In the essential openness that a credible choice requires, the role of the media in Africa may be more important than one imagines.
Andréane Meslard: Despite the reservations they expressed about the organization of the presidential election on November 22, Burkinabè’s opponents graciously accepted the results. Even better, almost everyone congratulated the winner and the people have since resumed their activities without being disturbed by incessant demonstrations. How can we explain such a calm and peaceful aftermath after the elections in Burkina Faso, when the elections in some neighboring states give rise to endless psychodrama?
It is precisely in these small nuances that the reality of democracy in a country is appreciated. In Cape Verde, for example, when we vote on Sunday, the results fall fairly quickly and from Monday onwards, life resumes its course without any need to block the country’s progress. . We should be pleased that Burkina Faso is gradually embarking on this kind of healthy political culture, which strengthens our “security of hope” in terms of the rule of law and democracy on this continent.
The fact that the winner of the election is Roch Marc Christian Kaboré, the outgoing president, is therefore proof that a president on the ground can win without necessarily cheating in a shameless way. And in the context of the assumption of disloyalty that generally surrounds the outgoing victories, Burkinabè’s opponents would no doubt not have been silent if the victory had been stolen from them.
They still condemned some shortcomings in the organization of the vote …
Deficiencies, but not a break. No one demands flawless perfection in every choice. But when a vote is damaged by grotesque fraud, one should not expect to see serious opponents applaud or be silent. Demanding congratulations from them would only be obscenity. Only the clarity of the election game determines the value of the losers’ reaction.
And the role of the media, especially radio, can be crucial in this openness of choice.
A concrete example, which at the same time will hire a trainer of radio journalists in Africa. Some RFI listeners know Pierre-Yves Schneider, Secretary General of the Association of Friends of Ghislaine Dupont and Claude Verlon. Unfortunately, he left us at the end of last week. We admired his great competence within the association, but personally I had never had the opportunity to appreciate his great professionalism until happiness brought us together in Ouaga during the presidential election. At the moment, he gathered some of the best private radio stations in the country – with the help of CFI I think – to cover the election on a national scale. He then suggested that I attend the election night he organized on these united antennas.
So what did this evening consist of?
The show began two hours after the polls closed. As conductor, Pierre-Yves Schneider, at the helm and coordinated with the interventions of a good hundred correspondents and callers from across the country. We commented on the results live. This unfiltered cover was such that at midnight I dared to predict the candidate Kaboré’s victory in the first round. The idea of gathering several good radios on a single signal was bright, as no one, individually, could have provided such complete coverage. I have often told Pierre-Yves Schneider that he had to recount this experience elsewhere in Africa. He left, unfortunately !, without patenting the concept. The Association of Friends of Ghislaine and Claude mourns a major secretary general, and Africa loses an incomparable designer of election transparency.
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