US and Gambia elections, in addition to a look at the difficulty that Zimbabwean politicians continue to have in forming a coalition are three topics I looked at in mymost recent chats.
Americans are still wondering how someone who lost the election by more than 2.8 million votes is about to become their president.
Never before have Americans been confronted by scandalous situations surrounding their president-in-waiting as they do today.
Americans are holding their breath as the electors, or Electoral College, is meeting on Monday December 19th, 2016 to formally elect Donald Trump as president of the US.
But Americans are faced with a trip into unchartered waters as the electors find themselves the center of attention like no other time in the history of the US Republic.
There are rumblings among the electors as some have gone to court to be freed of the mandatory obligation to vote for a candidate who won their state. They want to vote their conscience.
Last week, the CIA revealed that Russia had deliberately hacked into US democratic institutions with the sole purpose to help Trump become president.
Sparks are flying.
Several Republicans are furious and want a thorough investigation of Russia’s involvement. After all, some Republicans also had their sites hacked by the Russians.
Meanwhile, 30 members of the Electoral College, the only remaining obstacle to a Trump presidency, if ever there is one, have demanded a full briefing from the CIA and other security agencies about what role Russia played in its interference in the US elections.
The electors are particularly concerned with the CIA statement that the Russians intervened “to help Trump win”.
That could be a dangerous development since this might increase the number of dissenting electors. If 37 of the 538 electors rebel and vote against Trump, they would effectively deny Trump the presidency.
While this is unlikely, it is a flare fired into the darker edges of America’s electoral system, a warning that they had better start respecting the democracy of “one person, one vote”.
On Friday, all US security agencies agreed on the role Russia played in the elections, except Trump, who now stands with Russia against his own security agencies ÔÇô a dangerous precedent that many of his fellow citizens have warned him against.
Elections and democracy are not so readily available everywhere; and where they exist, it is even harder to sustain them without the individual human spirit and the collective participation of those whose lives depend on both.
America is not even the world’s largest democracy; India is said to be the world’s largest democracy.
But the way America and India treat their minorities is public knowledge ÔÇô there is racism in both.
While democracy might depend on the rule of the majority, we must also consider what rights that majority has.
For example, there is no way anyone can convince me that Indian people from India are not racist in Africa, not to mention in India itself.
There is no way that the US can convince me that their treatment and attitude towards Native Americans (stupidly called Red Indians, or just Indians) is democratic.
But that is an issue for another day.
Meanwhile, democracy means a totally different thing in Africa and other parts of the world.
So-called democracy discriminates as much in India as it does in America, Britain, Germany and in many other countries.
There is something about democracy that is mean; something that does not deliver an equal result for all people but, when it does,there always has to follow an explanation of some sort as to why there is no satisfaction for all and why we are not all created equal.
There is something sinister about democracy yet democracy has its moments in unlikely places.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s opposition parties are growing further apart with antagonistic statements from all angles.
Meaningless political parties are making demands and there are more than 40 political parties in Zimbabwe, each looking for an advantage for itself.
“All those who profess to be our leaders with an interest in saving the nation from doom must come to the table of patriots at which all shall be equal,” said Welshman Ncube of the MDC-N.
His party died a long time ago and is all but non-existent. He cannot be equal to those who have millions of supporters behind them unless they so offer. It is this kind of self-serving approach that destroys the best of intentions to solve our problem.
And it is not Ncube alone who is relieving himself in the well of good intentions, there is also Tendai Biti whose reckless pronouncements indicate one who has chewed and swallowed a ton of sour grapes.
Small parties fronted by leaders with dwindling egos are always the spoilers in such talks of unity.
Be that as it may, I am impressed by theEconomic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) who, a few days after Gambian dictator declared that he would not vacate the presidency after earlier conceding defeat at the polls, dispatched a high powered delegation, led by Nobel Peace laureate and Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, and which included Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari, Sierra Leone’s Ernest Bai Koroma and Ghana’s John Mahama, who lost Ghanaian elections only last week and magnanimously conceded defeat.
There are plenty of lessons for SADC here but I guess they are too stupid to learn.
“When those who opposed us cried foul, we retorted, ‘hate can’t win.’ Tonight, however, I am the first to admit that some hate can win,” said Mahama in his concession speech last week. “This election has taught me that the hate of corruption can win. It has taught me that hate of incompetence can win. Our defeat has taught me that hate of impunity can win.”
There are times when Africa just makes me proud.
Meanwhile, Robert Mugabe, 92, and in power for the last 36 years, continues to abuse and threaten Zimbabweans at his party’s on-going annual congress as he celebrates being his party’s unchallenged presidential candidate for the 2018 elections.
I thought SADC might…never mind.
Merry Christmas and a Happy, Prosperous New Year, Botswana!
