Stay in the democracy field long enough and you’ll experience the cyclical sport of “elections bashing”, which inevitably occurs after a series of bad polls. Indeed, we’ve recently seen a spate of democratic breakdowns in places like Kenya, Nicaragua and Zimbabwe, characterized by fraud and violence, and these deserve honest criticism. In reaction to these setbacks, various groups of Washington-based experts are pointing out what we at IFES have long known -- elections alone do not a democracy make. A just-released report by the New America Foundation, a think tank associated with the Democratic Party, puts it succinctly: “While free and fair elections are an important benchmark, they are only a beginning step on the road to democratization.” Fair enough. Elections absent a political culture which values debate, dissent and tolerance, can give the illusion of democratic progress without much of its substance. This is precisely why IFES focuses on the entire electoral cycle - including civic education, political finance reform, media training etc. - rather than simply on the events of Election Day.
Just as it’s unwise to exaggerate the importance of elections, it would be wrong to understate their value. Take South Africa, a country where up until 1994 the vast majority of citizens were systematically deprived of their fundamental rights, including the right to vote in free and fair elections. It’s a big, complex, messy country, with a plethora of racial and political identities, and could easily have experienced the kind of meltdown we’ve seen in other transitional democracies. Instead, it didn’t just conduct very proficient elections from a technical standpoint this past June, but in a remarkably short time, only about 15 years, it has enthusiastically adopted core democratic values like freedom of the press, a dynamic civil society, and a refreshing faith in its electoral system.
The reputation of South Africa’s Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) as among the best in Africa did not occur accidentally. It was the work of dedicated people like Justice Johann Kriegler, who oversaw the country’s first multiracial elections, and the current Chairperson, Dr. Brigalia Bam. But more than simply a highly competent electoral management body, the IEC is also a national institution in which ordinary South Africans have confidence and take pride. It is viewed as apolitical, free of corruption, and symbolic of the great distance the nation has traveled since the days of apartheid.
Some would say that, unlike many developing countries, South Africa has the financial resources to pay for a top-notch election commission, as if money alone explained anything. No, if democracy could be bought, Saudi Arabia would have the world’s best system. The success of South Africa has much more to do with a combination of the tangible and the intangible, art and science: leadership and a solid civil registry; idealism and well-trained staff; integrity and appropriate technologies. A difficult alchemy to be sure, but not beyond the reach of many other countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.
*Jamie Dettmer, IFES Director for Communications and Advocacy, is on leave. Christian Hennemeyer is IFES Vice President for Communications and Compliance.