Riding home today on that nice dirt path and blistering sun , I turn my attention to a group of kids. They are with their moms off to town or where ever else. They point at me shouting, jumping up and down, waving their little hands You are black, YOu are black, You are Black
I get called a lot of interesting things, this was just another day. I could not help but laugh and ride on. Sometimes thats better than nothing. Oh Mali.
Friday, May 18, 2007
Democracy in Action?
Note: The election has since passed and yes ATT won and will be sworn in as President of Mali. The day after elections there was a riot in Bamako started by IBK followers claiming fraud and a re vote.. that did not happen.
Mali presidential elections are just around the corner. The months leading up to the country’s fifth democratic elections have been pretty interesting to observe especially as I get sound bites of the 2008 elections in the States.
In all of this I cant help but think of that infamous idea that people fight and die for: Democracy! Especially in the context of a developing country like Mali, which can boost its democratic record with successful leadership transitions and as the US ambassador to Mali told PCVs at out training earlier this month, it is pretty likely that Mali will have another peaceful presidential election with Amadou Toumani Toure (ATT) as the predicted winner. So Im wondering is a peaceful election necessarily a democratic or even just election for a country like Mali and in that case for Africa?
Come two months before the elections started to heat up, looking around Sikasso (the second largest city in Mali), you wouldn’t know any type of election was taking place. There were occasional commercials and special service announcements but they covered a formation on how to cast your vote (brought to you by UNDP). Imagine this: “Election 2007” a simple jingle, votez, votez, and a stimulation on how to vote from getting your ballot, entering the voting booth, stamping your choice and dropping your folded ballot into the ballot bin. The announcement ends with the presenter getting their index finger inked a signal that one has voted.
It was not until I got to Bamako when things started to look interesting and undemocratic. Lined up on the center divider there is banner after banner of the current president’s photo and his logo, “A Mali Qui Gagner” (A Mali that Wins). Look to the side of the road and there is a huge bulletin board on the whole side of a building, its ATT and A Mali Qui Gagner. It was pretty ridiculous and sort of eerie. Watching the news I start to pick up on a familiar pattern. Every night, there are more than three segments of ATT opening up another school, getting money from another foreign diplomat or making a speech at X event. I couldn’t help but imagine if this was something that happened in the state—Bush plastered everywhere, and only Bush, yeah that’s sort of scary right?
These past couple of days there is a “Candidate de Jour” segment which features a presidential candidate presenting their platform for a better Mali and answering questions about what they would do to improve Mali’s future. The candidates range from the first Malian woman to run for president (who FYI has not lived in Mali for the last couple of years), a former student leader now turned doctor reminding Malians in his speech that the “war is NOT over” (contre the government which means ATT) and lastly IBK probably the most likely contender to ATT. Of course ATT finds a why to show up everyone else, while other candidates are interviewed in a room most likely provided by the state news station, ATT’s speech is a full out feature production with footage of his good deeds in every region of Mali scrolling across the screen and don’t forget, ATT and a Mali qui gagner. Is this democratic? Is this democracy?
Come election day, I am sure to see many Malians touting their voting cards, ready to take part in their country’s presidential election. What cant be ignored however is if most people who what they are voting for. Is it just another popularity contest? Propaganda at its best? I am afraid it seems like that—at least from this side of the poll.
Mali presidential elections are just around the corner. The months leading up to the country’s fifth democratic elections have been pretty interesting to observe especially as I get sound bites of the 2008 elections in the States.
In all of this I cant help but think of that infamous idea that people fight and die for: Democracy! Especially in the context of a developing country like Mali, which can boost its democratic record with successful leadership transitions and as the US ambassador to Mali told PCVs at out training earlier this month, it is pretty likely that Mali will have another peaceful presidential election with Amadou Toumani Toure (ATT) as the predicted winner. So Im wondering is a peaceful election necessarily a democratic or even just election for a country like Mali and in that case for Africa?
Come two months before the elections started to heat up, looking around Sikasso (the second largest city in Mali), you wouldn’t know any type of election was taking place. There were occasional commercials and special service announcements but they covered a formation on how to cast your vote (brought to you by UNDP). Imagine this: “Election 2007” a simple jingle, votez, votez, and a stimulation on how to vote from getting your ballot, entering the voting booth, stamping your choice and dropping your folded ballot into the ballot bin. The announcement ends with the presenter getting their index finger inked a signal that one has voted.
It was not until I got to Bamako when things started to look interesting and undemocratic. Lined up on the center divider there is banner after banner of the current president’s photo and his logo, “A Mali Qui Gagner” (A Mali that Wins). Look to the side of the road and there is a huge bulletin board on the whole side of a building, its ATT and A Mali Qui Gagner. It was pretty ridiculous and sort of eerie. Watching the news I start to pick up on a familiar pattern. Every night, there are more than three segments of ATT opening up another school, getting money from another foreign diplomat or making a speech at X event. I couldn’t help but imagine if this was something that happened in the state—Bush plastered everywhere, and only Bush, yeah that’s sort of scary right?
These past couple of days there is a “Candidate de Jour” segment which features a presidential candidate presenting their platform for a better Mali and answering questions about what they would do to improve Mali’s future. The candidates range from the first Malian woman to run for president (who FYI has not lived in Mali for the last couple of years), a former student leader now turned doctor reminding Malians in his speech that the “war is NOT over” (contre the government which means ATT) and lastly IBK probably the most likely contender to ATT. Of course ATT finds a why to show up everyone else, while other candidates are interviewed in a room most likely provided by the state news station, ATT’s speech is a full out feature production with footage of his good deeds in every region of Mali scrolling across the screen and don’t forget, ATT and a Mali qui gagner. Is this democratic? Is this democracy?
Come election day, I am sure to see many Malians touting their voting cards, ready to take part in their country’s presidential election. What cant be ignored however is if most people who what they are voting for. Is it just another popularity contest? Propaganda at its best? I am afraid it seems like that—at least from this side of the poll.
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