Buhari’s victory excites opposition parties in Africa
The torrents of messages from many countries and individuals on Nigeria’s presidential and National Assembly elections lend credence to the integrity of the polls.
This was so because of the triumph of the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) retired General Muhammadu Buhari against incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. The victory was unprecedented in the political history of not only Nigeria and Africa but indeed developing countries where those in power do all manner of scheming to remain in government.
In fact, Buhari’s victory gave a glimpse of hope at the end of the tunnel for opposition parties in Africa, especially in a free and fair election.
After the win, Raila Odinga, leader of Kenya CORD (Coalition for Reforms and Democracy) opposition party expressed delight by the events surrounding the elections won by Buhari over Jonathan. Odinga, in a congratulatory message to both the Nigerian president-elect and to outgoing President Jonathan, hailed the unprecedented moment in Nigeria, where the opposition has, for the first time, won and the incumbent accepted defeat.
“After the biggest democratic election exercise in Africa, the citizens of the continent’s most populous nation have spoken in clear terms,” he said. Odinga also congratulated Jonathan for his grace in conceding defeat.
Also South Africa’s official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) has congratulated Nigeria on the outcome of polls and Muhammadu Buhari on his election as president. DA Shadow Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Stevens Mokgalapa said the election is significant as it is the first time in Nigeria’s history that an opposition party has democratically taken control of the country from the ruling party.
Also, Ghanaian opposition leader in next year’s election, Presidential Candidate of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Nana Akufo-Addo commended Buhari’s dogged commitment to democracy, even as he expressed optimism that his vast experience would foster unity, security, progress and prosperity in Nigeria.
This year, many African countries would go to the polls to elect their leaders at various levels. Some of the countries include Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia, Guinea, Libya, Mauritius, Niger, South Sudan, South Sudan, Tanzania, Togo and Zambia.
For Burundi, the election is billed for June 2015 and the president is elected using the two-round system. If no candidate wins a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round will be held in July. However, in December 2014 eight opposition parties said they would field a joint presidential candidate but incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza has not yet announced whether he will run. Nonetheless, the ruling party and the opposition are in dispute over whether 51-yearold Nkurunziza is able to run for a third term in office.
The president was the Chairman of the National Council for the Defense of Democracy-Forces for the Defense of Democracy (CNDD-FDD), the ruling party, until he was elected as president.
In Burkina Faso, the presidential and legislative polls are expected to hold in October.
Following an amendment in 2000, the constitution limits presidents to two terms of five years.
The situation Central African Republic (CAR) is dicey as elections is proposed for July this year. The nation was thrown into crisis, leading to the ouster of François Bozizé and selection of Catherine Samba-Panza as acting president in January 2014. The country has a multi-party system.
Some of the parties are National Convergence “Kwa Na Kwa” which was built around support of Bozize and the opposition Movement for the Liberation of the Central African People and established in 1978 by former Prime Minister Ange-Félix Patassé. Others are: Central African Democratic Rally, Social Democratic Party, Patriotic Front for Progress, Alliance for Democracy and Progress and Löndö Association.
In Guinea, the presidential election would be held in October. However, the incumbent President Alpha Condé is expected to seek a second and final term. For Conde, he spent decades in opposition to succession regimes, unsuccessfully running against President Lansana Conté in the 1993 and 1998 presidential elections and leading the Rally of the Guinean People (RPG), an opposition party. He stood again in the 2010 elections and he was elected in a second round of voting. When he took office that December, he became the first freely elected president in the country’s history. That was a victory for the opposition in the country. But when the presidential poll was won by Lansana Conte in 2003 most opposition parties boycotted.
However, demands from the Republican Front for Democratic Change (FRAD) opposition coalition concerning the creation of an independent electoral commission and access to state media were unfulfilled by the government, and consequently all the major opposition leaders chose to boycott the election.
In October, Ivory Coast is expected to conduct elections at all levels, though it is a oneparty dominated state with the Ivorian People’s Front in government. There are opposition parties but they have no real chance of gaining power. But the Ivorian Popular Front, founded by former President Laurent Gbagbo, hopes to drop its boycott plans and may present a candidate for this year’s presidential vote.
Tanzania also hopes to hold elections in October with incumbent President Jakaya Kikwete ineligible to be elected to a third term due to term limits.
This month, Togo would go to the polls to elect a president with incumbent Faure Gnassingbe gunning for a third term. The main opposition party, Union of the Forces of Change (UFC) founded in 1992 is led by Jean-Pierre Fabre. He was its presidential candidate in 2010.
Earlier in January this year, Zambia held a presidential election, following the death of President Michael Sata last year. His successor, Edger Lungu, would serve the rest of his tenure till September 2016 when an election would be held. However, the opposition candidate, Hakainde Hichilema, called the election a sham.
Elections are also billed for São Tomé & Príncipe, Somaliland, South Sudan in June or July, depending on the resolution of the crisis between President Salva Kiir and his former vice president Riek Machar. In neigbouring Sudan, too, election is expected to hold this month with President Omar al-Bashir contesting. However, leader of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party (SCoP), Ibrahim al-Sheikh, said they decided to boycott elections for several principled and strategic reasons.
However, Nigeria’s presidential election provided hope for many opposition parties in Africa that at an appropriate time, the peoples vote would prevail.