No America candidate has a monopoly of public means of information. No candidate possesses the power to intimidate voters or competitors into fear. There was not a single reported act of violence. But African elections are the direct opposite. Most candidates must first loot or command public resources, as Liberia's Taylor, Burkina Faso's Blaise Compaore, Ivory Coast's Gen. Robert Guei, Ghana's Jerry Rawlings, Nigeria's Olusegun Obasanjo, Togo's Eyedema, and many others have shown.
African societies have no qualms with such methods.
Men who spearhead such mayhem are hailed as heroes, followed by many admirers. Yet, by some strange logic, such individuals are expected to uphold the rule of law, build democratic institutions, and practice financial probity. Rarely do you have an honest individual from private life, untainted by theft of public resources and backed by honest financiers, vying for an African presidency and winning. Senegal's Wade is an exception. But he was jailed, humiliated several times before setting this rare example.