African Studies
Utafiti: Journal of African Perspectives
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President Yayi Boni was able to continue his policy aimed at structural economic reform, economic growth and the elimination of corruption after his political movement won the legislative elections. These had to be postponed once due to organisational problems in the electoral commission. Benin strengthened its economic structure and its economic performance improved slightly. However, some difficulties were encountered in the restructuring and privatisation of the telecom and cotton sectors. In his urgent search for economic partnerships and development funds, Yayi Boni also actively continued with his outward-looking foreign policy by increasing the number of presidential visits abroad and by receiving foreign ministers and heads of state at home.
National Assembly elections, the 20th anniversary of the 1987 coup and protest rallies dominated the political scene. President Blaise Compaoré, who remained the most powerful political figure, strengthened his legal power base by winning overwhelming support in the parliamentary polls. He continued his policy of improving his sub-regional diplomatic standing and underlined his supreme power by undertaking a prudent cabinet reshuffle. However, protests by the security forces continued, further challenging the image of a neatly organised and stable society. Economic growth rates were respectable, but public perception was negative due to the rising cost of living as well as poor education and health services. The negative demographic and ecological impacts on development became more marked.
Brussels granted Cape Verde special partnership status with the EU, while the UN confirmed the country's formal graduation to Medium Developed Country (MDC) status with effect from January 2008. At home, a dispute between the ruling ‘Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde’ (PAICV) and the opposition ‘Movimento para a Democracia’ (MpD) on the composition of the electoral commission delayed the electoral census. In the economy, the tourism sector continued to attract huge foreign investments and supported strong economic growth.
At first glance, Côte d'Ivoire appeared the same as ever, stuck in an interminable peace process. President Gbagbo remained in place, presidential elections having been constantly postponed since the end of Gbagbo's mandate in October 2005, while the core issues of voter identification and of disarmament continued to be the main stumbling blocks. However, there were significant changes compared to previous years. For the first time, and despite much backtracking, the main stakeholders designed and implemented a credible exit option from the five-year political crisis. A peace accord was signed; Guillaume Soro, head of the ‘Forces Nouvelles’ (FN) rebels, was appointed the new prime minister; the identification of voters was commenced; political tensions dramatically decreased; the country was reunified with the dismantlement of the demilitarised buffer zone separating rebels from government soldiers; and people seemed ready to resume their lives. Nonetheless, while considerable and highly symbolic progress was made, the new political agenda remained uncompleted and clearly unrealistic, and the presidential elections planned for early 2008 seemed to be doomed to never-ending postponement.
In the 25 January National Assembly elections, President Jammeh once again scored a resounding victory, crushing a splintered and poorly financed opposition. His APRC party (Alliance for Patriotic Reorientation and Construction) won 42 of the 48 constituencies, leaving the remaining six to the opposition. Of these, the coalition among the United Democratic Party (UDP), National Reconciliation Party (NRP) and Gambia Party for Democracy and Progress (GPDP) won four, while the National Alliance for Democracy and Development (NADD) and an independent candidate secured one seat each. The APRC's victory over the opposition was made even more remarkable by the failure of Halifa Sallah, NADD's 2006 presidential candidate and a long-time representative of Serrekunda Central, to retain his seat. Hamat Bah, leader of the NRP, was also soundly defeated in his lower Saloum constituency, and a similar fate befell Kemesseng Jammeh (no relation of the president) in Jarra West.
The focal point of public discourse was the celebration of the 50th anniversary of independence on 6 March, which provided an occasion for reflection on what had been achieved and indeed whether there was anything worthy of celebration. Once the festivities were concluded, attention focused on the choice of candidates to lead the respective parties into the next election. The battle to succeed President J.A. Kufuor as leader of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) was particularly intense. All of this took place against the backdrop of a crippling energy crisis, the responsibility for which became perhaps the most hotly debated issue. As far as the economy was concerned, the power cuts, which were a consequence of the low water levels in the Volta lake, were ironically compounded by severe flooding in September. While the first took its toll on industry, the second led to falling levels of agricultural production. Although donors remained upbeat, economic targets were not met.
2007 was one of the most tumultuous of Guinea's postcolonial history. It began in January with a 19-day general strike that turned into massive demonstrations. This popular uprising, orchestrated by trade unions, evoked violent responses from the government, whose security forces killed over 180 civilians in Conakry and other cities. However, popular protest was so vociferous and so unanimous that the president, General Lansana Conté, finally had to make numerous concessions, including naming a consensus prime minister and reshuffling the military hierarchy. These concessions led to a moderate improvement in the economic situation, but by mid-year many Guineans were already complaining that the new prime minister had effected few concrete changes. The deaths of two of the army's top generals left Conté more isolated than ever, though he remained the master of the political game.
The year 2007 saw the weakening of the state president's influence, expressed in the substitution of the presidentially installed administration by an elected parliamentary government. Fundamental improvements in the basic socioeconomic situation did not occur in the period under review. The political landscape remained turbulent. Dark clouds were on the horizon: trafficking in narcotics through Guinea-Bissau threatened the country's stability and became one of the most important topics on international donors' agendas. Bilateral and multilateral financial transfers continued to be critical to Guinea-Bissau's economic existence.
Liberia's recovery from over two decades of political chaos and war continued to be a protracted affair. On 20 September, the Security Council extended by a further year the mandate of the UN peacekeeping mission in Liberia, UNMIL (United Nations Mission in Liberia), originally established in 2003. At the same time, the Security Council decided to reduce the 14,000-strong military force by 2,450 and cut 498 positions from the 1,000-strong police contingent. The drawdown of military and security personnel would be reviewed in 2010. In view of the fact that the incumbent president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, began her six-year term in January 2006, the decision to retain a substantial UN mission suggested that Liberia's political stability was expected to be reasonably secure for the next two or three years.
Incumbent President Amadou Toumani Touré was re-elected for a second term in office after a landslide first-round victory during which he secured more than 70% of the vote. Parliamentary elections in July marked the end of the consensus democracy that had characterised Mali's political life for almost five years. Three parties, the ‘Rassemblement Pour le Mali’ (RPM), ‘Parti pour la Renaissance Nationale’ (PARENA) and ‘Solidarité Africaine pour la Démocratie et l'Indépendance’ (SADI), assumed the role of opposition. The two main parties supporting the president during his campaign, the ‘Alliance pour la Démocratie’ (ADEMA) and the ‘Union pour la République et la Démocratie’ (URD), increased their parliamentary representation. Low turnout figures in the elections spurred debate over the state of Malian democracy.