I think that all political arena's are very much the same .The difference in 1st world countries is that the level of politics is sophisticated enough ,coupled with the voters,to ensure a free and democratic election .Picture the Zimbabwe elections just completed ,We (South Africa ) sent the IEC which is supposed to be an independent electoral committee to manage the voting ......firstly there were over a million people on the list that voted ,but they were dead!
Come back to SA and see how anyone in the government that has stood up to the existing president is systematically sidelined .
It is all about the voters .....even with a constitution that is "strong " it is useless if your voter is ignorant.