Elections in Africa

les dernières élections au Togo, pays de l'Afrique de l'Ouest ont encore une  fois révélé les frisures qui empreignent le tissu politique africain en général et togolais en particulier. Nous partons du constat que les élections dans les pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest ouvre la voie à une radicalisation opposante, une cristallisation de haine entre les partis politiques d'opposition qui, originairement concourait d'une même voix. la division est plus consommée et l'échéance électorale se voit alors capotée.

This book follows up on the publication Tensions & Reversals in Democratic Transitions published by Society for International Development and Institute for Development Studies after Kenya’s 2007 Elections. It is a product of a series of consultative meetings by a group of civil society actors and academics convened by SID and Uraia Trust to capture the lessons learnt from Kenya’s 2013 General Elections and interrogate the actors and factors involved. The book paints a picture of an electoral environment which, buoyed by far- reaching institutional reforms driven by the newly promulgated Constitution of Kenya 2010, raised high expectations among Kenyans that the 2013 elections would not only be peaceful but also a lot more credible than those held in 2007.  In the end however, the manner in which the 2013 General Elections were conducted did not show evidence of any remarkable departure from what was experienced previously, despite the raft of legal and institutional reforms carried out. The book attempts to explain why things went the way they did and explores what needs to be done differently in future to ensure more free, fair and credible elections.

This Chapter interrogates the logics and technologies underlying the governance of elections in Africa. It defines elections, their nature and logics. It argues that elections are tools, which integrate electoral processes and systems to deliver on the people's choice of who will govern them. 'Free and fair' presuppose the existence of a 'free and fair' electoral commission, 'free and fair' machineries to run the elections, 'free and fair' systems and procedures for the conduct of those elections. It interrogates the role of stakeholders, before, during and after the elections and argues that elections reflect the independence and sovereignty of any nation. The Chapter presents a 5Vs framework of Volume (how many vote); Velocity (Speed) – the regularity of the elections; Value (the value of the elections as perceived by voters; Veracity (the trustworthiness and authenticity of the systems and outcomes); and Variety (diversity of voters and diversity of political parties). The Chapter argues that the prerequisites to hold free and fair elections include political will from the polity; transparency; a politically educated citizenry capable to act; unity in diversity (there can be many parties and tribes), faith and trust in the electoral systems, political parties and themselves; astute and smart systems and processes and bureaucracy.

Ten new members of the PSC will be elected at the
summit.
Clarifying the relationship between the AU and RECs
is on the reform agenda.


■ Addis Insight
An analysis of the work of the PSC this year shows
fewer meetings were held on crisis situations.

Election observers need to up their game in 2018 if
they are to remain relevant.

In the past year the AU has taken some steps towards
silencing the guns.

The increasing rates of electoral abstention in Mozambique in general, particularly in the Mopeia district of Zambezia province, since the 2004-2014 ballot, in a context in which the Frelimo party wins the elections successively, that is, in a hegemonic party system, make it imperative to question the reasons for electoral abstention. Is it at this level that this monograph is situated, trying to understand the reasons for electoral abstention in the mopeia district? This question has established the assumption that potential voters perceiving the possibility of wasted votes opt for electoral abstention, And it has been established the hypothesis that the electoral competition will influence the electoral abstention, to the extent that the higher the electoral competition, the lower the electoral abstention and the contrary is valid.
The study had rational choice as a theoretical perspective and used the quantitative methodology. The analysis of the results of the data (election results, interviews and survey of a final sample of 288 abstentionists) revealed interesting aspects in relation to the hypothesis and assumption of the work: the rate of electoral abstention (official) increases and decreases not according to the electoral competition, as is the case when it comes to technical electoral abstention; on the other hand, the results of the interviews and the survey corroborated the assumption, that is, it is the notion of Wasted Votes and not the idea of the "silent majority" behind the electoral abstention in Mopeia.
KEYWORDS: Electoral abstention, Electoral Competition, Silent Majority, Hegemonic Party

Abstracts of International Conference “Elections in Africa”. First joint Conference of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Centre of African Studies of the Porto University in the “Internal Changes and Foreign Policy of African Countries” Conference Series. Moscow, Russia. November 1–2, 2018.

