The West judges Zimbabwe elections differently from others and that may not be a bad thing

Kenya

After disputed elections in 2017, police shot and killed dozens during opposition protests. The independent Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, in a report on the violence, said 92 had been killed, and dozens others sexually assaulted. Human Rights Watch said police killed up to 67 people.

“Victims and witnesses told researchers that as protesters ran away, police pursued them, kicking down doors and chasing people down alleyways, shooting and beating many to death,” the report says.

As for the first election itself, a court ruled that there had been errors in vote tally transmission, ordering a fresh run, which was boycotted by the opposition. The interference was brazen; the man in charge of IT for Kenya’s elections body was abducted and murdered.

According to the EU, “the Kenyan people, including five million young people able to vote for the first time, did not fully enjoy their democratic rights as legally foreseen for all Kenyans”.

All this did not stop the US’ Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade Gil Kaplan, to lead a delegation of 60 American business executives to Nairobi in June, where they signed $100 million worth of deals. Uhuru Kenyatta was still welcomed at White House this August.

Where businesses see the chance of profit, something Zimbabwe’s small population and its forex mess does not guarantee, and where Kenya is a US ally in the geopolitics of the Middle East and the Horn of Africa, then the standard of fair elections is lowered. Zimbabwe offers neither guaranteed profits nor a role in US security interests.

Angola

Angola held elections in August 2017, with no observers from EU and much of the West. The government simply refused to allow the observers access to all parts of the country, so the EU decided not to send observers.

When the EU demanded that its observers be allowed to go to all parts of the country unrestricted, as one expects observers to, Angola’s foreign affairs minister declared: “This is Africa. We do not expect anyone to impose on us their means of observing elections or to give lectures.”

And that was that. Angola didn’t bend over backwards for EU observers as Zimbabwe did.

With its banks facing crisis due to bad loans and the country suffering forex shortages, caused by weaker oil prices, Angola in August said it needed an IMF bailout. On December 8, the IMF announced a $3.7 billion credit facility for Angola and immediately disbursed $990 million.

Angola’s public-debt-to-GDP ratio is 80%. They too owe many people money.

Since he took over power from Eduardo dos Santos, President João Lourenço has dismantled the control his predecessor’s family had over the country’s oil and finances. The IMF is especially pleased with “JLo’s” reforms; just like in Zimbabwe, he has raised taxes – he introduced a new VAT – and eliminated subsidies.

And, just like in Zimbabwe, Lourenço has shut down informal markets and moved to tax informal trade, which accounts for up to 90% of Angola’s fiscal system. This December, IMF head Christine Legarde is to visit Luanda. Oil does wonders for relations.

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