Pub Date : 2019-06-01DOI: 10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A7
K. Mukunto
{"title":"Electoral Violence and Young Party Cadres in Zambia","authors":"K. Mukunto","doi":"10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A7","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A7","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":159701,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Elections","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121902704","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-06-01DOI: 10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A1
Stephen Chan
The first large-scale election observation was of Zimbabwe’s 1980 independence elections. Since then, election observation has become a regular worldwide feature and many international organisations, official agencies, and non-governmental organisations field observation teams. They all use similar methodologies, largely derived from the original 1980 model. A third of a century later, it may be time to consider whether the use of electoral observation has outlived its usefulness – or is itself being used to mask forms of electoral cheating. This paper considers five 21st century African elections – in Kenya (2007), Zimbabwe (2008, 2013 and 2018) and Zambia (2016), through the reflections of a pioneer of the 1980s observation prototype.
{"title":"Free and Fair?: Observation of Selected African Elections","authors":"Stephen Chan","doi":"10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A1","url":null,"abstract":"The first large-scale election observation was of Zimbabwe’s 1980 independence elections. Since then, election observation has become a regular worldwide feature and many international organisations, official agencies, and non-governmental organisations field observation teams. They all use similar methodologies, largely derived from the original 1980 model. A third of a century later, it may be time to consider whether the use of electoral observation has outlived its usefulness – or is itself being used to mask forms of electoral cheating. This paper considers five 21st century African elections – in Kenya (2007), Zimbabwe (2008, 2013 and 2018) and Zambia (2016), through the reflections of a pioneer of the 1980s observation prototype.","PeriodicalId":159701,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Elections","volume":"41 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116961776","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-06-01DOI: 10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A6
G. Makanje
The Constitution of the Republic of Malawi disqualifies any person for election as president, vice president or member of parliament who has, within the last seven years, been convicted by a competent court of a crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude. The Local Government Elections Act also disqualifies such a person from being elected as a councillor on similar grounds. In addition, once elected, these office holders can lose their seats on similar grounds. The question becomes, what are crimes involving dishonesty or moral turpitude? Worldwide, courts have struggled to define this amorphous concept. In Malawi, a few cases have been heard in both the High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal to determine whether the offences in issue were crimes involving dishonesty or moral turpitude. The courts have labelled some offences as involving dishonesty or moral turpitude, in other instances have rejected this label and in yet others have avoided expressing an opinion one way or another. What is clear is that these words remain vague but will keep coming up in the courts for determination in relation to various offences. This paper is of the view that this disqualification is an unlawful limitation of various political rights guaranteed under section 40 of the Constitution. While exploring different approaches to clarify the phrase moral turpitude, it is ultimately recommended to simply scrap this disqualification from the law and to empower the electorate to freely choose
{"title":"Crimes involving Dishonesty or Moral Turpitude in Malawi’s Elections","authors":"G. Makanje","doi":"10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A6","url":null,"abstract":"The Constitution of the Republic of Malawi disqualifies any person for election as president, vice president or member of parliament who has, within the last seven years, been convicted by a competent court of a crime involving dishonesty or moral turpitude. The Local Government Elections Act also disqualifies such a person from being elected as a councillor on similar grounds. In addition, once elected, these office holders can lose their seats on similar grounds. The question becomes, what are crimes involving dishonesty or moral turpitude? Worldwide, courts have struggled to define this amorphous concept. In Malawi, a few cases have been heard in both the High Court and the Supreme Court of Appeal to determine whether the offences in issue were crimes involving dishonesty or moral turpitude. The courts have labelled some offences as involving dishonesty or moral turpitude, in other instances have rejected this label and in yet others have avoided expressing an opinion one way or another. What is clear is that these words remain vague but will keep coming up in the courts for determination in relation to various offences. This paper is of the view that this disqualification is an unlawful limitation of various political rights guaranteed under section 40 of the Constitution. While exploring different approaches to clarify the phrase moral turpitude, it is ultimately recommended to simply scrap this disqualification from the law and to empower the electorate to freely choose","PeriodicalId":159701,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Elections","volume":"40 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117106823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-06-01DOI: 10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A5
Philip Onguny
This article examines how the shifts in vernacular radio narratives influenced intergroup relations during the 2007-08 electoral violence in Kenya. Using media as an analytical framework, together with original in-depth interview data collected over four months of fieldwork in 2010, the article explores how vernacular radio listeners in Kisumu, Eldoret, and Nyeri interpreted the 2007-08 electoral violence prior to, during, and after the event. It argues that the framing of electoral stakes and subsequent violence by vernacular radio stations is mainly between differentiated and concerted frames, depending on the stage at which the violence manifests itself. Differentiated frames reinforce divisive and/or rebellious attitudes, and are likely to increase intergroup competition and further violence along ethnic lines. Concerted framing underpins the perceived areas of common interest believed to transcend disparate group allegiances, and this establishes the possibility of intergroup dialogue and collaborative attitudes. These findings also highlight the central role of ethno-linguistic proximity and ethno-regional polity as potential drivers of vernacular radio frames, particularly in situations of electoral violence.
