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The American people rejected Donald Trump. But the current president remains clinging to power. The parallels with former or still active potentates are unsettling.
He still doesn’t want to accept it. Even eleven days after the US presidential election, Donald Trump persistently refuses to admit defeat to Joe Biden, even if he hinted at a first revelation at a press conference. You can see more about this in the video above or here.
On Twitter, however, he continues his story of the alleged stolen election and the gigantic fraud. He sends armies of lawyers into the field, but so far they have not provided evidence to back up the harsh accusations.
Is it narcissism, as some believe, that obviously a defeat should not occur in the 74-year-old’s self-image? Or is it a great political show, as is also speculated, with which Trump is preparing a possible comeback in four years? Whatever the motivation, the appearance of the current president of the United States of America sparks worrying associations. Of course, Donald Trump faced a free and fair election. However, he now stands in line with those in power who only accepted the will of the people when it was aligned with their claim to power. A small selection.
Laurent Gbagbo, Ivory Coast
The West African country’s president refused to admit defeat for challenger Alassane Ouattara in fall 2010. While the country’s independent electoral commission and international observers saw a clear victory for Ouattara, the Constitutional Council, dominated by supporters of Gbagbo, raised accusations of fraud and manipulation and canceled the elections.
Laurent Gbagbo: removed from office in a coup. (Source: Peter Dejong / Reuters)
As a result, riots broke out. Gbagbo had the borders closed. His army hunted down suspected Ouattara supporters and ethnic cleansing began. An estimated 3,000 people died and hundreds of thousands were displaced. In April 2011, troops loyal to Ouattara with French and UN support detained Gbagbo at his residence in Abidjan. He was later extradited and charged with war crimes in The Hague. Gbagbo now lives in Belgium and is awaiting the procedures there.
Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela
Venezuela’s acting president also has some problems with free elections. That is why he configures it from the beginning in such a way that the opposition has little chance. In 2018, Maduro brought the presidential elections forward several months on short notice and excluded key opposition candidates from running. Maduro’s opponents spoke of a spectacle and called for a boycott of the elections.
Nicolás Maduro: Systematically restricts the opposition in Venezuela. (Source: Manaure Quintero / Reuters)
The result was historically low voter turnout and, as expected, Nicolás Maduro won. Donald Trump later condemned the actions of the Venezuelan leadership as an attempt to “corrupt a democratic election” and imposed severe sanctions.
Slobodan Milosevic, Serbia
The former Serbian president tenaciously clung to power long after the people turned their backs on him. In September 2000 he lost to his rival Vojislav Kostunica in the presidential elections of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, who won more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round. Milosevic, however, declared himself the winner. The result was massive protests. Milosevic surrendered, also because he had lost the support of the military.
Slobodan Milosevic: gave in to pressure from the street and high-ranking military in 2000 and abdicated. (Source: Reuters)
The former president remained in the headlines: Milosevic was arrested in 2001 after a 36-hour shooting between his bodyguards and the police. In response to international pressure, the Serbian government extradited the then 60-year-old to the UN war crimes tribunal, where he was charged with, among other things, war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Yugoslavian war. Milosevic died before a trial could be reached in March 2006.
Robert Mugabe, Simbabwe
The long-term ruler secured his rule several times by intervening in elections. For example, in 2008: The first round of voting was clearly for Mugabe’s challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai. In the days that followed, however, riots broke out, fueled by Mugabe’s supporters. There were dozens of fatal attacks on Tsvangirai’s campaign partners, which is why the challenger withdrew from the second round of the elections. Mugabe regained power in a highly controversial election in 2013, before being ousted from power in a coup in 2017.
Robert Mugabe: celebrated by supporters at Harare airport (Zimbabwe) in September 2008. (Source: Philimon Bulawayo / Reuters)
Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus
The president, who has ruled with a heavy hand for 26 years, is the latest example of an autocratic leader who does not feel bound by election results. He claims to have won the August presidential election with more than 80 percent of the vote. But there are signs of massive manipulation. Both the European Union and the United States do not recognize the result.
Since then, tens of thousands of Belarusians have taken to the streets every week, people from all walks of life. They challenge the violence of the security forces and arbitrary arrests. Countless witnesses have reported ill-treatment in prisons and some detainees were even killed. But Lukashenko has power, also because he knows that his great neighbor Russia protects him.
Alexander Lukashenko: He was declared the winner after the controversial presidential elections in August. (Source: Nikolai Petrov / BelTA / Reuters)
These scenarios are truly inconceivable in the United States. And so far, the authorities and the judiciary have shown themselves to be very firm despite constant fire from the White House. However, one word has crept into public discussion in the United States in recent days that was never uttered there in connection with the presidential elections: there is talk of an attempted coup.
Historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat. said in a video shared on Twitter: “A man of authoritarian temperament like Trump, used to wielding power and being adored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and always capable of humiliating others, becomes the prospect He sees the loss of office as a kind of psychological annihilation. And he will try everything to drag others with him. “
