N Y C
29-06-2006, 18:46
LINK: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5116442.stm
This has to be one of the strangest political events I've ever heard of. In Mauritania last summer, the military overthrew the unpopular government and proclaimed a "transitional military juanta". Naturally, the world had suspicions and condemned the coup. But believe it or not, Mauritania just had its first referendum, where it approved a new constitution, and will have its first presidential election next year, which the head of the juanta promised not to run in. So, do you think the military government will actually keep to its word and allow a democracy to form in one of Africa's poorest and most unstable countries? On a more general note, does it seem like elected, stable governments seem to be spreading on the continent? I'm not sure what to think. On one hand, you have promising signs such as the recent election in Liberia and upcoming ones in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mauritania. On the other hand, you have nations like Zimbabwe, where power still rests in the hand of the very few. I think the next few decades might give us a stronger indication of where Africa is heading politically.
This has to be one of the strangest political events I've ever heard of. In Mauritania last summer, the military overthrew the unpopular government and proclaimed a "transitional military juanta". Naturally, the world had suspicions and condemned the coup. But believe it or not, Mauritania just had its first referendum, where it approved a new constitution, and will have its first presidential election next year, which the head of the juanta promised not to run in. So, do you think the military government will actually keep to its word and allow a democracy to form in one of Africa's poorest and most unstable countries? On a more general note, does it seem like elected, stable governments seem to be spreading on the continent? I'm not sure what to think. On one hand, you have promising signs such as the recent election in Liberia and upcoming ones in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mauritania. On the other hand, you have nations like Zimbabwe, where power still rests in the hand of the very few. I think the next few decades might give us a stronger indication of where Africa is heading politically.