By Saikujohn Barrie
The election of Zohran Mamdani as Mayor of New York must teach African leaders and African electorates that real democracy is all about giving citizens the free will to choose their leaders and representatives—without coercion or other dubious means.
Mamdani, born in Uganda and now a naturalized U.S. citizen, has defied all obstacles and broken through ceilings to become mayor.
Despite his background as an African and Muslim who holds strong views against what Israel is doing in Palestine, he was allowed to freely campaign and sell his ideas to the electorate in New York City.
His fantastic and progressive ideas enabled him to smash and crush the political establishment, defeating the political heavyweight and influential Andrew Cuomo, who had been in politics for decades.
Those Africans who always say “democracy has not worked for us” must ask themselves whether we are practicing the kind of democracy that is being practiced around the world—where democracy is thriving.
I think if Zohran Mamdani had vied for this position in most African countries, even in his home country Uganda, he would not have succeeded—because in most African countries, they don’t practice the kind of democracy where the will and aspirations of voters prevail.
Take for example: Donald Trump openly voiced his opposition to Mamdani and even threatened to withhold federal funds. Yet the voters’ wish and their decision to choose the 34-year-old were respected.
Had it been in most countries in Africa, Mamdani would have been disqualified from contesting, or even jailed—just to prevent him from running.
If it were in most African countries, when the president openly opposed him, police would not allow him to attend rallies, let alone address his supporters.
In fact, many lives would have been lost during his campaigns, or many of his supporters would have been brutally beaten and even killed.
Yet in the U.S., everything went relatively smoothly—without police taking orders from above to stifle the young man.
Had it been in Africa, Zohran Mamdani would have been told he is a foreigner, or that his parents were not citizens of the country—and all sorts of rubbish.
He would have been told that his parents or ancestors came from another country, that they were not citizens.
But in the U.S., we see how the system allowed the electorate to choose him because they believed he could deliver. They chose competence over parochial narrativism.
This is the kind of democracy every civilized nation is supposed to practice.
As I expressed in my previous article, democracy is about respecting human rights and allowing the general populace to choose their leaders at the ballot box—without coercion or suppression.
But Africans can’t twist democracy and then turn around saying “democracy doesn’t work for Africa.”
I believe the rights of all human beings should be respected—regardless of race, creed, or origin.
In a country where real democracy is practiced, candidates have the free space to sell their ideas and policies to the electorate.
But in countries where fake and masked democracy is practiced, candidates rely on tribalism, regionalism, and instill fear in the electorate to get elected.
Mamdani was never arrested by the police. His supporters were never beaten or stopped from attending his rallies.
And above all, the result of the election reflected the votes.
In other countries—mostly in Africa—the majority will vote, yet the results will not reflect the votes the majority cast instead the results will reflect the votes of minority and the crooks.
In fact,in some of our countries,Presidential Elections results would be officially announced while votes are still being counted.
And yet we say democracy doesn’t work in Africa?
But who do you think will make democracy work?
If Donald Trump could not stop New Yorkers from voting for Zohran Mamdani, why should anyone influence Africans to vote for somebody they don’t want?
I can’t ignore the fact that most African electorates in many African countries cannot reason well like Western voters—due to extreme poverty, lack of integrity, tribalism, and regionalism, added to the insatiable politicians who always manipulate the electorates.
So, it is high time the electorates in Africa stood up to defend their choices and votes during elections.
It is high time African security forces—both police, military, and other organs—stopped taking orders from above and put their countries’ interests above all other interests.
Security forces, especially the police and military, have a great role to play in promoting real democracy and human rights in Africa.
Let Africans see for themselves how one of their sons, Zohran Mamdani, enjoyed in the United States what the African political establishments would hardly allow to happen freely in many of our countries.
However, we as Africans can only overcome the moral and political decadence when we reprogram and reset our backward mentalities.
I rest my case.