{"title":"Electoral Violence in Kenya 2007-2008: The Role of Vernacular Radio","authors":"Philip Onguny","doi":"10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A5","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines how the shifts in vernacular radio narratives influenced intergroup relations during the 2007-08 electoral violence in Kenya. Using media as an analytical framework, together with original in-depth interview data collected over four months of fieldwork in 2010, the article explores how vernacular radio listeners in Kisumu, Eldoret, and Nyeri interpreted the 2007-08 electoral violence prior to, during, and after the event. It argues that the framing of electoral stakes and subsequent violence by vernacular radio stations is mainly between differentiated and concerted frames, depending on the stage at which the violence manifests itself. Differentiated frames reinforce divisive and/or rebellious attitudes, and are likely to increase intergroup competition and further violence along ethnic lines. Concerted framing underpins the perceived areas of common interest believed to transcend disparate group allegiances, and this establishes the possibility of intergroup dialogue and collaborative attitudes. These findings also highlight the central role of ethno-linguistic proximity and ethno-regional polity as potential drivers of vernacular radio frames, particularly in situations of electoral violence.","PeriodicalId":159701,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Elections","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"134432145","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-06-01DOI: 10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A4
J. Adebayo, B. Makwambeni
In 2008, Kenya hovered on the brink of a war arising from the political violence that followed the general elections. In reportage akin to that of the infamous Rwandan genocide of 1994, the Kenyan media pitched the country’s different ethnoreligious groups against each other. The result was a wanton loss of lives and property, as well as a highly volatile socio-political climate. By 2013 when the country was about to conduct another general election, apprehension ran high amongst the populace. However, in what seemed like a sharp deviation from what had happened in 2008, media reportage of the election was more conflict-sensitive. Although there were pockets of irregularities, the 2013 election recorded less violence and the media was lauded as a key reason for that. In the 2017 election, the media was once again at the centre of public discourse, this time accused of sacrificing democracy in the cause of peace. Public observers accused the media of downplaying and/ or underreporting irregularities and outright election rigging for fear of a possible outbreak of violence. The argument by many journalists and media practitioners was that the media practised peace journalism. By analysing selected articles from Kenya’s mainstream media, this article examines peace journalism in its many complexities and contextual dynamics, in order to clarify the thin line between peace journalism and advocacy.
{"title":"The Limits of Peace Journalism: Media Reportage of Kenya’s 2017 General Elections","authors":"J. Adebayo, B. Makwambeni","doi":"10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A4","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A4","url":null,"abstract":"In 2008, Kenya hovered on the brink of a war arising from the political violence that followed the general elections. In reportage akin to that of the infamous Rwandan genocide of 1994, the Kenyan media pitched the country’s different ethnoreligious groups against each other. The result was a wanton loss of lives and property, as well as a highly volatile socio-political climate. By 2013 when the country was about to conduct another general election, apprehension ran high amongst the populace. However, in what seemed like a sharp deviation from what had happened in 2008, media reportage of the election was more conflict-sensitive. Although there were pockets of irregularities, the 2013 election recorded less violence and the media was lauded as a key reason for that. In the 2017 election, the media was once again at the centre of public discourse, this time accused of sacrificing democracy in the cause of peace. Public observers accused the media of downplaying and/ or underreporting irregularities and outright election rigging for fear of a possible outbreak of violence. The argument by many journalists and media practitioners was that the media practised peace journalism. By analysing selected articles from Kenya’s mainstream media, this article examines peace journalism in its many complexities and contextual dynamics, in order to clarify the thin line between peace journalism and advocacy.","PeriodicalId":159701,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Elections","volume":"25 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127703232","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-06-01DOI: 10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A2
Albano Agostinho Troco
The southern African nation of Angola was included in the third wave of democratisation which began rolling over the African continent in the late 1980s. Structural political and economic reforms, including multiparty elections, were introduced in Angola as part of a peace settlement designed to set the country on a path to effective democratisation. However, the resumption of the armed conflict in the aftermath of the country’s founding elections in 1992 blocked Angola’s transition towards the consolidation of a multiparty democratic dispensation. The end of the civil war in 2002 renewed hopes for normal democratic development through a return to electoral politics. Building on the conception of elections as both instruments of democracy and tools of authoritarian rule, this article examines the progress, problems and prospects for democratisation brought about by the resumption of electoral politics in post-war Angola. The analysis of the evidence gathered from qualitative secondary sources suggests that, since the end of the war in 2002, Angola has seen the establishment of electoral hegemony. The MPLA has total dominance of not only the electoral process – its rules, their implementation and adjudication – but also of electoral results, allowing the winner to rule unchallenged. This has subsequently been used to engender other types of political domination, including constitutional and central government hegemony, thus ensuring regime entrenchment.
