people dead. Gbagbo was eventually defeated by forces loyal to Ouattara and backed by the UN and France.

Tanzania.

Tanzania’s elections came and went like a flash on October 29, 2015 with nothing so significant to report except the victory of governing party Chama Cha Mapinduzi’s John Pombe Magufuli. Many would have seen Magufuli’s victory which occurred on his 56^th earth-strong day as a perfect gift for him but the man had other ideas. The victory presented him with an opportunity to change the face of Tanzanian politics and power. Soon after his swearing-in, Magufuli began making international headlines.

First, he banned the celebration of the nation’s Independence Day Anniversary, arguing there was nothing to celebrate if people had to die out of cholera and other communicable diseases; the day must rather be spent cleaning the country. Next, he banned foreign travels except when they are very necessary and the number of officials undertaking such trips significantly reduced; Tanzanians working in embassies abroad were capable of handling work which ministers and other government officials travelled from Tanzania to perform on such trips.

Magufuli certainly knew why he got into public life—to lead change. That resonates positively with William Barclay’s assertion “there are two great days in a person’s life—the day we are born and the day we discover why”.

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso went to the polls on 29 November 2015 to elect a President and 127 legislators. The elections were the first national elections in the country since the 2014 Burkinabé uprising and the departure of President Blaise Compaoré, who had ruled Burkina Faso for 27 years.

The presidential election was won by Roch Marc Christian Kaboré of the People’s Movement for Progress. Mr Kaboré had previously served as Prime Minister of Burkina Faso from 1994 to 1996 and President of the National Assembly of Burkina Faso from 2002 to 2012. In January 2014, he left the ruling CDP and founded a new opposition party—the People’s Movement for Progress. He received 53% of the vote in the first round, negating the need for a second round. Hero or Villain?

Central African Republic

Presidential and parliamentary elections were postponed from 18 October 2015 to December 30, 2015 due to violence and instability. Provisional results announced by the National Election Authority, on 7 January 2016 showed none of the Presidential Candidates polled at least 50+1 votes to become an outright winner. Dologuélé led with 23.78% of the votes followed by Touadéra in second place with 19.42% of the votes. However, Touadéra won the second round of elections held on 31 January 2016 with 63 percent of the ballots cast. Dologuélé accepted the results and recognized Touadéra as president, but expressed concerns about irregularities. Hero or Villain?

Uganda

Uganda went to the polls on February 18, 2016 to elect the President, Parliament and local councils. Incumbent Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, and Kizza Besigye, who had run against Museveni in 2001, 2006 and 2011 contested each other again. Voting was extended in several locations following claims of rigging and violence at polling stations and reports of people being prevented from casting their votes. The Electoral Commission declared Museveni re-elected with 61%.

The state machinery was used largely used to favour Museveni drawing huge criticisms from European Union, United States and the Commonwealth election observers. Hero or Villain?

Comoros

In the Comoros Presidential elections were held on February 21 alongside elections for the Governors of the three islands–Anjouan, Grande Comore and Mohéli. The presidency of the Comoros rotates between the country’s three main islands; Presidential candidacy in the 2016 elections was limited to Grande Comore residents since two previous elections (2006 and 2010) were limited to candidates from Anjouan and Mohéli respectively.

Three top candidates—Mohamed Ali Soilihi, Mouigni Baraka and Azali Assoumani progressed from the primary to the nationwide second round on 10 April where Azali Assoumani of the Convention for the Renewal of the Comoros was elected President with 41% of the votes.

Niger

General elections were held in Niger on February 21, 2016 with a presidential run-off held on March 20. President Issoufou placed first in the first round, but fell just short of an outright majority, necessitating a second round vote in which he faced Hama Amadou. The opposition boycotted the second round, thus allowing President Issoufou to be re-elected with an overwhelming majority.

Niger had come very close to tipping point following disagreements over electoral register earlier and subsequently strings of attacks by various insurgent groups, most notably Boko Haram in the recent months making security and poverty alleviation major issues in the larger scheme of things.

Gabon

The West African country went to the polls on August 27, 2016. Incumbent President Ali Bongo Ondimba ran for re-election challenged by former Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean Ping (Ali Bongo ascended the seat of power in October 2009 following the death of his father Omar Bongo, who was President of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009). Ali Bongo was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1991 and subsequently became Minister of Defense from 1999 to 2009.

Protests erupted in the capital Libreville after the electoral commission declared Ali Bongo re-elected with a margin of less than two per cent on 31 August. Consequently, the Parliament building was set on fire later and the following day, Ping claimed his party’s headquarters had been bombed by the presidential guard killing two people. Several people have been arrested.

