Africa: Continent Must Shun Zimbabwe, Kenya Type Coalitions

17 November 2009
opinion

During the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association in Arusha early October, there was a heated debate among the legislators and other participants about the viability of coalition governments in Africa. While some legislators argued that the current coalition governments in Kenya and Zimbabwe pose serious threats to parliamentary democracy, others like Prof. Palamegamba Kabuli of Dar es Salaam University contended that Africa should start getting used to coalitions, not "rescue packages" in forms of the current coalition governments in Kenya and Zimbabwe. Participants agreed that the only way to resolve election disputes and avoid 'forced' coalition governments was to have independent and strong electoral commissions.

Political coalition is a common phenomenon is older democracies such as Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Israel among others. In Africa, there have been various attempts to form coalitions in some countries.

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