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African Nations On The Way To Democracy

Page history last edited by PBworks 17 years, 3 months ago

 

African Nations On Their Way To Democracy

 

The following nations have had a long journey. There have been efforts to move towards democracy, and it seemed as though elections were on the right path and things changed at the last minute. This is a very unfortunate situation that many nations are finding themselves in, and it is leading to much distress with the current political system.  The authoritarian leaders in these countries make promises of free elections, yet they never seem to follow through with them.  Read below to see some examples of this. 

 

 

Nigeria

 

President: Umaru Musa Yar'Adua

 

 

  •  Nigeria gained independence on October 1, 1960.  There are over 250 ethnic groups in Nigeria, and this has been the biggest problem they have faced. 
  • Benjamin Nnamdi Azikiwe became the first president of Nigeria.
  • A military coup took control i 1966 and Yakubu Gowon was in power. 
  • In 1975, Gowon lost power to a military coup led by Muritla Rufai Mohammed. 
  • Civilian leadership returned to Nigeria in 1979 and Alhaji Shehu Shagari was elected president.
  • In 1984, the military took over, and again in 1985.  This left General Ibrahim Babangida in power.  He vowed to return the country to civilian rule, but ignored the results of the election on 1993. 
  • Babangida resigned in August of 1993, and the military took over yet again.  Sani Abacha was the new leader of Nigeria.
  • Abacha died in 1998 and General Abdulsalam Abubakar took over. 
  • A free election was finally held in 1999 and General Olusegun Obasanjo took power.  He pledged to rid Nigeria of corruption and return it to a democratic state.  However this did not happen, and corruption was wide spread.
  • Obasanjo was re-elected for a second term in April of 2003.
  • National elections were held in April of 2007.  There was a lot of corruption surrounding this election.  The ballots were found to be illegal and had to be reprinted with party symbols rather than names. 
  • Umaru Musa Yar'Adua was the election by a large percentage.  The legitimacy of these votes is still under speculation. 
  • The April 2007 elections was the country's first transition from one democratically elected president to another.  Nigeria is moving in the right direction, however corruption and fraud are still widespread. 
  • For more information on Nigeria, click here

 

 

Please click on the "play" symbol for more information about the political situation in Nigeria.

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Zambia

 

President: Levy Mwanawasa

 

 

  • On October 24, 1964 Zambia became an indepedent nation. 
  • Kenneth Jaunda was the first president.  In 1972, Kaunda outlawed all opposition.
  • Zambia slowly moved back to a multi-party democracy .
  • A national election, held on October 31, 1991 removed Kaunda from office. 
  • Frederick Chiluba became the new president of Zambia.  In 1996, he was re-elected. 
  • In 2002, Chiluba stepped down from office and Levy Mwanawasa became president.  Mwanawasa was chosen to be the next president by Chiluba, so this was not a fair election. 
  • In September 2006, Mwanawasa was re-elected.
  • There is much controversy in Zambia over these elections because Mwanawasa was chosen to be president, he was not elected.  In addition, there was a lot of corruption while Chiluba was in office, and he was been charged with stealing millions of dollars from the country. 

 

Gambia

 

President: Yahya Jammeh

 

 

  • Gambia became an independent nation on February 18, 1965.  They were proclaimed a republic on April 24, 1970.
  • Dauda Kairaba Jawara was Gambia's first president, and he served from 1970 to 1994.
  • Jawara was ousted by a military coup in July of 1994.  Captain Yahya Jammeh was the leader of the coup, and he became the leader of Gambia. 
  • Once in power, Jammeh banned all other political parties.  He promised new elections and they were held in September of 1996. 
  • Jammeh won these elections and the ban on opposition parties was lifted in 2001.
  • There is stict bans on the media and press in the country.  This is a big reason why the movement to a true democracy is being halted. 
  • Jammeh recently was re-elected for his third term as president. 
  • For more information about Gambia, click here.

 

Uganda

 

President: Yoweri Museveni

 

 

  • Uganda became an independent nation on October 9, 1962.
  • Sir Edward Mutesa was elected as the first president and Milto Obote was the first prime minister. 
  • Col. Idi Amin and Obote overthrew Sir Edward Mutesa and siezed control of the government in 1966.
  • In 1971, Amin sent Obote to exile and proclaimed himself "President for Life." 
  • Amin was forced into exile in 1979 and in the 1980 elections, Obote was elected to office. 
  • On July 27, 1985 Obote was ousted by another coup and went into exile. 
  • Yoweri Museveni was declared president on January 29, 1986. Museveni has worked miracles in Uganda and worked very hard to reform the nation since the rulings of Amin and Obote. 
  • In 1996, a ban on opposition parties was lifted.  Museveni won the elections with 72% of the vote.  This election was considered to be fair, and to reflect his popularity with the people of Uganda.
  • In 2005, the constitution was amended, and term limits were removed.  Museveni ran for yet another term and in 2006 he was re-elected. 
  • For more information about Uganda, click here.

 

Below is a video that describes the most recent election results.  Click on the play button to begin.

 

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