Ghana’s Historic Presidential Debates via CIPE Development Blog
After the votes are cast via CIPE Development Blog
From Elections to Democracy via CIPE Development Blog
We are constantly saying there is more to democracy than elections. So I was pleased to see a book exactly on this by Susan Rose-Ackerman, From Elections to Democracy: Building Accountable Government in Hungary and Poland. Rose-Ackerman focuses on the importance of policy-making accountability to democratic consolidation in Hungary and Poland. She explores several mechanisms in the two countries for monitoring and citizen participation, and finds most of them insufficient to achieve accountability in policy-making.
For example, government entities tasked with oversight, such as ombudsmen and audit offices, have limited independence and limited mandates, and don’t allow for citizen input into policy-making. Neocorporatist dialogue, another mechanism, tends to be directed by bureaucrats...
The test of Mongolian democracy via CIPE Development Blog
Since 1990, Mongolia has been widely held as an example of a developing country that, despite the odds, managed to accomplish a peaceful transition to democracy after seven decades of communist one-party rule. But is Mongolia’s democratic transition complete? The recent unrest following an election dispute calls the progress made into question and warrants a closer look at the health of Mongolian democracy.
After the losing party’s accusations of electoral fraud – disputed by international election observers – scores of rioters (many intoxicated) attacked the headquarters of the winning party and the neighboring national art gallery. The ensuing mayhem resulted in five deaths, hundreds of arrests, and more than 1,000 priceless pieces of art destroyed or missing. But to many...
Does the end of a monarchy mean democracy in Nepal? via CIPE Development Blog
After 240 years of royal Hindu rule, Nepal is due to become a republic. What does this mean for the country?
A newly-elected assembly is to meet in the capital, Kathmandu, to abolish the monarchy. Thousands of people gathered on the streets of the capital and near the assembly in support of “republic day”. The Maoists, who emerged as the largest party in last month’s elections, are committed to removing the royal family. Nepal’s progress towards becoming the world’s newest republic has been marred by bombs being planted in the capital for two days running this week.
Though this is a promising start, Nepal still has a long way to go to become anything like a functioning modern democracy which benefits all its citizens, not just the Katmandu elite and rural...
On democracy and happiness via CIPE Development Blog
The recent edition of the Foreign Policy magazine (subscription required) delves into the issue of democracy and happiness. Namely, it explores why the common wisdom that democratic nations are happy nations may not always be true. The article gives an example of the former Soviet bloc countries where according to sociological research national happiness has not increased – or even in some cases decreased – despite the advent of elections.
The World Values Survey, for instance, for years now has been asking the question “Overall, how happy are you with your life these days?” to people around the world. One clear trend that emerged from this research is that happy countries tend to be wealthy and stable democracies. But it’s not enough for a country to be a democracy in order...
Building new democracy in Bhutan via CIPE Development Blog
Last week a tiny Himalayan country of Bhutan (population of 600,000) became the world’s newest democracy. With a high turnout of nearly 80 percent, the winning Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) party took 44 out of the 47 seats in the parliament and gained a strong mandate to implement reforms.
There wasn’t much drama involved in the elections. First, it was the King himself who initiated the transition from hereditary monarchy to democracy. In 2006, King Jigme Singye Wangchuck handed over power to his son, the current king, and ordered an end to absolute monarchy (the country will continue to have a monarch as the head of state). Second, the two leading parties competing in the elections had nearly identical programs. Both were promising to bring modernization and pursue greater “gross...
Zimbabwe Elections-A Time For Change? via CIPE Development Blog
Will Mugabe continue to reign as Zimbabwe’s leader once all votes of the supposedly “non-rigged” election are counted. March 29th was election day in Zimbabwe, where Robert Mugabe fought yet again to retain his power over one the poorest country in the world which he has controlled for 28 years. With inflation at 100,000% and unemployment at 80%, change is needed, badly. Zimbabwe, once a shining gem of Africa has been on a steady path toward self-destruction. Beginning in 2000 with the mandatory seizure of white farmers’ land, to the 2005 Operation Murambatsvuina in which 570,000 were internally displaced, and the exodus of 3.4 million people mainly into South Africa, Zimbabwe has seen better days. But there is hope, as we await confirmation of the winner of Saturday’s...
Is Paraguay Waking Up? via CIPE Development Blog
The upcoming presidential elections on April 20 in Paraguay present what may come to be viewed as a turning point in Paraguayan democracy. Paraguay was a latecomer to the club of democracies in the region, having only just established it with the adoption of their 1992 constitution. Before and since that day, the national political process has been dominated by the Colorado Party and its more than five decade lock on presidential politics.
