Africa gets fresh leaders as veterans refuse to go home

Zambian Presidential Edgar Lungu (centre) dances before giving his remarks during his last campaign rally on January 19, 2015 in Lusaka. Mr Lungu said on Tuesday he will travel to South Africa for specialised treatment after he collapsed at an International Women’s Day event at the weekend. FILE PHOTO | GIANLUIGI GUERCIA |

What you need to know:

  • Zambia, once again, lives up to its reputation of having a vibrant democracy
  • Mozambique, Namibia and Zambia usher in fresh blood as fears mount over Kabila’s, Nkurunziza’s, Museveni’s and Kagame’s tight grip on power
  • As for neighbouring Rwanda, nobody is certain when President Paul Kagame will eventually bow out and make way for fresh leadership.

Following the conclusion of the presidential election just held to replace the late President Michael Sata, the coast now seems clear for the resumption of orderly national life in Zambia.

Amid practically universal kudos, the country has once again lived up to its reputation of having a vibrant democracy in which general elections have been held regularly since the end of one-party rule in 1991.

In a country where the electorate expects leaders to leave office peacefully, the coming week will by all indications herald the smooth installation of a brand new president, the Patriotic Party’s Edgar Lungu, 58, as widely predicted.

Poignantly, that development comes at a time when fresh leadership has been the norm in several African countries following reasonably orderly democratic elections.

A case in point is Mozambique, where former President Armando Guebuza made a peaceful exit from leadership, paving the way for a presidential election last year.

RELINGUISHED POWER

The same was the case in Namibia, where incumbent president Hifikepunye Pohamba readily relinquished power after serving his constitutional two terms. To his credit, he had earned the final one in 2009 after garnering an impressive 76 per cent of the ballots cast.

In the case of Mozambique, whereas last year’s presidential election was not devoid of acrimony, the country has nevertheless ended up with a new president, Filipe Nyusi, who took office on January 15 after the country’s Parliament reconvened.

Gratefully President Nyusi, whose new government was announced on January 17, was welcomed with goodwill and widespread optimism for the future.

That was despite the fact that a still-disgruntled Renamo opposition still clouds the country’s politics, particularly after recent threats to secede.
Hopefully, an upbeat Mozambique will benefit from an expected break with former President Armando Guebuza’s legacy.

Gratefully, the new year has already ushered in many new and younger faces to positions of responsibility even as former president Guebuza’s allies moved on without too much ado.

Also enjoying an orderly ascent to power is Namibia’s new president Hage Geingob, 73, who was elected to the country’s top leadership at the end of last year.

A member of the SWAPO party that has governed Namibia since independence in 1990, the new Namibian leader was a veteran prime minister, whose vast political experience reportedly bodes well for Namibia’s future.

Unfortunately, there cannot be similar optimism about the future of the long-troubled Democratic Republic of Congo, which has in recent times once again been steeped in turmoil.

The country’s latest woes are a result of incumbent president Joseph Kabila’s hardly veiled intention to do all he can to thwart democracy and hold onto power despite legal provisions militating against that sleight-of-hand prospect.

Amid mounting speculation regarding the probable postponement of local elections due in June and October this year, there have been justified suspicions that the postponement bid is part of a plan by President Kabila to put off next year’s presidential election in a bid to prolong his presidency for as long as possible.

TALK OF THE TOWN

Alarmingly, similar bids at holding onto power have been the talk of the town in Burundi, where incumbent President Pierre Nkurunziza seems hell-bent on seeking a third term despite mounting opposition from different quarters, including the United Nations.

As for neighbouring Rwanda, nobody is certain when President Paul Kagame will eventually bow out and make way for fresh leadership.

The same applies to Uganda’s headstrong president, Yoweri Museveni, who after decades as the helm of his country has also not shown any signs of calling it a day.

In the meantime, in faraway Algeria, there is mounting concern about the dangerously fragile health of the 77-year-old invalid President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who reportedly performs what few national duties he can from a wheelchair.

A veteran who is incredibly if ridiculously tenacious like a handful of other African leaders, to the surprise of many last year the ailing Bouteflika braved serious infirmity, standing for and somehow being elected to the country’s presidency.

Back to Zambia, as matters stand, this time around the country’s new president will only serve the remaining period of the late President Sata’s term, and will be in office for less than two years, given that a General Election is due later next year anyway.

Ultimately, whereas the just-concluded presidential poll was not without hiccups, the country’s transition certainly exemplified the sort of orderly execution of democratic norms that has over the years come to be identified with the country.

In the meantime, widespread resistance to regime change and predictable volatility during polling seasons remains the order of the day in many African countries.