IT is true that in a functional democracy, strong institutions, more than strong individuals, are what is needed.
When institutions are independent or autonomous and are alive to their responsibilities, they are neither petrified into inaction nor prompted to act by anyone on important matters of state within their jurisdiction.
They act in the supreme interest of the state because the law empowers them to do so.
Thus it is a cardinal principle in a democratic order for everyone, ranging from the Head of State or government through ministers of state to the ordinary people on the street or farm, to abide by the rule of law..
There is no denying the fact that the acceptance by all parties or stakeholders of the verdict of the people expressed in elections adjudged by the relevant electoral body to be free, fair and transparent is a sine qua non for the successful functioning of the democratic order.
Last week, Ivorians went to the polls in what many across the world saw as a wonderful opportunity to bury the last decade of political infamy and instability and open a new chapter of hope, democracy and prosperity it was once known to be in the sub-region.
It is a sad commentary on that country’s political leaders that they have woefully failed to utilise this wonderful opportunity to extricate Cote d’Ivoire from the quagmire it has been stuck for the past decade.
In is important to state clearly that the unwillingness of the government of President Laurent Gbagbo to allow the Independent Electoral Commission do its work of announcing the verdict of the people and respect the will of the people, as corroborated by virtually all observers of the polls, has driven Cote d’Ivoire back to the anarchy in which it found itself a decade ago.
By getting the Constitutional Court to overturn the verdict of the Electoral Commission and proceeding swiftly to have himself sworn in, in flagrant disregard for the clear mandate of the Ivorian people, as well as appeals from ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and other members of the international community, President Gbagbo has placed premium on clinging to power and damned the consequences.
No one needs to look into the crystal ball to predict that the country is on the brink of a devastating explosion if something very urgent and appropriate is not done now to tackle the crisis.
As the AU itself noted, the crisis could have “incalculable consequences” for the nation and, we dare say, the entire West African sub-region.
We wish to appeal to the AU mediator, former President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa, to employ all his diplomatic and political skills to help pull back Cote d’Ivoire from the brink.
Additionally, we wish to urge ECOWAS leaders who are due to meet shortly to demonstrate in clear terms their abhorrence for short-changing the democratic process and strict adherence to their own protocols on democracy and good governance which frown on what the Ivorian leaders are doing now.
If need be and if flexibility towards finding a reasonable way out is not forthcoming, the necessary actions, including political, diplomatic, economic and other sanctions, should be brought to bear to force the leadership to rethink.
We are sad that after many painstaking efforts at consolidating the democratic system in the sub-region and improving the image and standing of Africa in the eyes of the international community that Africa is capable of managing its affairs, Ivorian political leaders have engaged in this anti-democratic and counter-productive practice
Finally, we wish to point out to the Ivorian leaders that whatever they do in respect of this crisis will not only affect Cote d’Ivoire but also the West African sub-region and Africa as a whole. Therefore, they have a duty to subsume their narrow political ambitions in the greater supreme interest of the Ivorian and African people.
This is the only sane way forward to resolve the crisis.
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