“Ville morte” in Kinshasa: almost no sign of life on a midweek Wednesday in a normally bustling city. Respect for the opposition who called the citizens to stay at home out of protest against the postponement of the presidential elections till early 2018, or fear for yet another series of violent and deadly clashes between youth protesters and the police force?
In the night of the same Wednesday the last debate between the two candidates in the American presidential elections. A frightening show of deep cultural, moral, and political divisions. Not a choice between better and best, but rather between worse and worst.
Election fever in the United States of America and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some parallels may be drawn. In both countries politicians talk about the possibility of rigged results, which certainly doesn’t foster citizen’s trust in the system. In both countries people vote along ethnic, social and cultural divisions. In both countries democracy is a huge and expensive logistical challenge. In both countries potential voters are influenced by political action groups. In both countries the Constitution is founded on the fundamental idea that democracy fostersaccountability and stability.
Yet, there are differences. Whereas in the USA the election timeline is sacred, rooted in a profound respect for the Constitution, politicians in the DRC from different sides of the aisle negotiate to find common ground, even if this implies an adjustment of the timeline provided by the Constitution. President Obama can openly campaign for the candidate of his party because everybody knows he will leave his seat, whereas President Kabila swath himself in silence to maintain his legitimacy.
The Presidential elections in the USA are intensively scrutinized by the entire world and get a huge media attention. Unbelievable budgets are available for advertisements, campaigning, and the ground work to get the registered voter to the polling stations. An admirable exercise in democracy, but does it actually lead to more stability and a governable country, or rather to deeper divisions?
Is this the best model for DRC, as many American NGOs like us to believe, or should the politicians in DRC trust their own social and cultural instincts and continue negotiate in the back and the front rooms of the political process, taking example of the African palaver model, which has well worked for ages? Let’s wait and see, and hope and pray.
(by Franke Toornstra, President & CEO of ACT for Performance)