When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Gambia

Spotlight: In Africa, Elections Reveal Democrats And Despots

Sruthi Gottipati

-OpEd-

When President Yahya Jammeh accepted electoral defeat in the tiny west African nation of Gambia two weeks ago, voters and democracy advocates alike cheered. Jammeh, who once claimed a "billion-year" mandate and has been in power for 22 years, was finally vacating his throne.

But the celebrations were premature. A week later, Jammeh decided that the elections were in fact flawed and rejected the results. The reversal highlights one of the most enduring obstacles to democracy in Africa, where leaders often stay long past their welcome.

President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea is Africa's longest serving leader after he seized power in 1979. José Eduardo dos Santos has been the president of Angola for about the same time. Robert Mugabe who has been ruling Zimbabwe since 1980 comes a close third — and the 92-year-old will likely be running in the 2018 elections.

There's reason for hope. Gambia's neighbor Senegal saw a peaceful transfer of power in 2012. Last year, Africa's most populous nation Nigeria held an election that ushered in a new president. Last week, Ghana voted for opposition leader Akufo-Addo, booting out the incumbent after just one term in office. Jammeh of Gambia should heed their examples. Not doing so risks the violence and chaos that has roiled nations where despots have clung to power.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Geopolitics

U.S., France, Israel: How Three Model Democracies Are Coming Unglued

France, Israel, United States: these three democracies all face their own distinct problems. But these problems are revealing disturbing cracks in society that pose a real danger to hard-earned progress that won't be easily regained.

Image of a crowd of protestors holding Israeli flags and a woman speaking into a megaphone

Israeli anti-government protesters take to the streets in Tel-Aviv, after Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired Defence Minister Yoav Galant.

Dominique Moïsi

"I'd rather be a Russian than a Democrat," reads the t-shirt of a Republican Party supporter in the U.S.

"We need to bring the French economy to its knees," announces the leader of the French union Confédération Générale du Travail.

"Let's end the power of the Supreme Court filled with leftist and pro-Palestinian Ashkenazis," say Israeli government cabinet ministers pushing extreme judicial reforms

The United States, France, Israel: three countries, three continents, three situations that have nothing to do with each other. But each country appears to be on the edge of a nervous breakdown of what seemed like solid democracies.

How can we explain these political excesses, irrational proclamations, even suicidal tendencies?

The answer seems simple: in the United States, in France, in Israel — far from an exhaustive list — democracy is facing the challenge of society's ever-greater polarization. We can manage the competition of ideas and opposing interests. But how to respond to rage, even hatred, borne of a sense of injustice and humiliation?

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The latest