Social Media: the Conduit for Corruption-Free African Elections

At this time of year, as America's election fervor spreads, we take to social media to express our views and opinions. In spite of heated Facebook discussions and inflammatory tweets, there is still the underlying, unshakable belief that we exist in a democratic country; we take comfort in knowing that we have a relatively transparent voting processes and open access to forums and social media networks. 

In some countries of Africa, the people have a similar democratic process; candidates run, the citizens vote, and elections are transparent and fair. However, in other countries, such as some of the central African states like Congo or Cameroon, resource-rich lands have encouraged political corruption and leaders' desires to stay in power (to control the lucrative markets) by any means. Elections in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, have been rigged in favor of the incumbent leader and party. Political dissenters are silenced by the government, opposing parties are edged out of competition, through intimidation and threats, and there is serious lack of communication between voters and governments. 

This is where social media has stepped in, fostering communication and democracy between citizens as well as keeping a check on government corruption. 

Africa in the recent years has been going through a mobile revolution, and increasing rates of cell phone ownership have marked the continent as the site of the next digital revolution. With access to mobile info-sharing social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, and Whatsapp comes the opportunity for widespread communication and grassroots activism. educate each other in politics, and participate in their own forms of grassroots activism. Citizens are able to expose evidence of government abuses and crimes, which educate voters. People can form massive online communities to galvanize and recruit voters who once believed they had no say in the political process. Live recordings of the vote tallying process, publicized via Twitter, helps keep an accurate ballot count nationwide.  

Whereas three decades ago there was virtually no modern communication infrastructure in many parts of the continent, now, the increasing availability of mobile technology and social media in Africa has fostered a political revolution and a culture of connection. There are undersides to this process—governments attempted to shut down internet access, protesters in the Congo and Sudan have repeatedly clashed with government forces over their elections, and there is fear of the violence this Arab Spring-like movement could cause. Still, central Africans are closer to democracy than they ever were before. Activists are now compelled to share their ideas and political advocacies, with an online audience listening in. People feel like they belong to a rapidly growing community that extends past their immediate surroundings--a community that wields its own power over the government process. In countries plagued by corruption and authoritarianism, the knowledge, connections, and communities that social media platforms have provided aren’t just advantageous to the people—they’re the crucial stepping-stone to maintain a true democracy.