Elections are great to observe. Right now both Russia and the Democratic Republic of Congo are in the process of elections. Both have their issues with demonstrations and opposition parties. One main difference though is the level of violence.
Russia will have a peaceful election compared to the DRC election. Public opinion in both countries wavers yet at the base of this is the need for peaceful demonstration. Even though both countries are mentioned the circumstances in each are vastly different.
Russia is going through a process of economic change. During the 90’s the economic environment swung wildly too far too fast. This swing created a gangster economy that undermined the dreams of the leaders that began the economic change. Today Putin must manage the history of Russia with the reality of today’s Russia. This management is the largest issue that faces Russia today.
In the DRC the largest issue is violence. Political leaders are actively inciting violence, people are dying in demonstrations. The electoral process in both countries are being called into question. For what it is worth I cannot think of any election that has not been called into question, even in Canada there are some that believe the electoral process is unfair and needs to be changed.
Both of these countries will be fun to watch as the election process continues.
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