This  paper  views  nature  of  elections  in  Africa  as  a  threat  to  the  legitimacy  of  democratic  regimes  by carefully  looking  at  the  Nigerian  scenario.  The  paper  adopted  the  incremental  approach  to  explaining the  conduct  of  the  election  in  Nigeria.  Propounded  by  Charles  Lindblom,  who  argued  that  by understanding  the  historical  antecedent  of  an  issue,  outlining  the  root  causes  of  problems,  there  will  be possible  solutions  to  them.  This  paper  also  argues  that  most  African  governments  perform  poorly  in public  affairs  yet  continue  to  renew  their  mandates  using  power  incumbency.  Moreover,  state  the machinery,  including  election  management  bodies.  These  governments  are  often  declared  winners  even though  elections  were  poorly  conducted.  This  article  takes  a  look  at  conducts  of  elections,  issues  of elections  in  Africa  and  the  legitimacy  of  regimes  that  emerged  there.  Keywords:  Africa,  Nigeria,  Elections,  Democracy,  Legitimacy.

Despite the important consequences of citizens’ election quality perceptions on political behavior and political attitudes, very little is known about how citizens formulate their perceptions of election quality. In this paper, I assess the correlates of citizens’ perceptions of election quality. I suggest that the performance of election-related institutions is an important correlate of citizens’ election quality perceptions. However, citizens’ experience with electoral irregularities, and partisan affiliation also matter. I test these hypotheses in the context of the 2007 Nigerian general elections using survey data from Afrobarometer and International Foundation for Electoral Systems. The findings provide robust support for the hypotheses. Most importantly, the results indicate that the performance of electoral management bodies is associated with citizens’ assessment of election quality in Africa and that citizens demand electoral management bodies with impartiality and professionalism.

Abstract: Most elections in Kenya since first multi-party elections in 1992 have experienced management problems. The gravest occurrence emanating from electoral management which generated the disputed presidential elections in December 2007. The management dynamics have had much impact in many fronts for internal security architecture and also by extension to the country’s common borders. Such effects include; internal displacement/ refugees, economic losses, security stalemates between neighbouring states, and possible proliferation of arms which make security infrastructure complex thereafter. The 2007 electoral management degenerated the once peaceful country into a near pariah state. To describe the dynamics, the study; examined elections and African conflicts, assessed Kenya’s 2007 electoral management and East Africa Regional (EAR) security, and finally, highlighted elections’ management challenges EAR. Using a case study design and mixed approach method, the paper in its findings confirm by generalizations that dynamisms of electoral management indeed has effects to a country’s security infrastructure (both internal and external) which in a geographical proximity requires interdependence.
Keywords: Election’s Management/ Electoral Management/ Kenya’s Elections/ 2007 Election/ Election’s Dynamics/ Election’s Security/ Electoral Systems/ East Africa/ Regional Security.

Kenya‟s electoral management has undergone major metamorphosis over time. With initial management majorly controlled by government to the current independent electoral body, the dynamics of electoral management have indeed changed reflectively. The history of elections in Kenya has been full of challenges. The political power games sought to control all political processes almost immediately after independence. This reflects suggestion by Cassandra R. Veney and Paul Tiyambe Zeleza (2013) and Paul Tiyambe Zeleza (2009) that Kenya emerged out of colonialism in 1963, after a prolonged liberation struggle, with a political economy marked by the existence of an authoritarian state, uneven regional development, deep social cleavages, and an intolerant political culture sustained by deep historical memories of grievance and injustice. Nationalist ideology both masked and reinforced the inherited political deformities of the colonial state in so far as it mobilized the colonized for freedom...

African elections are unique in several respects; in ethno-religiously divided nations, elections are often decided on the basis of candidates' ethnic or religious affiliations rather than political ideologies. In Nigeria for example, campaigns differ greatly from what is obtainable in other countries. For example, music plays a huge role in the outcome of elections in Nigeria. It also significantly determines whether or not the elections will be violent or non-violent. This is because music evokes emotions and connects with people in a personal and intimate way. This study critically examines the two-edged nature of music's effect on society and offers some evidence to demonstrate that music can help in fostering peace in the society particularly as it concerns peaceful elections. Adopting an ethnographic research methodology, the article's argument draws on examples from Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria, countries where the medium of music was fittingly utilised to promote peaceful non-violent elections.

