Johannesburg - Following the ANC’s electoral disaster in the August polls in which it lost crucial metros to the opposition, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on political leaders to be brave enough to accept the will of the people.
When it became clear that the ANC had lost control of Nelson Mandela Bay to the opposition, the regional leadership disputed the results, saying they did not reflect the will of the people.
However, they backtracked and conceded defeat after the ANC national leadership intervened. The ruling party later claimed collective responsibility for its electoral decline from 62 percent to 54 percent, amid growing calls that President Jacob Zuma should step down.
Ramaphosa identified the lack of credible electoral processes and disputed results as some of the threats to democracy in Africa.
He made the remarks at the 11th annual symposium of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (Eisa) in Joburg on Thursday.
Eisa is a watchdog body that observes elections across Africa. Former heads of state and government, including Nigeria’s Goodluck Jonathan, attended the event, which ends on Friday.
Ramaphosa said electoral management bodies had delivered credible elections in Africa, including South Africa. The rise of electoral democracies on the continent had led to economic growth and social development, he said.
About 16 African countries would be holding presidential elections this year. In the US, Americans would go to the polls on November 8 to decide whether Republican candidate Donald Trump or his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton should become their 45th president.
Trump this week refused to say whether he would accept the outcome of the poll, saying he would keep voters “in suspense”.
Ramaphosa said one hoped that in Africa, when elections were held under the tutelage of credible electoral bodies, “the contestants will be brave enough to accept the will of the people”.
He commended Eisa, which was established 20 year ago, for promoting popular democratic principles, saying regular elections had become the norm rather than the exception.
The deputy president said that in developing countries, inequality and poverty remained a threat to democracy. “Democracy cannot flourish where some people, particularly the poor, do not have access to the judicial system, do not benefit from the rule of law and are unable to exercise their basic human rights.”
He added that there was a need for transparency in the funding of political parties, “alongside the establishment of public-funding mechanisms through which parties can be sustained”.
In August, Eisa raised concern regarding transparency over political party funding in the country after the ANC said it spent about R1 billion on its campaign, the DA about R350 million and the EFF about R10m.
“Democracy cannot flourish when political parties are dependent for their continued existence on the largesse of private funders and the potential it creates for conflict of interest and the exercise of undue influence,” said Ramaphosa.
@luyolomkentane
The Star