Sunday, July 2, 2017

Rwandans must stand up and be counted

And the responsibility to uphold rule of law
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. FOTOSEARCH 
By CHRISTOPHER KAYUMBA
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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 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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