‘There is no point of being a legitimate president these days’

Editor, This is in reference to Sunny Ntayombya’s opinion, “There is no point of being a legitimate president these days – Lessons from Syria and Turkey”, published in The New Times yesterday. The author wrote, “The problem is, he [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan] is only doing what the people want. Since 2003, his party has won the general election three times with increasing majorities. What the government is facing is NOT a manifestation of democracy, but rather a sneaky coup d’état. ‘‘His opposition, hitherto unable to beat him in a free and fair election, is now using underhand methods to nullify the wishes of the people who voted for him”. I disagree with Sunny. An elected government could take any decision because it has the legitimacy of the voters. But what if the decision is wrong? What if this decision was not mentioned in the party’s programme? What if the decision has been made without any consultation? It is not because you vote for one party that you give it all the right! That’s chèque en blanc, as the French say. Phileas, NairobiKenya ********************************** You’re very right Sunny. Powerful countries don’t like democracy, but only their interests. Dictatorial regimes which protect their interests are their friends. Democratic regimes that don’t care for their interests are their enemies. About arming rebels in Syria, I don’t think the West is stupid. They know more than all that a large number of rebels are Al-Qaeda sympathisers. They know that after Assad, Syria will become a nation of insecurity and violence like Afghanistan, Iraq... And such situation will serve as a well-justified pretext to intervene militarily and to access easily the nation’s wealth what they can’t do currently because Assad regime doesn’t allow them to. That’s how I see things, and I totally agree with you. Ukuri Kuzima, KigaliRwanda ********************************** This has happened for decades, do you remember FIS (Islamic Salvation Front) in Algeria? They democratically won elections in a landslide but the West refused that power be handed to them. The issue now is: they want elections and should determine the winner and when he or she does not suit them anymore, all means are good to remove him or her. In a recent interview, President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe said: They praise you when you please them. Manzi, LondonUnited Kingdom

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‘There is no point of being a legitimate president these days’