The E-democratization: how social media users strengthen political participation in Angola

Today’s politics is also practiced through social media platforms. It is very common now politics tweeting general thoughts, ideas and facts about anything they feel it deserves to be shared with followers. Or political candidates videoing executive programs or manifest on facebook or youtube. So, how far are the Angolan politicians lagging behind in this matter?

   Since its first multiparty election held in 1992 and the post-election violence that followed, Angola has been experiencing a more regular political election process and power transfer since 2008, even though in favor of the same ruling party (MPLA) that has been at helm of government since the independence in 1975.

   At large, if the Electronic Direct Democracy (EDD) concept was created previously, it is fair to note that massive usage of social media for the political participation gained a major bust during the 2008 USA presidential election, during which both presidential campaigns, specially the Obama’s, launched many online posts either on Facebook or Twitter, in order to spread message, to obtaining donations or to conquer sympathizers for their causes and eventually to vote for them.

   The timing of the both elections in the United States of America  and  Angola, however, couldn’t be more unparalleled as while in the former the New Information and Communication Technology (NICTs) was already developed and more cutting edge innovation was being released at a quick pace, in the latter the only transformation taking place was the transition from the outdated into new digital system, especially in the sector of telecommunications, at the time of a wider digital divide among the Angolans, where only 4% of more than 12 million people were the user of the internet at the time.

   However, during the last general elections held in September 2017, young people from the urban areas, in particular from major cities of the country such as Luanda, Benguela or Huila, was keen to using individual or collective tradicional social media platforms to help spread general ideas and political images of political candidates and party of their preferences, which represents a bigger picture of more than 22% users of the internet amongst 26 million of Angolans.

       Cheapest 1GB prepaid mobile data prices in SADC countries (USD). Source: RAMP Index (2017)

   As mostly the main political figures in the country do not use social media platforms to engage with their electorate and voter, which somehow is a reflex of a poor understanding of the vitality it represents for the democracy today, the major players of E-democracy in Angola are obviously the young people in civil society sectors such as academia, arts and sports, which by definition means that EDD in Angola isn’t working well from the politicians to the citizens, but rather in the other way around: from citizens to politicians, serving as their voices and eyes particularly during the election times.

   So, within a broader effort to establish an E-democracy in the country and more and effective direct participation of all the citizenry, all political figures should be more engaged in social media platforms, not just for personal and political gains, but most importantly to contribute for a stronger development of EDD at the time of narrower digital divide, for more people are going online  to voicing their concerns particularly in this time of social and economic anxieties, thanks to cheapest price for 1GB in USD, according to Research ICT Africa 2018, as following:

Issau Agostinho