FRANCISTOWN: It has been said "democracy gets its dynamic force from political and social conflict: continuous conflict". Dr Julius Kiiza of Makerere University says "democracy is not God-given. It is historically created. The history of democracy is a history of social struggles over the expansion of political space. It is a history of contestation over the transformation of the human wrongs of the marginalised groups into human rights."
Perhaps the concept of opposition is as old as humanity itself and predates the political parties as we know them today. During the liberation struggle, especially in the so-called developing world, indigenous nationalists created the necessary conflict by forming political parties to fight for national independence. The 1980s saw in Africa the birth of multi-partyism and a reduction of the twin aberrations of military governments and life presidents as well as the end of political monopolies through the introduction of more transparent and regular elections.
