Political foes unite in AV battle

18 April 2011 Last updated at 22:35 GMT The battle between the Yes and No to AV campaigns has become increasingly hard fought David Cameron and Ed Miliband have both joined forces with political opponents as the battle over the way Britain elects its MPs stepped up a gear.

Mr Cameron shared a platform with Labour former home secretary John Reid to make the case for keeping the current first-past-the-post system.

At a rival event, Labour leader Mr Miliband joined forces with Lib Dem Vince Cable to argue for a change.

Voters decide on 5 May whether to adopt the alternative vote system.

The battle between the Yes and No to AV campaigns has become increasingly bitter and hard-fought in recent weeks - as some polls suggest the result could be a close call.

'Poster boy'

It has spawned strange political alliances, with Mr Cameron and former home secretary Lord Reid - used to being on opposite sides of the Commons chamber during Labour's years in power - now swapping pleasantries on a joint platform.

Ed Miliband has also reached out across the party divide - but he faced questions about why he had chosen to share a platform with business secretary Vince Cable, after earlier refusing to campaign alongside Mr Cable's Lib Dem colleague Nick Clegg.

AV a 'self-interested outrage' say David Cameron and former Labour minister Lord Reid

He said: "I will share a platform with anybody I think can help us win a referendum.

"The No campaign want to make Nick Clegg the poster boy for this campaign, and what I'm saying is, 'Don't make this a referendum on David Cameron or Nick Clegg or Ed Miliband - make it a referendum about what kind of politics we want in this country.'"

Mr Miliband has said Mr Clegg's involvement would damage the vote-change campaign, but he urged his supporters not to vote against AV simply to "give Nick Clegg a kicking".

Mr Cable, who has found himself at odds with his Conservative coalition colleagues in recent days over immigration policy, denied that Mr Clegg was a "liability" to the campaign.

He said he "would like to see" Mr Miliband and Mr Clegg working together for a Yes vote - and insisted Mr Clegg would continue to lead the Lib Dems, with his support, if the Yes campaign failed.

Alternative vote 'fairer' say Labour leader Ed Miliband and Liberal Democrat Vince Cable

David Cameron, at his event, was also quizzed about attacks on Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg by the No campaign - in one campaign poster they warned the alternative vote would lead to "president Clegg".

Mr Cameron said he did not "condone any personal attacks" and his own Conservative No campaign literature did not feature any.

But Lord Reid seized on the spat between Mr Miliband and Mr Clegg, claiming that it was the Yes campaign's "biggest handicap".

"We are prepared to share platforms. I don't think the Yes campaign are, are they?" he added.

In his speech, Mr Cameron said that he and Lord Reid "don't agree on much" - except that the UK should keep its existing voting system.

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He wasn't there this morning. Not at the Yes or No event. Yet the shadow of Nick Clegg could be felt at today's battle of the political odd couples”

End Quote Nick Robinson BBC Political Editor Lord Reid said there were some issues so important that they "transcend party politics".

Mr Cameron said one of his biggest objections to the alternative-vote (AV) system was that it would result in more coalition governments, and despite the current one being necessary "at a time of national need", that would tend to reduce political accountability.

"I can absolutely put my hand on my heart and say in preparing our manifesto we really did go through every pledge and thought, 'We could be accountable for this. We aim to have, and believe we can have, a single party government so don't put anything in your manifesto you don't believe you can deliver,'" he said.

"If you move to a system where coalitions become the norm rather than the exception I think you might find politicians start being very casual about what they put in their manifesto because you can put in policies that you know you can get rid of as you form a coalition."

'A diversion'

In his speech, Ed Miliband said that while AV was not a panacea, he believed it would improve politics by making MPs reach out beyond their traditional support bases to achieve at least 50% of the vote in their constituencies.

He said it would also encourage MPs from different parties to "seek points of agreement" rather than focusing on "how much they loathe each other".

As well as Mr Cable, Mr Miliband was joined by Alan Johnson, who resigned as shadow chancellor earlier this year.

Afterwards, Mr Johnson told the BBC his party leader was "absolutely right" not to campaign alongside Mr Clegg.

Continue reading the main story

At the moment MPs are elected by the first-past-the-post system, where the candidate getting the most votes in a constituency is elected.

On 5 May all registered UK voters will be able to vote Yes or No on whether to change the way MPs are elected to the Alternative Vote system.

Under the Alternative Vote system, voters rank candidates in their constituency in order of preference.

Anyone getting more than 50% of first-preference votes is elected.

If no-one gets 50% of votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their backers' second choices allocated to those remaining.

This process continues until one candidate has at least 50% of all votes in that round.

"In a sense, Nick Clegg should be supporting the argument that he stays off the platform because we want to win as many people over as possible and Nick Clegg is becoming a diversion," he said.

But the deputy prime minister said he did not believe people would be swayed, when it came to voting, by which politicians shared platforms during the campaign.

