ORIGINS

22 OPENSPACE NOVEMBER 2014

Origins

The African diaspora and the electoral process: what has changed?Building a collective sense of national identity

Francis Laloupo

It is common knowledge that most African

countries reached a major turning point in

their contemporary histories in the early

1990s, when they broke away from monolithic

political systems and set the democratisation

process in motion. In addition to its inestimable

historic significance, this event has spurred the

implementation of a far-reaching institutional

programme aimed at enabling the countries

concerned to meet one of the greatest

challenges inherent in the building of a Nation-

State: including all sectors of the citizenry in

the building of a new living space - a space

shared by all and founded on the broadest

consensus. This paradigm leads to responsible

participation by all citizens in decision-making,

so that each one has an equal stake in their

collective destiny.

democracy is then considered, as in Benin, a

part of the “national heritage”.

The citizen is both the author and joint

manager of a new national narrative and, in

extenso, a new pan-African narrative. In this

regard, the participation of citizens living

outside their country in this restructuring of

African political societies can be seen as one

of the building blocks of the African narrative,

which is furthermore entirely new. For nearly

a quarter of a century, the African diaspora

has taken a growing role in consolidating the

democratisation process through electoral

participation.

Africans abroad, who live in various

countries in Africa, Europe and North

America, have gradually become direct

participants in political events in their home

countries, although it should be noted that only

some thirty African countries grant the right to

vote to their nationals abroad, out of a total of

115 countries that apply the principle around

the world. Furthermore, the necessary prereq-

uisites have yet to be fulfilled to ensure the par-

ticipation of Africans living abroad in every type

of election, because in most of the countries

concerned, the right to vote only applies to presi-

dential elections. The extension of the vote to

all national elections is the subject of ongoing

controversy in some countries. The political

movements that advocate extension regularly

oppose those that consider the right to vote in

presidential elections – viewed as the “mother”

of universal suffrage – to be enough of a conces-

sion to Africans abroad. It should be noted that

such debates are usually circumscribed within

the political scene inside the countries. Indeed,

the issue is not even central to the concerns of

the people most affected. However, it remains

a part of the “democratic project”, although

potential solutions often come up against a

major obstacle: how to fund the organisation

of all national elections in the diaspora’s multiple

countries of residence. It remains, however,

that voting rights for Africans living abroad

now seems to be an established practice, and

it has already brought about profound changes

in the relationship between the Africans of the

diaspora and their home country.

Over the years, African communities

originating from Mali, Senegal, Benin, Algeria,

Namibia and Mozambique, among others,

granted the opportunity to vote from their new

home during election, have reinvented their ties

The citizen is both the author and joint manager of a new national narrative and, in extenso, a new pan-African narrative.

THE AFRICAN dIASPORA ANd THE ElECTORAl PROCESS: WHAT HAS CHANGEd? OSIWA.ORG

OPENSPACE NOVEMBER 2014 23

with their countries of origin. In addition to its

symbolic value, the vote, as a fundamental ex-

pression of democracy, has become a means

of reaffirming and reinforcing citizenship. This

major change has brought about a feeling of

greater closeness to their “native land”. By

making emigrant citizens permanent stake-

holders in the ongoing history of their country,

the right to vote has demolished a significant

portion of the psychological barrier that used

to exist between them and their homeland.

Over the years, in addition to accessing this

right, certain members of the diaspora have

also chosen to create new tools for mobilisa-

tion and involvement in order to amplify their

contribution to politics, the economy and society

across the continent. Associations, brainstorm-

ing clubs and non-governmental organisations

(NGOs) have been created in numerous host

countries with a view to increasing participa-

tion in the electoral process in Africa. These

members of the diaspora have become more

than just voters living abroad: through these

initiatives and organisations they have become

opinion leaders, and educators who dissemi-

nate information on institutional mechanisms

and citizens’ participation… in short, genuinely

engaged stakeholders, promoting democracy.

Another essential element, which even takes

precedence over the electoral issue, is the

growing economic weight of members of the

diaspora in African economies.

Over the last two decades, the granting of

the African Diaspora’s right to vote has me-

chanically stimulated their commitment to

democracy-building. At the same time, this

“revolution” has laid down the foundations

for a new citizen’s representation, sustained

notably by the idea, diversely promoted by

the diaspora, of a “different management” of

political power in African countries… The strong

involvement of members of the diaspora in

building a “new polity” has been ratified, in-

stitutionalised and, so to say, “legitimised”

by the creation of ad hoc ministries, and also

by setting up systems designed to represent

expatriate citizens in national parliaments

in a growing number of African countries.