The study examines the extent to which political parties adhere to the Electoral Code of Conduct to contribute to prevent electoral violence. The study employs a historical research design. Secondary data was
collected through document review of political party constitutions, the electoral code of conduct, the commission of enquiry on voting patterns and electoral violence, local and international election reports and
print/electronic media reports. Content analysis has been employed to analyse secondary data. The study argues that political parties rarely adhere to the electoral code of conduct, especially during elections. This is
caused by a lack of strong political structures, poor leadership and the ineffective implementation of the Electoral Code of Conduct by the Electoral Commission of Zambia and Zambia Police. The study
recommends that the political parties develop the party code of conduct and the Electoral Commission of Zambia and Zambia Police should execute their mandate independently and impartially.

Research that seeks to discuss the relationship between social media and electoral participation in particular, and democracy in general, is a classic area of the field of political communication. Most works, however, tackle countries in which democracy and economy are relatively more developed, as is the case with Anglo-American countries (p. 40), whereas there are few references to African countries (p. 43, 147, 217). Against this background, Martin Ndlela and Winston Mano’s book is a positive demonstration of the existence of excellent scientific production on the use of social media for political activities in African countries.

“The electoral process used needs people with a strong heart. Majority of people might not participate due to fear. However, I believe that the election process would be fair and just and the loser would have no reason for disagreeing with the results.  I have been a youth leader at the Parish Level and I believes that it is the time for the youth to take up Leadership roles right away from the Local Councils.” -Candidates Voice.

Like this and very many other voices from the poor local people, look into this report.

Se os protestos contra a ilegitimidade do recém-eleito presidente de Moçambique e seu governo crescerem, poderá ser forçado a marchar contra os que o colocaram no poder para construir a própria popularidade. Nesse caso os moçambicanos e o mundo inteiro poderia assistir a extração de resultados positivos não intencionalmente previstos das entranhas duma acção perversamente calculada.

Democracy is taking root across the Africa continent, with elections serving as important bedrock for this movement.
Information and communication technologies have now taken a centre stage in elections providing tools not only for electoral management bodies, but also non-state actors, media and other key stakeholders. (Diamond1 2010.) provides a working definition for ICT in democracy as “Any form of information and communication technology (ICT) that can expand political, social, and economic freedom. In the contemporary era, it means essentially the modern, interrelated forms of digital ICT—the computer, the Internet, the mobile phone, and countless innovative applications for them, including “new social media” such as Facebook and Twitter.” This reinforces the notion that citizens are now taking a centre stage in so far as they now have new digital tools to enable them report news, highlight corrupt acts, organize collective actions, deepen engagement with duty bearers, expand the frontiers of free speech, and not only monitor voting but also become active participants in the whole electoral continuum. In the basket of ICTS opportunities, social media especially Facebook and twitter are now growing in influence though they cannot yet be seen as the media for the masses.

Elections’ in Zimbabwe are by and large a reflection of elections in Africa. The election history in Africa describes what the recent changeovers/continuity has been in Africa. The transition in African politics from the colonial to strong henchmen of the 1960s for the next three decades, saw Africa go through four phases of authoritarianism. Zimbabwe joins the growing trend of democratization from infantry having been a late independent state. Like other African states, getting independence without defining the ‘form state’.

A wave of change will likely sweep Uganda’s forthcoming elections in 2021. The share of Ugandans who want change has more than tripled – from 25.67% in 1996 to 90.2% in 2020. The data suggests that despite having a large pool of presidential candidates, this phenomenon is detrimental to the incumbent President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni whose support has consistently dwindled since 1996.

The advent of peace in Angola, in 2002, raised hopes that the end of the civil war would entail a gradual opening of political space, and allow for increasing democratic plurality and civil liberties. This article argues that the government of José Eduardo dos Santos is actually reinforcing its control over all aspects of social, economic and political life. Although the elections of 5 and 6 September 2008 were considered ‘credible and transparent’ by international observer missions, the MPLA's triumph at the elections did not come as a surprise. This analysis of the voter registration process in 2007 shows how the government of Angola used discourses of democratisation as a resource to consolidate its power, extending its control over associations of civil society, thus paving the way for an overwhelming electoral victory. The article describes the government's strategies during the voter registration process, to see how – in this very specific field – the government's authority is enacted, and how the state extends its control over civil society organisations. It considers how these tendencies fit into the broader discussions about democracy and post-war transitions, and what the implications might be for donor assistance for democratisation.