At the 20th Anniversary Symposium of the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Development in Africa (EISA) which held on Thursday the 20th of October, 2016, the Deputy President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, urged African leaders to follow the leadership example of former Nigerian President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan who conceded to his opponent even before his country's electoral management body had announced the results of the elections.
Mr. Ramaphosa praised Dr. Jonathan's leadership philosophy which is based on the maxim that 'my ambition is not worth the blood of any Nigerian'.
Speaking further, Mr. Ramaphosa said "democracy cannot flourish when political parties depend solely on the largesse of private funders."
He also said that "there is a need to use new technology in the electoral processes to reach the greater masses."
Finally, the South African deputy president said "democracy cannot flourish is if the media is not free."
The event had high profile leaders in attendance including Mr. Cassam Uteem, former President of Mauritius and Mrs. Aminata Toure, former Prime Minister of Senegal.
While speaking at the event, Dr. Jonathan, who was a panelist at the event, credited the electoral reforms of his administration, the cooperation of Nigerians and freedom of speech as some of the vehicles that helped Nigeria achieve a peaceful transition.
