Africa badly needs such victories. Contrasting starkly with the image of the so-called Dark Continent, they confirm its slow but steady embrace of democracy. That evolution appears to be stronger than the many obstacles still ahead: dictatorship, intolerance, complacency and armed conflict. Zimbabwe, Guinea and Togo, to name a few examples, still balk at democratic change. Peace, the first requirement of democracy, remains a distant prospect in Angola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Congo and Sudan. And coup makers still plot, as last week’s attempt by disgruntled Ivorian soldiers to topple the country’s civilian regime proves.
That coup’s failure should be a lesson to those who don’t choose the democratic path. Rawlings, who came to power in a popular coup 20 years ago, understood the changing times when he chose in 1992 to restore constitutional rule. He fostered the growth of an honest opposition. Far too many African leaders followed the Mobutu example, encouraging the creation of political parties only to divide their opponents. Those politicians weren’t prepared for the sea change brought by the end of big-power rivalry on the continent. Neither were first-time voters. They sometimes installed rank incompetents or pseudo-populists. At times, the bumps along the way have led skeptics to question whether Africa, still plagued by illiteracy and tribalism, was ready for democracy.
But Africans no longer live in a vacuum. International news media and private local radio stations educated them on democracy and opened their eyes on the failure of statist governments. Pressure groups kept the democratic cause firmly on the continental agenda so that even the Organization of African Unity, which used to legitimize coup makers, have now banned them from its meetings. African leaders once reticent to concede defeat at elections have grown accustomed to bowing out graciously. The retreat of military rulers from power adds up to what seems to be a promising dawn for democracy.
But voters in Africa won’t long be satisfied with democracy alone. In Ghana, Senegal or Nigeria where they have been the prime movers of smooth transitions of power they are eagerly awaiting the dividends of democracy. Poverty can only kill that hope.