That may now be changing. The current frontrunner in the polls is Fernando Lugo, a former bishop whose party platform expresses the populist politics reminiscent of Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, Evo Morales of Bolivia and Rafael Correa of Ecuador. Other contenders are former General Lino Oviedo who formally tried to oust a democratically elected...
Morocco’s managed liberalization via CIPE Development Blog
The recent issue of the Journal of Democracy features several articles that examine the September 2007 elections to Morocco’s House of Representatives. The right-of-center Istiqlal Party won the most votes, ahead of the Islamist Party of Justice and Development that many expected to win. The elections were free and fair, as attested to by international observers. But they fell short of being a genuine expression of democratic governance.
Morocco has been hailed as one of the most reformist countries of the region, improving media freedom and human rights. But at the same time reforms so far have not addressed a fundamental imbalance in the distribution of power. The executive continues to dominate both politics and the economy. The king remains an absolute monarch. He names the premier...
Free and Fair Elections or Democratic Governance? via CIPE Development Blog
We often talk about democratic governance as the concept that defines countries’ quality of political institutions not just during, but between the elections as well. Governance, as a concept, captures the idea that democracies must work on the day-to-day basis - not just during the times of electoral promises and grandiose statements. I mean, how many presidential or parliamentary candidates will openly come out in support of corruption? Probably none. Yet, while many will promise to tackle corruption, few will take concrete steps in reforming governance institutions and actually reducing bribery and extortion.
Watching over electoral scandals over the past few months got me thinking that weak governance also undermines the quality of elections, just as lack of free and...
Nyumbani via Body in Motion
It was in the matatu on the was to Ol Kalau in the Central Highlands that I first saw the Great Rift Valley. I’m not quite sure what I expected – perhaps something in the nature of the Grand Canyon, maybe just an enormous crack in the surface of the Earth. It was so green and so vast and there were peaks that rose up from within the valley. Dormant volcanoes. As we descended down the road carved into the escarpment, there were baboons on the side of the road, lazily watching the Friday afternoon traffic go past. The winding road finally spread out across the floor of the valley. As we passed Lake Naivasha, I saw zebras grazing alongside cattle and trees whose branches reached out toward each other. Although the road was only barely tarmacked, thinking back I feel myself gliding... Disenfranchised! via Body in Motion
I don’t write much about my homeland, the US, but it’s always there in the background, shaping how I have entered and how I see the world. Instead, I tend to write about where I sit and what I see around me. I spent much of last year writing about Congo’s drawn out and tumultuous elections process, hoping to draw to eyes to what was one of the most dramatic political events in Africa in the last decade.
The US elections certainly don’t need any more publicity. And I’m not going to plug any candidates here, because the truth is that I’m an undecided voter. But I do believe strongly in personal responsibility to take part in the political process.
Which is why it has been so frustrating to me that I have found myself a disenfranchised voter in the last 3... Presidential elections: What’s ahead for Argentina? via CIPE Development Blog
Argentine presidential elections are coming up on October 28. So far, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, wife of the outgoing President Néstor Kirchner, is a decisive front runner. She is widely expected to win, riding on her husband’s wave of popularity generated by Argentina’s recovery from the disastrous 2001-02 financial crisis (the economy has grown by 8 percent annually over the last three years). Although tarnished by several recent corruption scandals, his approval ratings still show more than 50 percent popular support.
Yet, Argentina is still far from achieving macroeconomic stabilization, let alone the level of economic reform necessary to prevent similar crises in the future. The fiscal surplus is shrinking due to loosely controlled government expenditure. But inflation in...
Elections Considered a Success, But Big Questions Remain via CIPE Development Blog
As the saying goes, the third time is the charm. This certainly seems to be the case for the Tymashenko Bloc (BYuT) which improved their election results nearly 9% since the last elections in 2006. With over 98% of the vote counted it now seems possible for the old Orange Coalition, a partnership of the western reform minded BYuT and the presidetn’s Our Ukriane party, to form a slim majority in parliament. It seems ever more likely that the final results are so close there will be a substantial number of vote recounts ordered by all the parties, thus delaying the actual formation of a government for several weeks.
At present the existing Prime Minister, Victor Yanokovich of the Party of Regions (PoR) refuses to concede defeat saying that the vote is not yet complete. After...
How’s my driving? via Extra Extra
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has just published the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, which rates countries by the best available measures of security, rule of law, human rights, economic opportunity and human development. The 2007 index is based on scores for 2005, the most recent year for which reasonably complete statistics are available, though I imagine the biggest limitation of the project is the dearth of credible statistics. (That and the risk that the prize rules may put off leaders with no plans to leave office in the next decade.)
