allAfrica.com: Sierra Leone: Democracy Or African Politics; Where Does Country Stand? (Page 1 of 2)

For good governance and democracy to thrive, there should be a symbiotic relationship between governors and the governed.

But in Africa today, especially Sierra Leone , it is a different ball game all together.

People perceive those in position of political authorities as superior thus shedding more light on the simple untrue fact that the race for political seats must be more contentious.

Politicians even coin and use certain words to convince electorates to throw in their support for them.

In the Sierra Leone of today, democracy, good governance, transparency and accountability are on the lips of every politician including the president but African politics is on the surface.

Transparency can be said to have taken place when you allow people to see through your undertaken activities so as to ensure that your political plans are copiously implemented without any political interference.

Democracy is a system whereby people are allowed to fully participate, not only in political activities, but in all aspects of life which brings to mind the widely-accepted adage that democracy is the government of the people, by the people and for the people.

If followed to the letter, this concept implies that those who are representing the electorates were mainly elected by the free will of the people. But African politics, which does not allow for a level playing field and encourages intimidation, is the order of the day.

In democracy, people have the right to choose their leaders, form associations and even voice out their views about the government whenever they are confused on certain developments in the country. But you dare not exercise this right too much in the Sierra Leone of today.

Are we practicing democracy or African politics in Sierra Leone ? It is now generally clear that people do not have free will to make political decisions but are forced to dance to the tunes of politicians or what they referred to as 'higher authorities.' Election is not the only factor that determines the democratic nature of a country but it plays a very significant role in the process.

The setting up of an independent electoral commission is one of the basic principles of democracy which shows that the views of electorates will be heard attentively during an electioneering process.

In African countries, most electoral commissioners are appointed by the government of the day. It is for this cogent reason that these commissioners rarely oppose the government in power because of their interpersonal relationship.

During the presidential and parliamentary elections in Sierra Leone last year, it was however a different matter. The electoral commissioner stood on her grounds to announce the results of the elections even though a very large number of Sierra Leoneans were left unhappy as their votes were not counted due to the negligence of some electoral officers who allegedly issued out multiple ballot papers to voters. This was common in Kailahun, Kenema, Bo, Pujehun etc.

One will consider it a political gimmick because most of the votes that were cancelled were in the strongholds of the current opposition Sierra Leone Peoples Party. However it was all bread and butter for the then opposition but now ruling All Peoples Congress.

Agreeably, the just concluded local council election is another milestone in the history of Sierra Leone . It depicted a very good picture to the international community that democracy is really at play in the country. But is that all? That could not be the only issue we should consider.

The local council's electioneering period was full with accusations and counter accusations between and among political parties, civil society and NEC and even individuals.

On the side of civil society groups, they claimed that NEC did not involve them in the ward boundary delimitation process. It was generally agreed that some wards were added to another in a very conflicting manner. And this became a major concern for civil society groups.

Was their concern addressed? It was stated clearly that NEC is charged with the responsibility of carrying out the election process.

The other issue that broke the camel's back was the continuous claim of 'unopposed,' intimidations, harassment and forceful declaration.

A day after the local council elections, I read in one of the local tabloid, 'Kono painted red.' It was a disheartening statement for some people in the country.

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