Consensus building is the foundation of stability and inclusion

On Wednesday, the head of the Egyptian military, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, overthrew Mohammed Morsi in a bloodless coup declaring that the army had been called by the public to “protect the revolution”.First of all, Africa has moved on from the days of military-led governments. The African Union (AU) must be consistent in this affair. If it condemned the Mali coup d’etat, it must also do the same in this instance. Principles that have been agreed to by African heads of state must be adhered to. So, until a democratically elected government is installed, the AU must sanction this militarily installed one.While it is unfortunate that a democratically elected government has been overthrown, there are certain lessons that Africa can take from these sad events. Without a doubt Morsi won the popular vote in the 2012 election as the Moslem Brotherhood candidate. However, instead of reaching out to the losing side, he took a ‘winner-takes-all’ approach, making huge sections of the public feel disenfranchised and without a voice in the direction their country was going.Rwanda’s constitution states that our government must be consensus-based. This allows every political voice to be heard, ensuring that each and every single Rwandan sees themselves in their government. The consensus-based approach that Rwandans have embraced could have made the Egyptian army’s decision unnecessary. Perhaps this coup d’etat will give Egyptians an opportunity to try another kind of politics. One of inclusion and not exclusion.

Opinions

Consensus building is the foundation of stability and inclusion