Former United Nations (UN) Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel, Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, has condemned countries whose citizens celebrated military takeovers on the African continent.
He explained that the overthrow of elected leaders as seen in the Gambia, Mali and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)was a threat to the continent’s democratic governance as such development crippled the foundation, hence the call for citizens to fight against such negative emergence.
“Eight of the fourteen national elections conducted in the region between January 2020 and March 2022 ended with contested outcomes that led to violence in countries such as Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Guinea, Niger, and Togo.
The growing unrest around electoral processes certainly raised concerns about future elections in the region, however, elections such as the recent presidential and parliamentary elections in the Gambia give us hope of the possibility of peaceful elections” he said.
Dr Chambas said this yesterday in Accra on Tuesday at a two-day stakeholders’ workshop on the implementation of the Electoral Violence Monitoring, Analysis and Mitigation (ENAM) project.
The project covered 17 electoral processes and important lessons which were carried out in five countries (Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Togo, Mali and Guinea). It was later extended to five additional countries (Niger, Burkina-Faso, Benin, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire).
Participants were representatives from UN, African Union (AU), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), among others.
It was organized by the West Africa Network for Peacebuilding (WANEP)to dialogue and share experience on achievements, good practices, opportunities and challenges of the project, and as well facilitate similar initiatives with a view to contributing to peaceful elections in the Region.
Dr Chambas said research had shown that Africa was one of the “most socially and economically unequal regions,” with the concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a few people.
He said the growing population of unemployed youth prepared the ground for citizen mobilisation and that could turn violent, stressing that this dissatisfaction and frustration were particularly felt by the vulnerable and marginalised population, especially women and the youth.
The Executive Director of WANEP, Dr Chukwuemeka Eze, said the contemporary challenges to elections and democratic governance escalated by election disputes continued to threaten the foundation of democracies.
He said already the African region was compounded by myriads of insecurity which needed the collective efforts of leaders to address.
The Minister for the Interior, Mr Abrose Dery, in a speech read for him, said Ghana had been implementing a National Security Strategy to address threats that were potentially imminent.
Source: ghanaiantimes.com.gh
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Dr Ibn Chambas, question? How come the very people who vote for democratic governments to come to power are same people who take to the streets in support of military takeovers, it tells you the democratic governments might have failed the people. When you see single room occupants becoming owners of mansions and V8's within a matter of 4 years having become ministers, CEO's and MP's in a civilian or democratic regime, the people see them as a group that represents nobody but themselves. You were one time a deputy minister of education and later foreign affairs in the Rawlings era. You were also a member of parliament for Bimbilla, i.e. several years ago, it will interest you to know that the very socio economic challenges facing your people are still same today. How can a group of self styled people called politicians be riding V8's when the very people whose interest they claim they are in power to address are competing with animals for drinking water in dugouts? In 1987 you were appointed by a military regime PNDC as deputy secretary for foreign affairs, so you started your political career under a military leader Rawlings. If military regimes are that bad, why accept an appointment under one. When did you realize military regimes are bad. I personally don't support military takeovers but we shouldn't also allow people to use democracy as a cover to short change the people. Currently what we are seeing in Africa especially Ghana creates the impression that democratic and military regimes are two evils. Infact some of the military regimes are far better. Eg, no democratic government in Ghana's fourth republic have been able to do in 6 years what Colonel Acheampong SMC regime did in 6 years,from 1972 to 1978. ( Tono irrigation dam, the largest dam in Ghana up to today, Vea irrigation dam, Dahwenya irrigation dam, Kpong hydro dam, catering rest houses in Tamale, Bolga Wa, Sandema, Navrongo, tumu, Lawra, Bawku etc, nurses quarters in same places, Stadia in all district capitals in the north then, hosted African cups of nations in 1978 and Ghana won, built Teshie nungua estates, operation feed yourself, the most successful agricultural policy never witnessed again in Ghana, agricultural shows in all the 9 regions then. He did all these projects without taking 1 dollar loan from any country but with local resources. Apart from Nkrumah, which other democratic regime used 6 years to do what Acheampong did, least i forget, Acheampong started the construction of the Bamboi bridge. Those of us who witnessed this compared to what we are seeing today, hmmmnnn. 65 years as an independent country we can't dualize the road linking our 2 major cities i.e. Accra-Kumasi, 65 years on we can't link our regional capitals by tarred roads, 65 years on we can't guarantee 24/7 water supply to homes in the national capital , 65 years on we still have schools under trees, 65 years on we can't manufacture anything on our own, matches, tooth pick, handkerchief, towels, blade are all imported. If this is what democracy is about, then we are lost.