Today, 26 countries, or more than half the continent, have at least nominal democracies. “But Africa has been so burdened, and the deck stacked against it for so many years, that it would be naive to assume the transition can occur quickly or smoothly.”Īcross Africa, the transition appears to have been easiest in smaller countries, such as the island states of Cape Verde and Sao Tome and Principe and the tiny republics of Benin and Burundi.īefore 1990, only five African nations were democratic. “People tend to think you can just flick a switch and hold an election-and then everyone can go home and not worry,” Baker added. “I’m mildly encouraged that some progress has been made in Africa, but I’m very discouraged that it hasn’t been smoother,” said Pauline Baker, an African affairs analyst at the Aspen Institute in Washington. The media still are regularly under attack and Moi’s police still run roughshod over his opponents. Now, as Kenya sinks ever deeper into economic crisis, Moi’s commitment to democracy remains questionable. Kenya’s president, Daniel Arap Moi, coasted to victory last December in his country’s first multi-party elections in 25 years-but not before he had used his powers to manipulate the campaign and divide his opposition. And even in countries where the opposition has participated, voting often has been marred by allegations of fraud. Opposition leaders have come to power in Congo and Niger, only to be pummeled by violence and military rebellions.įormer dictators were recently returned to power in widely boycotted elections in Burkina Faso, Djibouti, Gabon, Mauritania and Cameroon. In the typical African country, the average citizen has discovered that his vote has so far brought precious little new freedom and even less prosperity.Ī new government in Zambia, though one of the continent’s more stable, resorted to the time-honored tool of martial law to protect itself against coup plotters earlier this year. And even new political legitimacy has failed in many countries to stem civil unrest, some of which is sponsored by the old, democratically deposed regimes. Growing democratic movements still battle powerful, corrupt and entrenched leaders. But the transitions have been far from smooth.
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