There are so many interesting comments about the recent presidential elections in America.
No part of the world is not offering an “I told you so” kind of story about the perceived non-existence of democracy or democratic elections in America, a country, for whatever reason, believed to be the cradle of democracy.
I continue to read the mockery of this particular cycle of US elections from fellow African writers who jump to say “we told you so” and then declare that elections in Africa are just as good as the ones in America.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
So, I sit down to write this in the hope that it will reach my compatriots on either side of the oceans.
There are some false assumptions.
True, what is happening in America today has never happened before. Not at such a scale.
Yes, there have been contested elections in America before but even when the courts intervened, the outcome was as close to fair as could be and the courts’ ruling was accepted with no acrimony whatsoever and the nation moved forward.
America’s institutions are strong enough to withstand, resolve and put to rest any legal arguments on elections and that is what is happening.
It is important to note that, in this election, between the incumbent, Republican Mr. Donald Trump, and Democrat Mr. Joseph Biden, election results are not in doubt in any way as states count and publish the outcome.
What is playing out is one candidate using his right to invite deeper scrutiny in some states, which is being done as of now.
The interesting thing to note here is that a sitting president is running to the courts asking that some ballots in some states be further scrutinized.
That is an indication that America’s democracy is alive and well.
And on that, I dare ask my African compatriots which African president ever ran to the courts to seek redress in an electoral dispute?
The mere fact that the incumbent president, Mr. Donald Trump, is running to the courts to seek redress is an indication of democracy in America.
Yaa, sure, I can see, for example, Emmerson Mnangagwa in Zimbabwe running to the courts to complain that the elections had been rigged.
I do not believe Mr. Trump will succeed but he is not the first American sitting president or presidential contestant to approach the courts for electoral redress.
This, however, is a sign of how independence of authority reigns between the executive, legislature and judiciary and how revered it is.
I have been prompted to comment on this issue because I read on Twitter and other media about the perceived flaws in America’s democracy and in its voting system.
Nothing is further from the truth.
While no elections are perfect, the American electoral system, complicated as it may be, exhausts many efforts of chicanery.
America’s institutions are independent of each other but work in tandem; they are strong enough to withstand onslaughts and make far reaching decisions.
True, some departments have become too politicised but, even then, they are staffed with career professionals who will not allow politics to interfere with their responsibilities – a situation that has recently been taking hard knocks.
A case in point is the state of Georgia’s Secretary of State, Mr. Brad Raffensperger, whose responsibility it was to ensure the safety and accuracy of voting and protection of the ballots.
After declaring that he is “an unapologetic Trump supporter”, he said that he is sad that his preferred candidate did not win. He then went on to certify that Joe Biden had beaten Trump in the state of Georgia.
America’s institutions are strong enough to withstand onslaughts of this kind and for us to mock America’s electoral system is displaying ignorance that only further cements the stupidity fed into us every day and promoted by Africa’s dictators.
Which African president up for re-election ever went to court to seek redress for an impending loss?
Take it from Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni who, when asked by reporters about his prospects during a presidential re-election campaign, smiled and asked, “How do you lose any election that you organize?”
Apologists for Africa’s despots should not mislead people by pointing fingers at perceived shortfalls in America’s electoral system.
If a sitting American president who is up for re-election has to run to the courts to seek some form of clarification on the outcome, it is an indication that his powers are not absolute and that his authority is regulated by other institutions.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with America’s electoral system.
Yes, today, America faces a situation such as it has never faced before but the system is munching on it as the clock ticks away. The institutions are grinding the issues at hand. There are demands for evidence, there is time limit and there is the Constitution; there is this and that.
It is thorough and open.
Someone is going to be sworn into office on January 20th, 2021.
Africa’s dictators and apologists should not bother trying to equate elections in Africa with those in America or even Britain. This is just a ploy to create space and justify the abuse of the electoral systems in African countries.
American presidents are not the law; they run to the courts to seek arbitration or set laws but having worked with multi-party legislative bodies that can be pesky at times.
We should, instead, spend our efforts on having journalists freed from Africa’s prisons instead of yapping nonsense about flawed American elections.
There were no flawed elections in America.
But I digress. I sat down to write about the harassment of Zimbabwean journalist Hopewell Chin’ono, intending to urge the world to come to his assistance. But then I remembered that warriors go into battle alone but if a compatriot comes by to assist, good and fine.
Warriors like the long-abused Zimbabwean journalist, Hopewell Chin’ono, do not go into battle after defining the size of the opponent. He does not care. His aim is the truth not the size of the obstacle.
Hopewell goes into battle to contain injustice and fight corruption. We need him both in Zimbabwe and outside.
As journalists, don’t we owe each other something here?
The continued and worsening abuse of journalists in the SADC region, especially in Zimbabwe, should long have been cause for concern.
The danger is that we are taking the arrest and abuse of journalists in Zimbabwe as normal, as something we should expect.
Think twice; it’s not alright.
Tanonoka Whande writes in his personal capacity.
