In defence of the Republic
Friday, March 29, 2019
And, in retrospect, the turmoil was somewhat inevitable. Its intensity was unexpected.
The inevitability stems from the constitutional automatic succession clause which, in essence, fosters a situation where the country’s presidency is removed from the direct influence of voters, to a competition for the good favour of the incumbent president.
The BDP as a party known to have ample resources has always held its primaries well in time, but this time around that was not the case. The first leg of the primaries was held last weekend, with the final leg being billed for the coming weekend. This time around, the BDP failed to shine in its primary elections. The elections were chaotic; most if not all polling stations didn't open at the specified time of 6am. Loyal BDP members braved the...