"World politics":"Spotlight on Elections in the third world!

Le 22 décembre 2011 par IvoireBusiness - Elections in the third have taken the form of plebiscites held by autocrats or tyrans to confirm their own rule by any means possible:For example, in the

whole AFRICA of the eighties and nineghties where african well-known leaders, and finally labeled as remote controls of the west, have over four decades used bribery and coercion to maintain their power !Only recently, in the 1980s and early 1990s, have elections offering a genuine choice between parties and policies became more widespread, especially in "Latin America" and parts of "Africa" such as:(Benin, KENYA,Ghana, ivory COAST..)Basically, the initial and relevant question about elections in the third world must remain:"Why political party and policy competition so rare and for so long? The answer lay in the limited extent of political development. Competive elections about policy are fleshed added to the skeleton of a national political system. Where there is no skeleton, there can be no flesh. As a matter of fact, in the third world, namely in the whole "Africa", national government is weak! Consequently, The masses remain oriented towards locals rather than national politics! In the same trend, elites regard the state as a profitable mine to be exploited and have little interest in competive elections which might endanger their grip over the state's resources:(Cacao, COFFEE, OIL, minerals, fruits, diamonds, gold in "the IVORY COAST").That's why the state lacks the strength to sustain competitive elections...Meanwhile, "VOTES ARE SO OFTEN EXCHANGED FOR PARTICULAR BENEFITS WHICH GO TO INDIVIDUALS, ETHNIC GROUPS OR COMMUNITIES"!Let's come to the facts in the current political background in the "Ivory Coast":Cheating , bribery, coercion, rebel soldiers intimidations were at the center of the presidential and parliamentary election grounded in massive frauds and irregularities in the "Ivory Coast"...How can one take a stock objectively of what took place recently politically in the "Ivory COAST" as far as elections are concerned? It indeed points out clearly the major issue of political legitimacy in "Africa", and to some extent, a conspicuous sign of what would happen later on in a country, being since April 2011 the hostage of an international system...We must not forget the fact that when life is hard, and people are suffering daily in the "Ivory Coast" going through a deep crisis, the value of a vote lies in its cash money value! In extreme cases, voters simply hand over signed ballots to local masters who then negotiate the best deal they can with candidates financially speaking. that's the sad reality right now in the "IVORY Coast", where those who are supposed to rule the country in a near future, are still facing lack of popular legitimacy...Everything is turning upside down in the "Ivory COAST" since April 2011, therefore the brighter future of this west african country, formerly respected and admired in the whole Africa, is basically at stake! Nobody knows tomorrow, but only God knows!

(Yves T Bouazo)