By Chido Onumah

"While much is made of American egalitarianism, the record of this country’s democracy is a spotty one…getting those who revel in the successes of this nation to acknowledge these and other serious shortcomings is no easy task".- DeWayne Wickham.

Imagine what would have happened if the Mickey-Mouse election that took place November 7 in the United States had taken place in Eastern Europe, Russian or even Africa. Difficult to imagine? Well, I can tell you what would have happened. The US would have rolled out its sanctimonious propaganda machine and condemned the evil dictator in place for obstructing democracy, that is, if it doesn’t threaten to launch its war machines to defend democracy and protect the right of the people. The US media, governmental and non-governmental organisations, election monitors and observers of every stripe would have swarmed the country in question to give unsolicited advice and pass hasty and often misguided judgement.

But in the last two weeks, the world has been treated to a daily dose of comedy as it waits for his ‘fraudulency’, the next president of the United States of America. What haven’t we heard since November 7:

‘butterfly ballot’, ‘hanging chads’, ‘dimpled chads’, ‘swinging door chads’, ‘pregnant chads’. One voter in Florida described the ballot he was given as a crossword puzzle. Imagine having to play a crossword puzzle to elect your president!

Thousands of votes have been thrown out because voters voted for more than one presidential candidate or no candidate at all. Some voters even claim they wanted to vote Al Gore, but because they were so confused they ended up voting for Pat Buchanan, the rabid right-wing conservative. Some overseas military ballots have been rejected because of irregularities. Here is a country with the latest technology, a country that, supposedly, has 200 years of electoral experience. If this is happening now, you can imagine what took place forty or even a hundred years ago.

There has always been talk of electoral irregularities in the USA, but because the system is presumed to be the best, nobody dared take up the matter. Now the chicks have come home to roost. Writing in the ‘Washington Post’ a week before the election, Martin Kettle in his ‘Washington Diary’ remarked that if the 2000 election is even half as dirty as its predecessor, then it will be one of the most corrupt of the modern era". Events have proved how prescient these words were.

Both the Democratic and Republican Parties have conspired to foist themselves on Americans. Even the chance to participate in presidential debates to afford Americans an alternative view is denied. Accusations of malpractice and plans to steal the election have been bandied around in Florida. Senator-elect, Corzine, spends 65 million dollars for a senatorial seat in New Jersey. There are hundreds of thousands of ex-convicts, mostly blacks, in Florida who can’t vote because Florida laws do not recognise their right to vote. I hear in New Mexico you can play one hand of poker to break an electoral tie. Are we outraged? Of course not. We are only witnessing another phase of the fraud that has gone on for 200 years under the guise of freedom and democracy.

Part of the reason for the so-called butterfly ballot in Florida, we are told, is lack of fund. Yet America wastes billions of dollars maintaining forces around the world. It spends billions of dollars fighting senseless wars around the world in the name of democracy. Indeed, people in Cuba, Vietnam, Nicaragua, Grenada and other places around the world where the US has had to intervene to enthrone democracy should demand reparations.

My American friends are stunned that the world is taking undue interest in what is happening in their country. All you hear is that our democracy is resilient; there is no crisis; our democracy will emerge stronger. It is interesting that Americans don’t want interference in their internal affairs. Americans like to humour themselves about their country being the greatest thing to happen to humankind since creation. So when things go wrong in other parts of the world there is a crisis and it warrants American intervention, but if it happens in the US, it is part of the learning process. If after 200 years of experimenting with their brand of democracy, Americans are still talking about learning, then there is something inherently wrong with the system.

Nobody knows when or how the electoral charade in Florida will end, whether it will be decided by the Florida Supreme Court, the US Supreme Court or Catherine the Great, Florida Secretary of State, election arbiter and co-chair of Bush’s campaign in Florida. I am still not sure what role she was expected to play: as co-chair of Bush’s campaign in Florida, help him win the state or as Secretary of State, ensure that the election in Florida was conducted in a free and fair atmosphere?

The US is quick to make judgements and award marks on elections. Well, it has scored zero here. And whoever emerges as president, whether it is bumbling George or sleazy Al, the world should collectively condemn the sham that took place on November 7. And considering the fact the US is one country that has the potential of threatening world peace, the world should be concerned about how the Florida fiasco is resolved.