Over the past 30-40 years or so, the world has experienced the emergence of an increasing number of governing administrations who refuse to relinquish power. They employ nefarious and illegitimate means to ensure they maintain their grip. Why do so-called democratic governments feel the urge to stay in power at all cost? More specifically, why is this phenomenon more common in 'Young Democracies? We see this throughout the globe where Prime Ministers, Presidents or entire Political Parties refuse to relinquish Executive power and will do whatever it takes to maintain their vice. From Burundi to Burkina Faso, Venezuela to Azerbaijan we have been witnessing the decay of Democracy.
Rogue Behavior
While these are diverse jurisdictions with varied reasons for
democratic stress, there are some common features contributing to democratic decline
in these countries. Some of these will be explored below.
In a Democracy, ultimate power is derived from those
being governed and, in the ideal setting, the direction of a country should be
determined by the majority. However, the outcome of democratic rule is highly
dependent on the system under which democracy functions. Herein lies one of the
most important features that underlie the root of 'democratic failure' in young
democracies. Many of these countries operate under a Parliamentary System in which there is insufficient limits placed
on Executive Power and overreach. Hence, it is no coincidence that many despots
arise from Democracies, in which the lack of check and balances or failure to
execute those that are constitutionally available, renders these countries
vulnerable to abuse of power. The first step to protecting democracy is for the
people to ensure that, at all cost,
the Executive Body obeys the constitution and laws of their country.
Laws should never be changed just because the Executive
thinks such laws are inconvenient. For
example, in Dominica a key control on misbehavior in public office, the Integrity
in Public Office Act, was gutted and replaced by a useless Act that protects
the crookedness of the current regime. The Prime Minister, President and
several cabinet figures were investigated by the IPO commission. Indeed, the
President was taken to the court for failure to file his declaration with the
IPO. The court claimed that those challenges could wait till his term expires;
in other words, the President is above the law. In the interim, the Labor Party
Administration used their majority to change the IPO Act. All existing investigations were nullified
allowing the President (Charles Savarin) and Prime Minister (Roosevelt Skerrit)
to breathe a 'sigh of relief'.
Failure of the
Courts
This brings us to the second, important feature of a failing
Democratic System, failure of the Court to rein
in Executive Power. In this regard, we have seen this in Dominica. Members of
the current executive have been challenged in the courts for varied reasons
including eligibility to run for office in parliamentary election, legitimacy
of the former President given the way he was appointed and, 'Treating' during 2014
Parliamentary Elections. Unfortunately,
in the first 2 instances, the Eastern Caribbean Court failed the people.
Roosevelt Skerrit who had dual French and Dominican Citizenship at the time of
his nomination and was ineligible to run in 2009 election was allowed remain in
office despite violating the law and constitution on citizenship requirement
for eligibility to stand for elections.
In another instance, the 7th President (Eliud
Williams) was allowed to continue as President despite the manner in which he
was nominated and eventually elected. Disappointingly, the appeal was heard
after the President had already left office. Due to blatant failure of a
gutless Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, citing the courts lack of jurisdiction
in 'meddling in the matter of election of a President', the Labor
Administration had cover to circumvent constitutionally mandated procedures in
the nomination of Dominica's 8th and current President (Charles Savarin).
With respect to the matter of 'Treating' during the 2014
General Elections in Dominica, the court appears to be sitting on its hands as
if waiting for a 'signal'. Interestingly,
the current Administration is attempting to introduce a Bill aimed at legitimizing
'Cheating and Treating' during elections so that the current case will be nullified.
In order words, this blatant abuse of power coupled with a weak Court
System promotes constant erosion of Democracy. The lesson from these scenarios
seems to be that local and regional courts have been corrupted by structural
factors, that is, the dependence of Judges on the Ruling Administration and the
chumminess between the courts and legal representatives of the Executive. Remedies are needed to address this weakness
and mitigate the slide to democratic oblivion.
Creation of Poverty
and Dependency
Another key factor that supports democratic decay is existence of widespread poverty or creation
of such where it did not previously exist. This renders segments of the
population dependent on government and, any pittance received from government becomes
an improvement in their lives and well being. Zimbabwe is a leading example of
this unfortunate situation. In the case
of Dominica, we are currently witnessing this phenomenon where swaths of the
population are becoming increasingly dependent on central government for
housing, school supplies, groceries and many other daily needs. The Executive
in turn has gained increasing influence over those receiving these handouts and
view any effort to challenge this mismanagement of public finance as an affront
to poor people. With this newly expanded Executive Power, the tendency is to do as they please! What happened? Most Dominicans were previously capable of taking
care of their day-to-day needs. Over the past 15 years or so, the Labor Party
Administration has destroyed the environment that permits independent existence and, actively
promoted dependence on central government, with such vehicles as the 'Red
Clinic', Ministry of Constituency Empowerment, 'Yes We Care' Senior Support
Program and Small Business Initiatives. Rather than creating an environment to
foster independence, the Labor Party Administration has aggressively pursued a
policy that promotes dependency to maintain political power. Persons who are dependent on handouts from a Ruling Political Party are less likely to challenge their violations of the Law and, in fact, are apt to support and defend this misbehavior. This approach worked
for a period in Venezuela but, as we now know, it is not sustainable. It will
eventually disintegrate under its own weight.
Progression to
Unconstrained Executive Power
The above factors all contribute to the establishment of
an Unconstrained Governing Executive that functions without consideration for
the will of the governed. Without appropriate scrutiny and counterbalance,
Dominica is headed in the direction of a failing Democracy. Those versed in the
running of government, the laws and constitution of Dominica must endeavor to
educate the populace so that informed decisions can be made about the direction
of their country. Likewise, informed refusal to accept the Current Administration's
efforts to manipulate the country's Electoral Laws and violate Dominica’s
constitution for political advantage is critical. If these breaches are allowed
to continue, in contravention of the country's Laws and Constitution, Dominica
will be at risk for deterioration into a democratic mess.
Remedies
Constitutional constraints on Executives power exist for
a reason - to protect the governed from the tyranny of the Executive. Degradation
of these constraints is an obligate step to democratic demise and development
of dictatorship. The erosion of Democracy in Dominica is not unique. This is an ongoing problem in several countries
including Zimbabwe, Burundi and Venezuela, just to name a few. Some of these countries maintain the outward
appearance of a democracy through elections. However, they lack the
institutions that enable the functioning of a Democracy. In Dominica, even though some of these
institutions still exist, they are almost dysfunctional. For instance, the IPO has
been gutted while efforts are on the way to erode others. The Courts should
serve as a check but have allowed themselves to be dominated by the Executive,
who are hell-bent on changing the Country’s laws like the bye laws of a Boys
Scout Organization.
The electoral process and elections serve as a firewall
between Democracy and Tyranny. It allows the populace to throw out bad administrations
with their vote. So, it is imperative
that those with the energy and capacity continue to resist the governing Labor
Party Administration’s efforts to dismantle this protection. Should these efforts to erode
choice succeed, voting will no longer matter. The
people will not have the ability to vote for the government they want. Some
constituents may feel that they are left with no other choice but to resort to
drastic measures, as we witnessed in Burkina Faso in 2014, when attempts were
made by the Parliament to permit President Compaore to stand for
re-election in contravention of the country's constitutionally mandated
term-limits. Dominicans
can avoid this desperation and, ensuing destruction, by taking steps to resist
this Labor Administration attempts to change Electoral Laws for the purpose of remaining
in power for life. Remember the simple saying: 'Opportunity lost can never be regained'.
