After presenting his nomination papers to the electoral
commission last week, President Paul Kagame and RPF presidential
candidate held a press conference in which he castigated officials who
harass and intimidate other aspiring presidential candidates.
Kagame
was categorical: “It is wrong for any presidential candidate or
supporter to be harassed.” He added: “I say this as a candidate, as a
president and as a person.”
With this, the president then called for holding accountable all those who engage in this illegality. That’s as it should be.
All presidential candidates deserve the right to sell their candidacy, ideas and programmes freely without undue interference.
Allowing
presidential candidates to campaign freely should be the rule observed
by all not only because it’s legal, but also because it’s partly through
doing this that we can cultivate a democratic culture where written
laws are actually respected in deeds.
This is also
partly how the rule of law is entrenched and differing political
programmes tolerated with only the citizenry reserving the right to vote
for the best.
And the responsibility to uphold rule of law doesn’t reside only
with politicians and their competing political parties but also with
certain institutions and informed citizenry.
To
elucidate, there is a widely held view, which is wrong, that if there is
abuse of laws or disrespect for the rule of law, the culprit is the
political party in government and its politicians with the solution
residing with the opposition.
However, while it’s true
that some politicians in government may undermine the rule of law say by
harassing opponents, opposition politicians too can undermine
democratic rule either by making baseless claims or inciting the public
or acting contrary to the law.
For politicians to live
within the law, they need to not only make respect for laws an objective
but they also need institutions that can restrain them in case they
diverge.
In order words, for the party in government
and opposition parties to advance the rule of law, they need not only
incentives but also disincentives.
And since all our
politicians are born and socialised in the same institutions —homes, the
church, schools and localities — they can behave differently if they
are forced to by institutions set up to do that.
This
means that as we go into elections, this is the time for institutions
such as the electoral commission, the police, local government, the
judiciary and the media to play their part to ensure that the exercise
dignifies our existence.
For the electoral commission,
this is the time to up its game and only work in national interest by
making sure that the election is not only competently organized but also
free, fair and transparent.
For the media, this is the
time to scrutinize utterances of all candidates and their supporters,
analyse their proposals, beliefs, and conduct while refusing to be
intimidated or biased in favour of this or that candidate.
This
also means dissecting and exposing tendencies of undemocratic behaviour
or actions from all sides; helping voters to discern who, if elected,
is more likely to uphold rule of law.
It’s also the time for the media not to take any claims of bias or intimidation or harassment by any candidate or their supporters at face value but to verify all claims and only report verifiable truth.
It’s also the time for the media not to take any claims of bias or intimidation or harassment by any candidate or their supporters at face value but to verify all claims and only report verifiable truth.
It’s through
unbiased intermediaries that citizens can be assisted to take informed
decisions when time comes to cast their ballot on August 4.
And,
of course, it’s time for every citizen to be alert and set aside time
to listen to all candidates with the view to comparing who among the
aspirants best represents their aspirations and is therefore worth their
trust.
And citizens should not only desist from
standing in the way of candidates even if they disagree with them but
should also be vigilant and report to the police anyone who breaks the
law.
And this is also the time for the police and all
law enforcement organs to be neutral and keep the peace without fear or
favour; with the judiciary adequately preparing in case of any petitions
arising from the polls.
Christopher Kayumba, PhD.
Senior Lecturer, School of Journalism and Communication, UR; Lead
consultant, MGC Consult International Ltd. E-mail: ckayumba@yahoo.com; twitter account: @Ckayumba Website:www.mgcconsult.com
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