Should we celebrate when an African country has a peaceful election?

The Island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe just had peaceful elections in which the incumbent President Manuel Pinto da Costa lost to former Prime Minister Evaristo Carvalho. The election and its peaceful conclusion didn’t receive much coverage in the press. Some online are saying it’s because the media isn’t interested in an election happening in an African country if it goes down without incident. Other’s disagree, saying peaceful elections should be the norm in Africa and not a reason to celebrate. With a little help from popular US comedian Chris Rock, let’s get into it. New man in charge: Evaristo Carvalho addresses supporters during the campaign. (Photo: Video still via YouTube) New man in charge: Evaristo Carvalho addresses supporters during the campaign. (Photo: Video still via YouTube) 7 So this happened Photo published for Sao Tome and Principe president loses election to former PM Evaristo Carvalho The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, the tiny island nation just off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa voted in a new leader on Sunday. Well, “newish”. The winner of the election, Evaristo Carvalho, previously served as prime minister between 7 July 1994 to 25 October 1994 and again from 26 September 2001 to 28 March 2002. No doubt, the name-recognition that comes with twice serving as prime minister was a factor in helping him trounce incumbent president Manuel Pinto da Costa. Carvalho’s win and the fact that the election went off down peacefully didn’t get much media attention. The dearth in coverage prompted this tweet from Zenaida Machado, the former BBC journalist and the current Angola and Mozambique researcher for the Africa Division at Human Rights Ward. “This is how a normal election should be” There was a flurry of reactions to Machado’s tweet. Many agreed with Machado that the peaceful conclusion to the polls in São Tomé and Príncipe did warrant more media attention than it was getting.