Flawed elections encourage military adventurers in Africa Politics

Flawed elections had always encouraged military adventurers to interfere in the political processes in Africa, contributing to the instability which has made the continent an epicenter of anarchy,Brigadier General Francis Agyemfra(rtd),a security Consultant, has said.

"So long as intense unhealthy political rivalry, suspicion and mistrust continue to constitute inter-party barriers, cooperation in national efforts to deepen democracy and promote development would remain largely elusive".

Brigadier Gen. Agyemfra (Rtd) was delivering a paper on the topic: “Multi-Party Democracy, Elections and Stability in Africa” at the Harvard Law School, Cambridge, United States of America.
He said attempts to change constitutions to suit short-term interests should be discouraged, for no leader, no matter the level of his performance, knowledge and achievement must be considered indispensable in the management of the affairs of the country.

“Serious efforts should be made by countries in the Sub-region to ensure that electoral systems are improved,” he added.

He explained that the process of formulating and reviewing electoral laws must therefore necessarily involve the participation of all political parties and civil society groups.
The Security Consultant noted that peaceful and constitutional alternation of power was a key indicator of the good healthy democratic system therefore in addition to improving electoral laws, efforts must be made to ensure a level playing field during the conduct of elections.
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He called on the Electoral Commissions in Africa not to be only independent but should be seen as independent.

Brigadier Gen. Agyemfra, said the fact that the African continent has of late recorded a sharp drop in the occurrence of coups d' etats should not make the continent complacent.

“Instead, the trend should be seen as a window of opportunity to sustain good governance aim at preventing future instability for the unassailable fact is that there can be no compromise between stability and bad governance,” he noted.
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He stated that the African continent needed farsighted leadership and a functioning democratic system through which Africans could face squarely the global challenges together.
GNA