By DARLINGTON CHILUBATHE mere act of elections does not imply the presence of democracy or recognition of civil liberties.Elections, in and of themselves, are a mere arranged activity intended to either affirm or justify the validity of an outcome as consensual.Where elections are genuinely in the hands of the voters, the outcome cannot be predetermined even when there is a clear favourite.When the outcome is not a matter of choice, then it is clear that people do not hold power. The central issue in all politics is power. At the grand or national level, the question of power is whether the economy should be equal to, or greater than the political structure and vice-versa.The concentration of power in the economy has the potential to undermine balanced regulation and exclude the poor from benefitting from national resources.Conversely, concentration of that power in the political structure has often created dictatorships. The result has been centralised decision-making and an […]
THE THIRD REPUBLIC
