People’s Daily has offered their own take on the post-election turmoil in Kenya: Western-style democracy is to blame. From Reuters:
…The People’s Daily, the official newspaper of China’s ruling Communist Party, said Western powers were themselves to blame for imposing colonial rule and then Western-style electoral democracy on Africa.
“The Western ‘democracy’ transplanted to Africa is unsuited to local conditions and has sowed the seeds of disaster,” said a commentary in the paper.
“The election crisis in Kenya is just one typical example. In fact, many African countries’ elections have sparked political turmoil.” [Full text]
Another report from Reuters interviews various experts in Africa who take a different view of the situation:
While some acknowledged their governments had failed to deliver promised democracy after colonialism, others were offended at the suggestion that authoritarian rule was acceptable.
“It is wrong for China to make that conclusion (on Kenya) because democracy is not meant for certain kinds of people,” said Blessings Chinsinga, lecturer at the University of Malawi.
“Democracy is a universal concept based on certain values but the problem is that us as Africans choose to ignore these values of democracy when its our responsibility to do so.” [Full text]