"I get the sense that, finally over the last 24 hours, the argument is being had on its merits," he told the BBC. "I think, after the expenses scandal, people want to clean up politics..I believe, as does Ed Miliband and many other people, that it would be better to do that through the new AV system."

The Conservatives agreed to the referendum as part of the coalition deal, which also allows both parties to campaign on opposing sides - but have insisted that the coalition will continue whatever the result.

Labour is split over AV - Mr Miliband is campaigning to change the system but other senior Labour figures, including former deputy PM Lord Prescott, want to keep first-past-the-post.

Under the first-past-the-post system voters put a cross next to their preferred candidate while with AV voters rank candidates in order of preference.

These preferences could be used to decide the outcome in places where no candidate wins more than 50% of votes cast.

Research published on Monday suggested support for retaining first-past-the-post may be increasing. An ICM poll for the Guardian gave the No vote an 11-point lead over its rival, compared with a two-point deficit in February.

Among those who said they had definitely made up their mind, the No camp's lead was 16 points. But 23% of those canvassed said they had yet to make up their mind.

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7 Effective Ways to Read and Understand African Political News

Whether you are an African expatriate hoping to stay in touch with what is going on in your home country, a potential tourist hoping to do research on the best place to visit, a political student striving to understand the development in Africa, or simply well-wisher dedicated to unload of few bucks to chip in the aid for Africa, translating the information you read into valuable knowledge is an important task

Like any other continent, Africa offers a set of complex realities that can offer conflicting outcome for the party interested; moreover, accessing the information you need is not always evident between the information you look for, and the information you find.

Below is a short description of criteria to consider when reading or researching news on Africa. While the list is not exclusive, and can certainly be extended, I believe this initial guidepost may help. Feel free to add or consider additional helpful points.

1. Consider the source of the information

Africa is a very complex place, that combines many world and realities, the gap between the rich and the poor creates in many places two different societies whose world rarely collide. For that reason, news sources are often tailored to one group or the other.

Understanding the source of the information will help you assess the legitimacy of the information you have. For example, is it a local or foreign news source? Foreign sources often have greater access to political circles because the government is more concerned about the way it is portrayed to the outside world; however, foreign sources rarely give you the real pulse of the nation. If the source is local, consider the accreditation that is reflected by interviews or first hand accounts. In Africa, Official news is often given unofficially, while official news is a front. That means that those sources that have close access to the government are more likely to give credible news, compare to unaccredited sources to whom is given generic news. (More on it further down)

2. Try to capture the perspective of the information

In Africa, the freedom of the press is not a sacred duty, and as mentioned above, free and transparent news are not evident. As a result, news often reflects the perspective of the source. The information you will get is based on the perception of the source. In the West, Africa is widely primarily viewed as a continent ravaged by war and diseases, where impoverished people and government are struggling very hard to survive, and thus their lives and activities are geared toward Help and how the global community can help them. As a result, most African news coming from the West will treat topics such as aid, sanction, peace and war, and oil discovery. Human rights, rigged election and corruption are other subjects often treated; in other words, Western media tend to chronicle Africa's efforts to "join" or emulate them.

When it comes to local media and news sources, the dilemma is different. Elite and well positioned news sources depicts the political life of the country, meaning that their news are mostly geared toward accounts of big political activities, such as Presidential travels and visits, opposition complaints, foreign investment, dignitaries visits, Diaspora news and international events in which the government participate. In short, those news sources attempts to present information from the perception of Africa to the rest of the world.

Finally, local media perception is often directed at the local population, therefore offers information on issue that matters to locals; energy and gas issues, employment, government promises kept or not, education, political freedom, cultural and social safeguard, etc...

3. Acknowledge the Biases

In the U.S, it is often assumed that CNN is Pro-democrats, and Fox News is a Republican arm, regardless if true or not, that perception is very present in Africa as well; not in form of Republican or democrats of course, but they still play a short role.

From the day of colonization, Western Nations had strategic interests in Africa, and Political propaganda has insured that many Westerners view some African countries internal policies as beneficial or threatening to their way of life.

If your African news information is from a Western source, always consider the position of your country with the African country you are researching. Popular opinion is critical and very few Western media will say nice things about the Zimbabwe government for example. Western media will offer news based on the national interest of their home country. You will rarely read negative report about the Egyptian Government that has good relations with Washington, although it is not a beacon of Democracy, yet Zimbabwe, which has been a torn in their side, is demonized. This is not an attempt to justify the evil of some people, but it is worth considering that Western media will report information according to the way they wish a certain country to be viewed.

If you wish to avoid the biases of Western news outlet, you are better off searching for African news by African news outlets. There again, there is an often bias between Pro and anti government. Some news sources are government sponsored, while other are dedicated to discredit the government regardless of good deeds or not. In Africa the contrast is usually very strong, as you can read full articles of "official" news feed that praises the government unashamedly, while others are almost littered with insults. Very rarely will you find news source that are impartial, and it is usually very evident to distinguish the sources political leanings.