Flash Points

• South Sudan

Plans to form a unity government has failed to materialize. The unity government was part of a peace deal in August 2015 to end the civil war which began in 2013 when President Salva Kiir accused Riek Machar (his vice at the time) of plotting a coup. The two sides blame each other for violating the terms of the agreement and thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced since 2013. President Kiir, appointed 28 new governors for the new provinces, just as rebel delegates arrived in the capital Juba, to begin work on the new government.

• Rwanda

Remember Rwanda? How radio ravaged that race? The eyes of the world will be on Rwanda when they go the polls in 2017 as President Paul Kagame’s term in office has been extended through a referendum in December 2015.  Results of the controversial vote on the country’s constitution that drew international criticism means Kagame could be in power until 2034.

Ghana’s Election 2016: The Dynamics

Ghana’s elections on December 7, 2016 will the 7^th since the country returned to constitutional rule in 1992. The country has been hailed and touted around the world as a beacon of hope in a sea of trouble. That accolade will be tested on December 7 and afterwards.

The 2016 elections like others before it, is unique in many respects—for the first time in Ghana’s history, a woman is chairperson of the Electoral Commission; and many people are looking out to see if she could deliver a successful election. Also, it is the first time a party that has been in power for 8 years is going to an election with a President who is seeking a second term. (Mr John Mahama was sworn in to serve the unexpired term of President Mills who died in July 2012). If elected, and he serves his full term, John Mahama becomes the longest serving democratically elected President (unless of course history repeats itself).

Campaign Build Up.

The build up to the general elections has been characterized by heated exchanges between the opposition NPP and the ruling NDC with the former alleging the electoral roll is bloated and needs to be replaced. They maintain that a new voters’ register is a major condition for credible elections whose outcomes all players would readily accept. The EC thought the opposition had not presented enough particulars to support their argument.

Some developments in the two main parties give cause for worry to most watchers of the political space. Whiles the NPP kept its eyes off the ball by busily fighting one another and festering their wounds; the NDC was busy re-affirming citizens’ accusation of corruption against them through the bus re-branding and the Woyome Judgment Debt sagas among others.

Media Tyranny

As is characteristic of every Ghanaian election the media plays a critical role in calling foot soldiers to action. From vociferous panelists to religious serial callers, the media is agog with people spewing all manner of bunkum on the airwaves as much as there are those writing mischief in newspapers and online.

At the climax of the media plot what has now come to be known as the Montie Mafia emerged. Three persons: Salifu Maase (aka Mugabe), a political talk show host on Montie FM, Alistair Nelson and Godwin Ako Gunn (guests of the programme) chose the bright morning of June 24 (and subsequently June 29^th) to dare the Supreme Court. The trio went on air to threaten to rape and murder justices of the Supreme Court for ordering the Electoral Commission to delete names of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) card registrants from the electoral roll in the matter brought before SC by Abu Ramadan and Evans Nimako.

The Supreme Court had had enough. The three were summoned, charged and found guilty of scandalizing the court; defying and lowering its authority; and bringing the authority of the court into disrepute. They were convicted handed a four-month jail term with a GHȻ10, 000 fine or in default, spend an extra month in jail.

The police service has also sent signals it may have no options but to shut down social media on Election Day if current trends continue and or aggravate. Ghana will not be the first country to do this as some countries have already set the pace in blocking social media platforms before, during and after elections citing security threats. In Uganda, for example, the government ordered the blocking of access to popular social media platforms ahead of President Museveni’s inauguration recently. In June 2009, the Chinese government blocked selected social media sites; and in 2010, Bangladesh shutdown Facebook. But the Ghana Journalists Association and media civil society groups say there is no way they will allow such a thing to happen in Ghana!

Africa’s Next Hero.

When all is over and done with; when the votes are cast, counted and called, who becomes Africa’s Next Hero? The hero may not necessarily be the one who wins the election but the one who demonstrates political maturity even in defeat by conceding when he could choose to be intransigent and conceited. In the case of Nigeria, Goodluck Jonathan was gracious in defeat in spite of the huge machinery of power and incumbency behind him.

The hero could also be the victor who chooses to be magnanimous in victory, immediately rallying the nation behind him for development and spending little time gloating over his victory.

But beyond the elections, whoever emerges victorious must endeavor to give true meaning to the purpose for which he is elected. That is the kind of hero the electorate need. Like John Magufuli of Tanzania, the election victory meant very little to him compared to the need to execute the purpose for which he put himself up for election. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s poem below sums up the electorate’s expectation of Africa’s Next Hero: “To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived—this is to have succeeded”.

Ghanaians expect their next President to bring relief to the poor and suffering; as well as lead a true crusade against corruption; not someone who spends half his term serving himself and his inner circle and the other half campaigning for re-election (either of himself or his party’s next candidate).

Developments before, during and after the African elections cited earlier present crucial lessons for Ghana as she goes to the polls. Who becomes Africa’s next hero? Nana Addo or John Mahama? December 7 will tell!