If democracy is the answer, what is the question?
When democratic practice reduces itself to a periodic, often chaotic, electoral event devoid of accountable delivery, it becomes an empty ritual. It provides the answer (a chosen government) to a question (who shall rule?).
A profound paradox defines our political age. Across Africa and the globe, democracy is proclaimed as the universal solution, the triumphant “answer” to humanity’s governance dilemmas.
Yet, as we witness its struggles, from resurgent coups in the Sahel to voter apathy in established systems, we must pause and interrogate the premise itself. If democracy is the answer, what, precisely, is the question it seeks to address?
The unspoken, often assumed, question is: “How can we govern ourselves in a way that legitimises power, protects the people from tyranny, and ensures peaceful transitions?”
Democracy, in its ideal form, responds with mechanisms of popular consent, constitutional checks and balances, and the sacred ritual of the vote. It answers the quest for political voice.
However, when this elegant answer is applied to the complex, pressing questions facing African societies today, it often falls short, not because of a failure of the people, but because of a misalignment of the formula.
The foundational questions on the streets of Lagos, the farms of Malawi, and the mining communities of the Copperbelt are more immediate. They ask: “How do we secure dignity, justice, and tangible improvement in our daily lives?”
Citizens are not merely seeking a ballot; they are seeking a better life, quality education, healthcare, employment, and infrastructure.
Who shall rule
When democratic practice reduces itself to a periodic, often chaotic, electoral event devoid of accountable delivery, it becomes an empty ritual. It provides the answer (a chosen government) to a question (who shall rule?) that many citizens are no longer prioritising.
Their primary question has shifted to “what can governance deliver for me and my community?” This disconnect fuels disillusionment.
We saw this in the low turnout and contested outcomes in some of our recent polls in Africa, where the victor’s legitimacy was instantly questioned not just by opponents, but by a weary electorate.
Consider the examples that challenge a monolithic view. Ghana is hailed as a democratic beacon for its peaceful transfers of power, a vital achievement. Yet, its youth still protest unemployment and economic hardship.
Conversely, Rwanda has delivered remarkable stability and developmental results, addressing the question of security and progress through a system that analysts often deem less democratic by liberal benchmarks.
This is not to advocate for any single model, but to illustrate that if the core question is “development and effective governance,” societies may experiment with, or even tolerate, different blends of authority and participation.
The resurgence of military interventions in West Africa is a violent symptom of this misalignment. Military juntas often exploit a vacuum created when democratic governments are perceived as failing to answer the people’s fundamental questions of security, equity, and economic hope.
Re-contextualise democracy
Therefore, the task for proponents of democracy in Africa is not to blindly defend an imported answer, but to re-contextualise democracy as the living framework best suited to answering our continent’s most vital, multi-layered questions. It must prove its worth daily. This requires moving beyond electoral democracy to a developmental democracy.
A system where:
1. Accountability is continuous, not quadrennial. Parliaments, the media, and an active citizenry must hold executives to account on service delivery between elections.
2. Institutions are stronger than personalities. Independent judiciaries, anti-corruption bodies, and professional civil services are the bedrock that ensures the state answers to the rule of law, not the law of rulers.
3. Economic inclusion is a democratic imperative. Democracy must demonstrably create pathways for shared prosperity, managing natural resources for the many, not the few. Botswana’s prudent use of diamond wealth through democratic accountability offers a key lesson.
4. It embraces our communal fabric. Our democratic models should formally integrate aspects of consensus-building and traditional community dialogue, like Uganda’s Barazas or Zambia’s community Insaka, to complement adversarial politics.
Democracy, ultimately, must be the answer to the most comprehensive question: “How do we build societies where power is exercised with legitimacy, accountability, and a relentless focus on improving the welfare of all citizens?
”For it to survive and thrive, it must deliver tangible dividends in dignity and development. Otherwise, we are left with a perfect answer, searching desperately for the right question.
Our mission is to ensure African democracy answers the ones that matter most to our people. The future of our continent depends on it.
The author, Kennedy Chileshe, Is the Executive Director, of Jubilee Leaders Network, Zambia
Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect the opinions, viewpoints and editorial policies of TRT Afrika