US ELECTIONS: EXCUSING AFRICAN LEADERS AS RIGGER'S

 US ELECTIONS: EXCUSING AFRICAN LEADERS AS RIGGER'S

82-year-old Alpha Conde won a third term bid and became yet again the President of Guinea, putting his country in distress as scores were killed in a stretched protest.

The 2020 election that brought him into power for this third time, was marred with irregularities and claims of flagrant rigging.

At the highest court of the land, he was declared the winner of the election.

'All judges are his man Friday. The entire Guinea system was for him', the opposition says.

This same year, on the 3rd of November, the incumbent President of Cote' d'Ivoire Alasanne Qattara, won an election in which the oppositions boycotted amidst the rejection of his scathing ambition, and as well his over-reaching influence on the Electoral Commission.

This sparked violence as the opposition was clamped down, tear-gassed, shot, and arrested.

In Tanzania, the saintly perceived 61year old John Magufuli was sworn in as the president just this Thursday, the 5th of November.

There were genuine concerns of alleged voting irregularities and manipulation of results as mainstream media, as well as social media was shut down and voices suppressed.

In all these stated examples in Africa, rig-claims were often fingered by many Western countries including the United States.

These local hues and cries; and the international demonstration of rejection of some of these outcomes have been in recent times how Europe and the US control election outcomes.

And force renowned African political elite riggers, those triggers of election fraud to comply.

In Nigeria, a few political elites alleged to have manipulated electoral systems were barred from entering some of these Western countries.

This implies that all local and national elections have the eye of the West fixed on it.

However, all these may change given the theatrical unbecoming playing out in the US as African leaders have found in the US, a templated reference, and how the bastion of democracy itself wasn't also a perfect system.

In the US 2020 Election, they have found an outlet to ditch excuses, and a cover to point at as imperfection becomes universal.

And they are right.

In my time on earth, I have never seen any US election so immersed in diatribe, and desperation of disturbing proportions until Donald Trump and Joe Biden squared up.

The George W. Bush and Timothy Al Gore's election in the year 2000, saw claims of rigging, but never at the height inaugurated just twenty years later.

Trump's thumping winning personality, his tough-nut disposition, and his grit to the spirit of never-say-never may have exacerbated these rig-calls.

But he may have genuine concerns.

Trump is a phenomenon and so is his involvement undoubtedly would alter the course of what is a common election to assume an uncommon dimension.

However whether these rig-calls are true or not, it's the implication for Africa's fragile democracy is not in doubt.

The Western world, the US especially are known for their interest in seeing to free and fair elections in Africa.

How they would carry out this subtle international policy under Biden's presidency is yet to be figured amidst Trump's insistent that clear manipulation that includes back-dating after election date mail-in votes, lumping of after-voting day ballots with voting day ballots, exclusion of his observers from the counting rooms, body doubles and sending of ballot mails to those who never requested for them were true.

As these remain in the realm of alleged concerns, it would fortify Africa's strong men's fate in election rigging as the most effective way to advance the electioneering course.

Expectedly, Africa would see the emergence of new rigging leaders who would point to the US outcomes to make case for their rig-folly as how imperfect elections could be.

That would essentially stay the course of their conviction for a very long time.

These times may be good times for Africa's rigging gods.

Agboeze Chidi ......