How healthy is Democracy in the Commonwealth?/Combien la democratie est-elle solide au sein du Commonwealth?

• Author: Debono, Andrew Galea

Today, 13 March, we once again celebrate Commonwealth Day with this year's theme being Health and Vitality'. Whilst many things can be said about both health and vitality, another important question springs to mind: 'How healthy is democracy in Commonwealth countries?' Four months after the last Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Malta, the answer to this question arguably varies from country to country--but overall the answer is not as positive as it should be.

Many countries are still in the same dire situation, whilst others are actually in a worse state than before. Amongst the concerns which trigger the above question is the fact that the health of democracy seems to be faltering not only in countries which have in the past struggled with the notion of democracy, but even in countries with a strong tradition of democracy such as the United Kingdom and Australia.

In all fairness, not all has been negative. For example, Swaziland's long awaited new constitution has finally come into force--thanks to the intervention of the Commonwealth. Despite the fact that this constitution has been criticised by civil society groups for not being as strong as it could have been, it must be acknowledged that this is nevertheless a small but positive step forward for the country.

But for every semi-successful story are many far less positive ones. One of the countries of major concern is Uganda, the host country for the next CHOGM, which will be held in 2007. The run up to the first multi-party elections in over twenty years has been marred by acts of intimidation against members of the opposition and the voting public. The most serious incidents have been the arrest of the opposition leader, Dr. K. Besigye, and the fact that hundreds of voters were allegedly not allowed to vote in the elections.

In terms of democracy and human rights, the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) is the most effective (but often underused) mechanism at the disposal of the Commonwealth. Pakistan is the only country on its agenda and is being kept under close observation. The progress made in the country has been very slow and many question whether the move from a regime government to a democratic government really is genuinely taking place. Yet Pakistan is not the only country where the principles of democracy are not being respected and perhaps it is time that a few more countries end up on CMAG agenda.

One country that might easily be on its agenda is the Maldives. The Maldivian President has promised democratic political reforms for his country. Over the past year, for instance, opposition parties have finally been allowed to register, and a multi-party election has been promised. These are positive...