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Burkina Faso |
POLITICS
Presidential elections are scheduled for 2005. However, there’s growing rifts within opposition party ranks
Presidential elections are planned in Burkina Faso for 2005. President Blaise Compaore says he’s standing for a third term in office. So vis à vis the ruling party, the candidates’s already known, but what about the Opposition? It seems to be stalemate. Or at the very least, it’s «wait and see». Things aren’t going too well for them because of problems within opposition party ranks. The most recent is the split within the main opposition Alliance for Democracy and Federation/African Democratic Rally (ADF/RDA) led by Lawyer Hermann Yaméogo.
Democracy‘s not simply a matter of following a set of rules and constitutional procedures in order to give direction to the way in which a government functions. In any democracy, the government is only one element within a country’s social make-up, which consists of many and varied institutions, political parties, organizations and associations. Democracy means that the Opposition has the right to challenge the government party and to criticize the government. At the same time, the Opposition must act within the bounds of any democratic society and offer a real political alternative to the ruling party, by presenting clear, credible and realizable objectives.
Unfortunately, such is not happening in Burkina Faso, where in recent months, opposition parties have been tearing themselves apart. The Party for Democracy/Socialist Party (PDP/PS) led by the historian, Professor Joseph Ki-Zerbo, was the first to go that way with the departure from the party of one of its leading lights, Professor Emile Paré. Then came the turn of the main opposition party, the ADF/RDA to suffer an internal crisis. (The ADF/RDA is considered to be the main Opposition because it’s got most Members of Parliament after the ruling party). Divisions within party ranks have become an almost daily occurrence in the «Land of Incorruptible Men». Matters have taken such a turn that some people are wondering whether, in fact, opposition politicians will ever be able to agree among themselves so as to form a viable Opposition.
The fact is, a viable Opposition is absolutely necessary in any democracy. There must be a legally established «loyal opposition» which is recognized and respected as such, and which is free to criticize the government and to come up with different solutions to national problems. The existence of a «loyal opposition» goes hand-in-glove with press freedom, the independence of the judiciary, free and impartial elections, and the opportunity to publicly condemn any irregularities which may occur during the electoral process.
Unfortunately, such is not the case among opposition parties in Burkina Faso with their never-ending internal quarrels.
It’s said that most of Burkina Faso’s political parties lack internal democracy, communication and genuine leadership. Even the governing party, President Compaore’s Congress for Democracy and Progress (CDP), is prone to criticisms of this kind. Worse, most political parties don’t even have a political agenda worthy of the name. Hard to believe but true!
The party, a family inheritance
Political party chairmen «use» their parties to feather their own nests. This causes dissatisfaction among the party faithful who are quite prepared to turn against their former comrades —forgetting who is the real adversary. But what to do? It’s all too common to see party leaders making decisions in the name of the party without consulting the party’s central office, believing they’re the only ones to have decision-making powers. This kind of leadership can only lead to crisis situations within the party.
Divisions and quarrels within a party result from bad leadership and management. If an opposition party is to be truly democratic, then it must first of all be prepared to work for true democracy within the party. The fact that Burkina Faso’s opposition parties are presently experiencing a crisis of unity, comes not only from a personality cult among party chairmen, but also because these same are trying to amass all the power for themselves.
Faced with all these internal difficulties, can the Opposition form a viable coalition? It’s certainly not for tomorrow! The way things stand at present, it’s difficult to see opposition parties sitting on the same benches in Parliament.
Working together — superficially
In the 2002 parliamentary elections, the ruling CDP only won 57 seats out of the 111. The ADF/RDA won 17 seats, and other opposition parties the remaining 37. The opposition total led one to believe that a combined opposition could make its presence felt in the new Chamber. Indeed this did happen to a certain extent with the formation of the «Coordination of the Burkinabé Opposition» (COB), to which was associated the non-parliamentary opposition. But the COB remains a superficial coordination. The Opposition hasn’t able to take the opportunity offered by civil society after the crisis which followed the 13 December 1998 murder of the journalist Norbert Zongo, publication’s director of the newspaper L’Indépendant. From then onwards, civil society led by the Burkina Faso Human Rights Movement (MBDHP) has been facing up to a never-ending confrontation with the governing party. In normal circumstances this should benefit the Opposition.
Internal quarrels, however, are impinging on the Coordination. To blame someone for their woes, opposition parties are pointing an accusing finger at the CDP.
It’s always easy to accuse others; but it’s more realistic to note that crises find their origins within the parties. Lack of democracy, bad leadership, ignoring the grassroots, lack of communication and breach of trust, to name just a few, all lead to a crisis situation which can only result in political parties splitting asunder. It’s a deep-rooted evil.
If the situation continues, Burkina Faso will enter into the 2005 presidential election with a very weak opposition, because it’s divided and continues to moan and groan as in the past.