Institutionalisation of concrete participation

by the African diaspora in the political life of

their country through voting has led, in recent

years, to the emergence of a geopolitical space

that stretches far beyond national borders. This

situation has made it possible to progressively

take account of the opinions of the diaspora in

national political debate. Election campaigns

are now conducted not only with the voters at

home in mind, but also with a focus on emigrants

in their host countries. Today, thanks to new

information and communications technologies,

the political debate transcends national borders.

Thus, the opinions of the diaspora become part

of the various events of national life in real time.

In return, national political actors have adapted

their communications to the new situation.

Furthermore, it should be pointed out that this

new configuration of universal suffrage makes

it possible to evaluate, in their great diversity,

the sociologies of African communities living

outside their home countries. This, in turn,

promotes a better grasp of the wide spectrum

of political and ideological sensibilities and

positions characterising Africans living abroad.

The spectrum notably includes Africans with

dual citizenship, who feel that the right to vote

granted by their country of origin acts as a sort of

re-legitimisation of their initial nationality, while

confirming, as an added value, their belonging

to their host community…

However, in many countries, electoral

participation by voters from the diaspora is

still extremely controversial. For example, in

Guinea Conakry, the opposition’s call for the

right of expatriate citizens to vote in legislative

elections, has been one of the subjects that has

fed the political crisis faced by the country for

the last several years… The question became

even more interesting in light of the fact that,

in 2013, for the first time in its history, Guinea

Election campaigns

are now conducted not only with the

voters at home in mind, but also

with a focus on emigrants in their

host countries.

ORIGINS

24 OPENSPACE NOVEMBER 2014

organised democratic legislative elections under

universal suffrage. In early June 2013, after long

months of tension and political violence, the

Guinean authorities, encouraged by a college

of international facilitators, finally acquiesced

to the opposition’s demand to grant the vote to

Guineans living abroad. Thus, for the first time

in the history of the country, some 123,000

voters registered in 18 different embassies and

consulates were able to participate in the legisla-

tive election in late September 2013. And what

happened, in substance? Whereas the opposi-

tion had made the right to vote for citizens living

abroad one of the conditions for its participa-

tion in the election, the authorities resisted the

idea for some time, based on legal arguments.

According to the authorities, in addition to legal

and even constitutional arguments, the political

crisis prevailing in Guinea made it particularly

difficult to manage the administrative sphere

entrusted to the consular offices abroad. But it

should also be noted that, in a country marked by

ethnic divisions that have structured its political

space, in addition to their formal arguments, the

authorities, while they did not say so openly,

dreaded an uncontrollable reproduction of

“ethnic” reflexes in the vote. Their fear was

justified, since, contrary to common belief, con-

siderations underlying the vote on the national

territory are often reproduced, extended or

reflected among voters abroad. Because, while

many Africans abroad are permeated, over time,

by a “dual culture”, the great majority of them

prefer to maintain, or even exalt, their original

social references.