Given the polarity of African societies, and the actuality of International Relations, one must not look at news Biases with pure disgust, but as a component and vital actor of global politics; filling between diverse biases can actually help uncover valuable information. But in case it doesn't help, always consider independent news and...

4. Identify the agendas

If for some reasons you are unable to filter official and supposedly professional news sources, do make use of independent news sources such as NGO's and Think Tank. Because they are usually unaffiliated with any government, and their work is mainly based on empirical data and research, NGO and Think Tank do paint an educated and comprehensive picture of what is going on in Africa. Most of their works are expanded toward a wide range of subjects that reflects a non-partial view of government activities, social realities and international implications.

If you obtain your news via NGOs or Think Tanks, you are most likely to have access to strong data, depending on the Think Tank, and hard core evidence of what is going on in the country you research.

The only problem presented by NGOs and Think Tanks is that they do have an agenda. The nature of their strong work is usually motivated by the mission to influence or advice a government to act toward an issue they view as important. Because of that agenda, those organizations often accentuate an issue to the point where it overshadows others, making it look like an exaggeration.

For example if an NGO has for agenda to reduce arm trafficking in Africa, their information may offer solid leads on the pulse of a country, with credible evidence; however, their extensive research on the impact of arm trafficking may minimize other positive information, to the point of giving the impression that you can buy Ak47 at a candy store. This of course is not with the intent to deceive or dramatize, but with the objective of using the data to convince world powers to act on arms trafficking.

If you know how to extract your information from those sources, they are an excellent balance to local and international news.

5. Check the blogs

Africa sends millions of its bright Sons and Daughters abroad to study in higher education, and loses other millions professionals in search of a better living. While the damages of this brain drain are considerable, the attachment all those Africans retain for their homeland represents a glimpse of hope.

Since they cannot directly be involve in official affairs in their home countries because of the distance or political threats, many member of the African Diaspora voice their opinions in blogs or personal websites.

The advantage of reading those opinionated blogs is that it offers a personal touch and reaction to all the other news you may have read.

Many are very knowledgeable in what they are writing, and approach it in a very professional way. They are not constrained by editorial control, so are free to give their honest, educated opinion on what they read, heard or experienced in and out of Africa.

If they are not that knowledgeable on African affairs anymore, many still have families abroad who can give them first account to report on what is happening.

Because they are so many blogs related to Africa, you can not only compare information and news, but also engage the writers and have a better feel on how and where they get to say what they are saying.

For most people, this is a valuable source, because on top of general political views, they can offer a personal one, as well as giving an insight on how and where people live their everyday, not to mention, where the hotspots are.

The disadvantage of Blogs is that it is after all just personal opinions, and personal opinions can be motivated or inspired by perception, Bias, and /or agenda. It is not uncommon for exile politicians to mount an opposition from abroad, something blogs tend to make easier, so caution is advised for that reason.

6. Search for supportive news

Every news agency is in search of a scoop, and none wants to be left out of considerable information.

Whenever you stumble on interesting information for your research, after identifying the source, always make sure to search if that information is reprised by other news outlets.

When it comes to Africa, it is very common for news to be generalizing, but if you feel you came across useful information, always double check if you can locate it in other Western sources (if those where your primary sources), and then in local African sources. Check in Blogs and social sites if it is being discussed, or better create a new discussion.

The fact of the matter is that if you are looking for information on Africa, the complexity of its state does not favor taking any information at face value, but insuring that it is shared, discussed and not hostage to any perception and bias will help you have good grip on what is going on.

7. Use common sense

In Politics like in everything, things happen for a reason, from a coup d'Etat, to a social uprising, and political instability to international sanction.

Africa is not another planet we know nothing about, and it did not appear without a past or history.

In everything you read or learn about Africa, consider the context and remember history. Famine and poverty did not come suddenly; wars all have a spark plug, poor countries should not be able to buy weapons they do not manufacture.

The context and the historical reality that today links nearly all countries on Earth presents the fertile ground on how you will receive the news you receive, they way you receive it.

Knowledge is a light to which is drawn a bug called interest, and common sense should help you navigate the waves of misinformation toward the land of comprehension of the subject you research.

As mentioned, this is a list that can be extended and perfected, but for all who have at one point or another, read African news or wanted to understand what is going in Africa, I hope that little list will be helpful the next time it happens.

Over-reliance on popular media is like over relying in anything, it cripples one's ability, and dilutes the quality of the need sought.

Stay thirsty for knowledge; you might very well quench your thirst yourself.

Regis Zoula is an independent writer and author. I speak fluently and write French and English, and will translate text from either language to the other. I hold a Bachelor in International business. I am also knowledgeable in Political Science, and Business consulting. I am currently working on my first novel.

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