The pain of elections in Africa
Thursday, September 07, 2017
One political commentator went even further to say that the curse that have afflicted the state of African people and its politics can be traced to the slave trade era through to more than hundred years of colonialism and further extended to post colonial Africa and beyond.
I fully agree with him because after many African countries got their independence in the 50s, 60s and 70s many people wrongly thought that the time for true liberation and ushering of democracy had arrived. Lo and behold, the so called liberation heroes turned their backs on the very people they have claimed to be liberating. Corrupt, horrible dictatorships occupied the seats that rightly belonged to democratically accountable institutions. Elections in many African countries were declared a taboo and one party system of rule ensued.
The recent disclosure by the IEC that 2,513 registrations have been turned down due to various irregularities should prompt all Batswana to meticulously review the voters' rolls and address concerns about rejected registrations.The disparities flagged by the IEC are troubling and emphasise the significance of rigorous voter registration processes.Out of the rejected registrations, 29 individuals were disqualified due to non-existent Omang...