I’m afraid did not fall out of my chair when I saw that the Democratic Republic of Congo is ranked at 47 out of all 48 African countries, just ahead of Somalia. A quick look at the breakdown suggests that if Kabila has an urge to move up the... Rumblings of note via Light in the Heart of Darkness
Things were starting to get back to what passes for normal around here. We hadn’t had to close the office for security reasons since November. But Bemba, the former rebel leader turned vice president, then turned away in the last election continues to keep a substantial armed force of a couple of thousands troops at Maluku (where they were ordered to retreat to last year) about 40 minutes outside of Kinshasa.The government has issued an ultimatum that Bemba’s troops –who continue to be seen frequently around Kinshasa, particularly near Bemba’s house about a mile from mine- disarm by midnight tomorrow night. Ruberwa, another rebel leader turned VP and now back in his eastern home territory and unemployed, has also been ordered to disarm his personal security forces.Of course I, for...
A bit short of asylum via Light in the Heart of Darkness
Mr. Bemba finally left our presence last Wednesday when he headed to Portugal for medical treatment. Bemba received permission from Parliament to travel last Monday on the condition that he returns in 60 days.In the meantime his political party, the MLC, has refused to participate in the lower house of Parliament due to harassment they claim to be receiving from Kabila’s party.The public prosecutor has asked the Senate to remove Mr. Bemba’s immunity as a senator so he can be prosecuted for inciting last month’s violence.Kinshasa is relatively calm these days but the question of Mr. Bemba’s post-Portugal fate remains unanswered (although this bloke has some disjointed theories that seem a bit clouded by his own experience).While it was expected that Congo’s political situation...
Waiting for change via Extra Extra
The ritual wait for transport in Kinshasa
It is five months since the Supreme Court confirmed Kabila as the winner of the DRC’s presidential elections, and four months since he took office, encouraging onlookers by pledging his commitment (not for the first time), to all sorts of Good Things. Judging by the new government’s first quarter results, though, clobbering dissent appears to be a higher priority than establishing democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
And despite their huge investment in the election process itself, the UN and the rest of the international community has not made a particularly tough stand on those issues, either. Reaction to the disproportionate use of deadly force against a trouble-making sect in Bas-Congo was remarkably muted, but some diplomats... What’s new? via Extra Extra
As Bemba packs his bags for Portugal, what’s left of his house and TV stations have been looted by government troops, and his radio stations have been silent since being shut down the day before the fighting started.
This week, I have had a number of meals and meetings in places with bullet holes in the windows. The atmosphere seems normal enough until you notice a thousand-yard stare or a trembling hand.
It hardly made the news, did it? The BBC and agency reporters have been working hard, but I can just imagine the editors in their morning meetings, asking just what’s new about a little more fighting in Congo. I could understand July’s ‘historic’ elections being overshadowed by the crisis in Lebanon, but it was strange that our latest drama should have been... New Congo guide book (interview) via Extra Extra
Stanley’s expedition shoots the rapids
130 years have passed since hot-tempered Welsh-American Henry Moreton Stanley navigated the Congo River, his newspaper reports piquing the interest of King Leopold II.
Visiting in the 1920’s, Grace Flandrau may have been unimpressed by the cuisine, but she had fewer difficulties getting around Ituri than she would if she could return today. The likes of Joseph Conrad, Mobotu, Mohammad Ali and Franco may have helped keep the Congo/Zaire on the map internationally, but it has never been much of a tourist destination.
However, things appear to be improving in the wake of last year’s elections, even in Ituri. Much depends on the behaviour of the new government, but improved security may attract some adventurous travellers as well as... Missing: The Real Slim Shady via Light in the Heart of Darkness
Let’s say that you, the former Minister of Justice, are part of the political party l'Union Nationale des Fédéralistes which gets to nominate the new Minister of Commerce. You have been asked to submit two or three candidates to the Prime Minister, who will decide among the proposed options. Let’s say that you have a pretty good feeling in your gut that the PM doesn’t want to work with you (being that the former Minister of Justice is my landlord, I have great sympathy for the PM on this front) but you're pretty eager to work your way back into Cabinet.A brilliant plan flashes through you mind. Your party can propose two candidates: yourself and someone totally unknown. Someone so unknown, he might not actually exist.And so the Phantom Minister is born.Enter the candidate André...
The War against Hassles via Extra Extra
A post-electoral privy.
In an inspired example of recycling prowess, someone has found a new use for all those election banners with which the city was briefly festooned last year. Likewise, many of the cardboard posters have been transformed by origami into vending trays for peanuts, pens, cigarettes, medicinal twigs, and the like.
I’ve just seen a sneak preview of the new government’s agenda. My favourite line promises: “la lutte contre toutes formes de tracasseries dont sont victimes les populations et les hommes d’affaires“. It translates quite awkwardly: ‘the struggle against all forms of nuisance of which the population and business-men are victims’.
Quite apt, on the day we learn that DRC remains the hardest place in the world to do business....