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Democracy will not flourish merely because it is proclaimed

Jun 20, 2011 Letters

Dear Editor,
Generally, no political party will declare that it is undemocratic. Democracy has become such a compelling idea that even civilian dictators are eager to proclaim their devotion to democratic values.
In a political party, however, democracy will not flourish merely because it is proclaimed. In fact, internal party democracy can be compromised where a few individuals dominate party affairs without proper regard for the membership.
I joined the AFC in 2005 based on the party’s proclaimed commitment to democracy.
However I soon discovered that the AFC’s commitment to democratic norms was not being translated to the practice of democratic behaviour.
The AFC’s constitution provides for every member to belong to a group; for each group to elect a representative to the region; for each region to elect a regional management committee, form among its representatives to manage the affairs of the region.
After six years the party which claims to have a large number of members, has a few groups and even fewer regional management committees.
Where the latter exist, these are not filled with elected representatives of groups. Similarly, delegates who attended the two previous national congresses, where national executives were elected, were not representatives of the membership at large.
The same can be said of the special national conference where the presidential and prime ministerial candidates were elected.
Consequently the elections have produced little change in the leadership; insular management and marginalized party members with no opportunity to shape the party’s policies. The change promised by the AFC is but illusionary.
Desmond Mangar

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