DOES DEMOCRACY EXIST?
Democracy is defined as a system which consists of four key pillars:
1 CHOOSES AND REPLACES THE GOVERNMENT THROUGH FREE AND FAIR ELECTIONS
2 ACTIVE PARTICIPATION OF THE CITIZEN IN POLITICS AND CIVIL LIFE
3 PROTECTIONS OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF THE ENTIRE CITIZEN
4 A RULE OF LAW, IN WHICH THE LAWS AND PROCEDURES APPLY TO THE ENTIRE CITIZEN
People choose their leaders through voting, and the majority win. The
protection of the minority is always guaranteed in the democratic society.
Democracy is a system of rule by law, not by individuals. The majority usually
do not contribute much in the campaigns of the political parties competing or
the individuals contesting, but the minority support the campaigns through
monetary resources and their vital arsenal which is the mass media. Is
democracy for whom? Is for the poor (majority) or the owners of the means of
production (minority)?
Free campaigning and access to the mass media, which is so influential are key
elements for free and fair elections, which is the pillar of democracy. As the
minority are owners of the monetary resources and media therefore who chooses
are leaders? Is the poor masses or the bourgeoisie class? Remember the
influence of the mass media in the formation of COPE and its election campaign,
the massive spending of the ANC election campaign as it was reaching to its
masses proves that access to the mass media and the monetary resources can
determine the outcome of the elections.
In the world politics, we have the powerful nations (first world) which are
representing the minority in terms of the world population and the third world
which represents the majority f the world population but the first world
controls all the world institution of power, the UN; IMF; SECURITY COUNCIL;
WORLD BANK etc which through their monetary and mass media support for an
individual candidate they are secretly choosing leaders for the people of the
third world. In the 2000 US presidential election the bush vs. gore the Us
Supreme Court which represent the ruling decided on the outcome of the election
by declaring bush the president, the whole world accepted the outcome as part
of democracy: pillar no 4 the rule of law. The election were declared free and
fair despite the dispute on regularities from Gore, bush was declared a winner
despite that the night before the people went to sleep knowing Gore has won the
election. In November 2010 the people of
Ivory Coast went to the polls, the French media, the UN official, and the
chairperson of the IEC declared Quattara a winner while the constitutional
council declared Gbagbo the victor. The world institutions supported Ouattarra
without considering the constitution of the country which gives the
constitutional council powers to declare the winner, and this is the rule of
law in a democratic society.
We need to appreciate the ANC processes of choosing local councillors, which
promote democracy but is being threatened the minority who are using financial
resource and organisational machinery to undermine the will of the entire
membership and the community. We must applaud the poor working class of Tunisia
in their fight for democracy; unfortunately democracy in a capitalist society
only works for the ruling class and the bourgeoisie. The Tunis masses fought
but are not asked to forward their representative to the interim government.
The people of Bolivia, Cuba, and Venezuela are defending their popular
democracy and their economical system against capitalisation of democracy. We
vote for democracy but capitalism is imposed on us.
Maviyo Ndinisa (MPUMALANGA PROVINCE 072 7481677)
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