A coup for democracy
African regimes are excessively long-lasting, but two have just ended. In Ghana change happened through an election won by the opposition; in Guinea through a coup. The Ghana result has rightly been welcomed by the international community, mainly because in Africa it is so rare for oppositions to win. They succeed only when ruling parties lack the power to cheat.
The ruling party in Ghana was relatively powerless because the incumbent president had hit his term limit and so was not standing; power relations in Africa are so personalised that this weakened the party's grip. Another problem was that, atypically, the government did not have big revenues from natural resources.… Seguir leyendo »