Namibian Democracy Consolidated?: Democracy Is More Than Free and Fair Elections

On the turn of Millennium President Martti Ahtisaari stated that Namibia is one of the leading democracies in Africa. Free and fair elections and continuous peace for more than ten years had international observers pleased of the status quo. More than 15 years into the independence, has Namibia been able to consolidate its democracy? Does it have institutions in place to continue democratic practices and are the voters still able to keep the government accountable? Lari Kangas investigates the current state of the three branches of government judicial, legislature and executive and draws conclusions whether they have been democratically consolidated. Other important institutions are also investigated, like various freedoms commonly enjoyed in democracy. Without freedom of speech for example, it becomes suspect whether elections can be fair. Both international and local comparisons are made. Kangas also discusses the correlation between economic development and democratic consolidation. Namibia has significantly increased the income gap between the rich and the poor since the apartheid regime.