Kenya And Ghana Must Reconsider Electoral System Or

The outcome of the Kenyan elections and the aftermath of the Kenyan Supreme Court ruling is an awakening call for the elitist of the people of Africa to rethink the composition of their governments and must enforce the comprehension of democratic principles against a wholesale takeover of political nomenclatures without positioning its fabric to where they belong to.

The primary cornerstone of democratic emolument and ethos has its base on electoral system without which democracy does not exist. It is therefore necessary for us as adherents of democratic republican nation to choose for ourselves simple and justified electoral system for our own welfare knowing very well that it is the strong and bold that goes in for political rendezvous.

We must desist from self deception when we make it a law indicating the elected President on a partisan political ticket is a symbol of national unity when we actually attest the ferocious pedals articulated in the making of the President.

The Executive system of Presidency is part of democratic principles that has its concepts and modalities in how the President is elected, how he/she forms its government such that the powers of the government shall not hamper on or threaten the freedom of the legislature and the judiciary. The limitation of powers of the President as head of state and head of government, his team of cabinet and ministers. Their relationship to the law making chamber and how they are treated in the law making chamber to safeguard against corruption and ineptitude. That is the clear and distinguishing features of the executive system of government from the parliamentary system known to democratic principles of government and anything done against this formula is to corrupt democratic principles and language and shall not subsist democratic rules without serious hitches and several hiccups.

The conversion of the position of the President as head of State and head of government has been the blunder and iniquitous side of how most African States have constituted their rules of establishing government. That leads us to ephemeral political situation and we seem never to gain consciousness as to why other democracies live long whiles those of Africans has all the time has been in serious conjectures and confrontations.

As Africans we must take serious note of our failure to heed to electioneering rules that, Head of State made head of government under democratic culture must not be directly elected by adult suffrage or the President made head of government shall not be elected by popular votes. These principles we have failed to address as Africans, in our desire to implement democratic culture as a political system. Our choice of executive system is maiming us as people serious of adopting democratic norms as a culture for the welfare of the entire Africans

The three most astute democracies in the world made up of the United States of America, Germany and France are shining examples as to how we as Africans must learn from in making our political institutions including our systems of making pragmatic heads of states and heads of government.

It would be noticed that, under Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution of the United States of America and under the 12^th Amendments to the Constitution, the President of the United States is elected by the Electoral College made up of 538 members of whom presidential candidates require only 270 votes making absolute majority of the Electoral College to become the President of the United States. He does not need to make up a majority or 50% + 1 votes of the 200 million registered voters.

In Germany under Article 54.1 “the Federal President shall be elected by the Federal Convention without debate” and under section 3. The Federal Convention shall consist of the Members of the Bundestag and an equal number of members elected by the parliaments of the Länder on the basis of proportional representation”.

Under Article 63 of the German Constitution, “The Federal Chancellor shall be elected by the Bundestag without debate on the proposal of the Federal President”.

In France where most African states seem to model their republican constitution from under Article 7 of its constitution elects their President by popular votes of more than 50% of valid votes cast. “The President of the Republic shall be elected by an absolute majority of votes cast”.

The difference is that, the President of France is not the head of government. Under the Constitution of France, the head of government is appointed by the President from among the majority political party in the National Assembly.

Under Article 8 of France 1958 as amended Constitution, the “President of the Republic shall appoint the Prime Minister. He shall terminate the appointment of the Prime Minister when the latter tenders the resignation of the Government”.