Tribal loyalties, corruption and witchcraft still reign supreme in African culture. Such blatantly rigged elections are not just an African problem - Putin’s recent reelection was as ignorant of the law and the democratic process as well.

But as long as African politicians and voters have no problem of using violence to get what they want - this sad affair of corruption and violence won’t end. Poverty, lack of education and tribal loyalties create a combustive mixture - and a life seems worth nothing.

But we also have to blame colonial powers and foreign aid money for the chaos.

Many countries were literally made up on the drawing board by colonial powers - thy often mixed tribes together, who didn’t like each other to form a ‘nation’. Many of today’s conflicts go back to these tribal roots and difference in culture.

Foreign aid is another problem, because the large sums for money are a huge temptation for fraud. Many western donators hardly care or control where the money goes and many local charities that receive the money are made up by local big wigs and fraudsters. This kind of culture is based on cheating each other - not by creating a working economy and improving the life for everyone.

2007 was a bad year for Democracy - and it looks like that 2008 will continue that trend.