The US elections from an African vantage point
In common parlance, the 2020 US elections are now just around the corner. Interest in both the process and the outcome is on the rise in Africa as it is elsewhere in the world, as highlighted by coverage of the first presidential debate by global media. African attention to US politics rests on several factors, among them: the allure of the US as a superpower, the open, vibrant, and often dramatic nature of politicking and wideranging material expectations on the continent.
During a series of virtual townhall events hosted by the African Centre for the Study of the United States ( ACSUS) based at Wits University, speakers have reminded us that Africans will not vote in the US elections and therefore have no say in whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump wins. By extension therefore, Africans should not overindulge in discussions around the Biden versus Trump tickets.
While this line of argument is reasonable, it has at least one major flaw: the inevitability of huge interest in the goings- on in a global country by global citizens. Even though they have no direct vote in the matter, Africans will not only closely follow the matter but also comment and take positions.
This perspective in fact arises out of the US’ deliberate global outreach. us that the noisy and antagonistic nature of US politics is a sign of stability rather than weakness.
America’s tenacious hold on the election dates as tradition provides a lesson for African nations. It might appear that some African countries – Malawi, Tanzania and Burundi – have also maintained tradition by going ahead with their elections even during the pandemic. The small East African country of Burundi is particularly an illustrative case of an African nation proceeding with presidential elections not as a demonstration of democratic maturity but for expediency.
Many pundits concluded that Burundi’s elections went ahead not so much because its leaders were keen on upholding an electoral tradition but because former president, the late Pierre Nkrunzinza, was determined to hand over power to a chosen successor – current president Evariste Ndayishimiye. After all, Nkrunziza had forced a third term for himself in 2015 on self- serving eligibility grounds.
Burundi- style tinkering with presidential term limits is quite common on the continent. It has been termed “third termism” and has in recent years involved the leaders of Uganda, Rwanda, Guinea, Sudan, Egypt and Comoros. Thus, even though there is a rising tenor of criticism, unfairness, inequality and dysfunction in American politics,
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