Human Rights And Democracy

I've been following the presidential and parliamentary elections held on August 11 in Sierra Leone. They are almost done counting the vote now and there will be a runoff as no candidate has reached the 55% level to avoid one. So far it seems to have gone remarkably well.

It appears that there was high voter turnout and very little violence. There have been reports of some intimidation and ballot stuffing but very little compared to the recent elections in Nigeria and in Sierra Leone's past. I am sure that whoever ends up losing will claim massive fraud, but so far the process seems to have been largely free and fair.

There are a few wrinkles in this election. The ruling party suffered a split a little bit over a year ago and the runaway faction appears to have taken a significant slice of the ruling party's voter base. This has landed the ruling party in second place, behind the main opposition, in the national election. Additionally, the new party has crossed tribal lines and already thrown its support behind the opposition for the runoff. The question now is whether the party faithful will follow their leaders across those lines or scurry back to the party of their fathers. It makes for a very interesting story but it also raises the possibility of violence.

Only in stable democracies do you see a ruling party give up power peacefully. Should Sierra Leone's ruling party lose the runoff it will be a good test of the country's democratic development since the end of the war. Of course, many would say that the ruling party will never allow themselves to lose the runoff and will tamper with the process before it even gets that far.

Distrust is a major factor in Sierra Leone politics. Many believe that it is impossible to find clean hands on any side in politics and that this exercise is nothing more than a game that has been played out to keep the western democratic countries happy. After decades of going backwards at the hands of both parties how can anyone think that suddenly there will be an improvement?

Western countries are fond of saying that everyone should have a right to choose their leaders. But we also say that everyone should have a right to food, shelter, a job, health care, etc. But which should get priority. I imagine that many would argue that in a country with Sierra Leone's democratic history it is impossible for the average Sierra Leonean to have all these rights at the same time. It seems that having the right to choose the leaders almost guarantees they won't get the rest. That is what history seems to tell us at least.

I am by no means advocating that they do away with elections. History has also proven that they will not get those basic needs met without democracy either. I'm just saying that we tend to think that as long as a country has democratic elections everything will be okay. It just doesn't work like that.

I don't have an answer. Sierra Leoneans themselves will give you an answer but it will only be a guess. Debating the issue is a national past time they engage in when and wherever two or three Sierra Leoneans are gathered. But real solutions seem far away. I pray with all my heart that somehow they start heading down the right track. A beautiful people and a beautiful country deserve that much at least.