Sunday,
May 25, 2014
Efforts at nurturing or growing
constitutional democracy in Africa are often frustrated by the very people who
should have known better not to tamper with the will of the people at general
elections. Wherever constitutional democracy is being practised on the
continent, such people always do whatever they can to pull strings for an
undeserved advantage.
Malawi's President Joyce Banda is
the latest. We know the circumstances under which she got elevated to that
position and how she administered affairs of Malawi. We also know the history
of Malawi ever since its first President Hastings Kamuzu Banda planted himself
in office to behave as if his world would know no end. But the end came for him
to usher the Movement for Multi-Party Democracy into office.
Many things happened until Ms.
Banda’s assumption of office and the measures that she has implemented for weal
or woe, leading to the general elections to pit her against other candidates.
She is in power, indicating that she shouldn’t fear being voted down if her
government has done what the Malawian citizens expect.
Even before the counting of
votes could begin, Ms. Banda shocked her people by alleging electoral malpractices
(rigging, multiple voting and computer-hacking) and
taking a quick step to annul the Tuesday elections.
Let’s hear her:
"I am
nullifying the elections, using the powers invested in me by the Malawi
constitution," Ms Banda told a news conference.
"I want to
give Malawians an opportunity to choose a candidate of their choice in a free
and fair manner. When elections are to be held again, I will be stepping
aside," she added. (See: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-27556155).
But she won’t be allowed to
have her way. She said a new vote should be held
within 90 days but she would not stand again in any new poll. Malawi's High Court has rejected her decision
to annul the general elections.
The head of the Malawi
Electoral Commission also said as the President, she did not have the power to
annul the vote. The High Court made its ruling after the commission said that
despite problems involving the electronic count the poll remained valid and
vote-counting would go on.
Clearly, Ms. Banda
is already shocked beyond redemption. Her accusations are lame and betray her:
·
The arrest of
presiding officers who were "caught in the act of rigging"
·
Some people voting up
to three times
·
"Serious
anomalies" where some candidates won more votes than the number of registered
voters
·
Discarded and tampered
ballots
·
Communication devices
of some monitors being blocked
She had previously accused a party, which she
did not name, of infiltrating and hacking the MEC's counting system. The MEC's
chairman denied that its system had been hacked.
It is troubling for an incumbent
leader to go this way. The truth is that the voters have chosen to vote her
down and the earlier she faces this reality to prepare for a smooth transition,
the better chances are that Malawi’s democracy will not be destabilized. She
must simply ready herself for her sorry Fate and leave the scene if the final
vote tally confirms that she is not the people’s choice.
Folks, do you
see how miscalculation by an African President can set the stage for political
turbulence? Clearly, Ms. Banda must have acted on intelligence reports that she
won’t win the elections. Thus, in her decision to annul the elections, she said
that she won’t contest the elections if re-run within the 90 days that she
proposed.
Apparently, she
is scared by the outcome, provisional aspects of which the BBC report captured:
Late on Friday, the Malawi Electoral Commission
(MEC) said Joyce Banda's rival candidate Peter Mutharika had taken a lead of
42%, with 30% of votes counted. Ms. Banda was in second place with 23%, the
commission said.
It is very interesting the way she put it: “I am nullifying the elections, using the powers invested
in me by the Malawi constitution” Does the constitution of any country ever
INVEST powers in Presidents? No!! All the Constitution can do is to VEST powers
in such people.
You see, folks,
when a leader of a country assumes that power is INVESTED in him or her, the
result is anarchy, especially if that leader fails to recognize the fact that
the citizens aren’t pleased with his/her leadership style and outcome. That is,
when that leader using the powers to compound problems instead of solving them.
And when such a
leader is surrounded by a coterie of shameless sycophants who overfeed him/her
with lies and fairy tales of development project all over the country, he/she
can’t know the truth and enters elections with high hopes that his/her mandate
will be renewed. And when the people prove otherwise, she turns to do things in
a vain attempt to subvert the people’s will. Ms. Banda, take it from me that no
power has been invested in you by the Malawian constitution. So is it for all
other African leaders.
I shall return…
·
E-mail:
mjbokor@yahoo.com
·
Join
me on Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/mjkbokor to
continue the conversation.
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