Although the diaspora’s vital contribu-

tion to the economy is constantly pointed

out, the subject of emigrant citizens’ right to

vote remains taboo in many places. Among

the common reasons given is the mistrust of

certain regimes towards African communities

living abroad, viewed as permanent hotbeds

of protest. Despite this apparent mistrust of

the diaspora, the issue is lately a central one

in political rivalries everywhere. While the

right to vote has become an inseparable part

of the democratisation process, it should not

be the proverbial tree hiding the forest of the

many abuses that have studded the construc-

tion of this new political space, after years of

single-party government. Although elections

alone are no guarantee of optimum quality

in a pluralistic system, the issue of elections

remains inseparable from the idea of progress

in the democratisation process. The participa-

tion of Africans abroad in the democratic life

of the country has been shown, over time, to

be an integral part of such progress. And yet,

it must be noted that many countries have

yet to successfully place themselves on what

was described in the 1990s as the “democratic

hall of virtue”. And obstacles to the process

have multiplied over the last decade in many

countries on the continent. How, then, can we

measure the impact of the diaspora’s actions

on the evolution of political situations in the

countries concerned? What was the specific,

even qualitative, contribution of these Africans

to the “era of democratic renewal”, thanks to

their background, the experience they have built

up abroad, their perspective, and the demands

they often express forcefully with regard to

African political arenas? In reality, although their

voices increasingly count in the concert of public

opinion, their influence remains relative, for a

number of reasons. Among these, we take note

of the fact that, despite the geographic distance,

the structure of political and ideological choices

and schemas of determination in relation to

political events do not differ fundamentally from

those observed in national contexts. In short,

people do not become radically different when

they live abroad. And, even taking account of the

THE AFRICAN dIASPORA ANd THE ElECTORAl PROCESS: WHAT HAS CHANGEd? OSIWA.ORG

OPENSPACE NOVEMBER 2014 25

imprint of the environment of their country of

residence, their identification with their original

sociological spectrums colours their political

opinions and choices.

Thus, members of the diaspora have been

seen engaging in competitions in their country

of origin and reproducing reflexes that seemed

to be the sole prerogative of “homeland politi-

cians”. Indeed, on returning to their native land,

some candidates for the office of Deputy who

are based in Europe choose to address only

members of their own ethnic group, or inhabit-

ants of their village whose soil they have not

trod for ages… Others, on the contrary, behave

like tourists, plying for the votes of the popula-

tion while ignoring their references and cultural

codes, countering them with references drawn

from their experience abroad. And, often for-

getting to take account of the time lag that

has grown up between them and their fellow

citizens at home, even those who have main-

tained close contacts with their home country

from abroad often run up against a wall of in-

comprehension and disillusionment. Political

actors “from home” hammer them with this

implacable sentence: “they have no idea the

realities on the ground…” Are Africans living

abroad who wish to get involved in politics in

their home countries taking the wrong tack?

Perhaps. In addition to returning to their home

countries, do they need a patient re-immersion

in local life before they can hope to make a more

efficient contribution to public life? Undoubt-

edly. The purpose of the right to vote is not

to turn all Africans living abroad into political

actors, but to strengthen citizens’ awareness

and their feeling of belonging to a collective

destiny. In this regard, rather than focusing

the spotlight on candidates for political office,

we should salute the numerous humanitarian

initiatives launched by Africans abroad who

discreetly make up for the failings of the State

in a great many areas. However, we should not

underestimate the growing impact of actions

of all kinds carried out by the diaspora in the

area of policy making. While the influence of

the “opinion of the diaspora” remains relative,

it is not secondary. It imperceptibly influences

political situations and decisions. Their opinion

is not intended to be essential, but it is a contri-

bution, confined as it is within its objective limits.

As can be seen, on the continent, as within the

diaspora, the democracy-building project is

subject to various ups and downs and multiple

adjustments. For nationals of countries where

the democratic project is having difficulty getting

off the ground, the right to vote is still a quest

whose outcome remains uncertain. However,

despite the obstacles and various forms of re-

sistance or even circumvention of the democra-

tisation process, one fact is irresistibly obvious:

the participation of all citizens in the construc-

tion of a new political space for the majority

has taken a place at the heart of the political

debate in the form of an unwavering demand in

the ongoing history of African nations.

Francis Laloupo Originally from

Benin, Francis is a journalist

and columnist -writer. He was a

producer and presenter at the radio

panafricaine Africa n°1 in Paris, where he

hosted for two years the magazine Debate,

a co-production between BBC and radio

panafricaine Africa n°1. Francis is the founder

of “Taxi Ville”, a news magazine on African

politics that launched in Benin in the 90s, and

was editor of both “Le Nouvel Afrique/Asie”

and “Continental” magazines from 2006 to

2010. Francis currently splits his time as a

columnist for TV5 Monde and a professor

of African Geopolitics at l’ecole superieure

de Commerce de Paris (ESSEC) where he

teaches international relations, African

geopolitics and international institutions at

the Institute of Journalism Practice - IPJ of

Paris Dauphine. Francis is also the author of

several books and essays, including “France-

Afrique, Breaking now?”(2013); research

director and author of “The African Union

views across the African media - Issues of

the Pan story” edited by GME for the African

Union Commission in 2013; author of “The

National Conference Benin, a new concept of

regime change “(In the African Year review

of the Study of Black Africa Centre of the

Institute of Political Studies in Bordeaux-

Talence, 1993).