{"title":"Electoral Politics and Political Transition in Post-War Angola: Progress, Problems","authors":"Albano Agostinho Troco","doi":"10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A2","url":null,"abstract":"The southern African nation of Angola was included in the third wave of democratisation which began rolling over the African continent in the late 1980s. Structural political and economic reforms, including multiparty elections, were introduced in Angola as part of a peace settlement designed to set the country on a path to effective democratisation. However, the resumption of the armed conflict in the aftermath of the country’s founding elections in 1992 blocked Angola’s transition towards the consolidation of a multiparty democratic dispensation. The end of the civil war in 2002 renewed hopes for normal democratic development through a return to electoral politics. Building on the conception of elections as both instruments of democracy and tools of authoritarian rule, this article examines the progress, problems and prospects for democratisation brought about by the resumption of electoral politics in post-war Angola. The analysis of the evidence gathered from qualitative secondary sources suggests that, since the end of the war in 2002, Angola has seen the establishment of electoral hegemony. The MPLA has total dominance of not only the electoral process – its rules, their implementation and adjudication – but also of electoral results, allowing the winner to rule unchallenged. This has subsequently been used to engender other types of political domination, including constitutional and central government hegemony, thus ensuring regime entrenchment.","PeriodicalId":159701,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Elections","volume":"109 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125756916","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2019-06-01DOI: 10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A3
S. Adams, W. Asante
{"title":"Biometric Election Technology, Voter Experience and Turnout in Ghana","authors":"S. Adams, W. Asante","doi":"10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20940/JAE/2019/V18I1A3","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":159701,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Elections","volume":"16 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"125646537","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-10-02DOI: 10.20940/JAE/2018/V17I2A1
H. Nyane
One of the characteristic features of electoral democracy in Lesotho is disputed elections. Since 1993, when the country returned to constitutional democracy after a long haul of dictatorship and monarcho-military rule, every election has been subjected to one form of discontent or another. The aggrieved parties use various ways to vent their dissatisfactions, and more often than not, disputes end up in the courts of law. The courts are then called on to determine the validity or otherwise of the election results declared by the election management body. All seven elections since 1993 have been challenged in the courts of law. Despite this determination by political players in Lesotho to resolve electoral disputes through the courts of law, amongst other means, there is no court in Lesotho that has overturned an election result or ordered the reallocation of seats since 1993. The petitions are almost invariably dismissed on procedural grounds or on the basis of misapplication of the substantial effect doctrine. This approach to the adjudication of disputes in Lesotho has not only jeopardised substantive electoral justice in the country but has also arguably perpetuated the electoral violence that has been one of the characteristic features of electoral politics in Lesotho. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to critique this approach. Methodically, the paper uses the politico-legal approach to critique the pattern as it manifests itself through the many court decisions that have been handed down on election petitions since 1993.
{"title":"A Critique of Proceduralism in the Adjudication of Electoral Disputes in Lesotho","authors":"H. Nyane","doi":"10.20940/JAE/2018/V17I2A1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20940/JAE/2018/V17I2A1","url":null,"abstract":"One of the characteristic features of electoral democracy in Lesotho is disputed elections. Since 1993, when the country returned to constitutional democracy after a long haul of dictatorship and monarcho-military rule, every election has been subjected to one form of discontent or another. The aggrieved parties use various ways to vent their dissatisfactions, and more often than not, disputes end up in the courts of law. The courts are then called on to determine the validity or otherwise of the election results declared by the election management body. All seven elections since 1993 have been challenged in the courts of law. Despite this determination by political players in Lesotho to resolve electoral disputes through the courts of law, amongst other means, there is no court in Lesotho that has overturned an election result or ordered the reallocation of seats since 1993. The petitions are almost invariably dismissed on procedural grounds or on the basis of misapplication of the substantial effect doctrine. This approach to the adjudication of disputes in Lesotho has not only jeopardised substantive electoral justice in the country but has also arguably perpetuated the electoral violence that has been one of the characteristic features of electoral politics in Lesotho. The purpose of this article, therefore, is to critique this approach. Methodically, the paper uses the politico-legal approach to critique the pattern as it manifests itself through the many court decisions that have been handed down on election petitions since 1993.","PeriodicalId":159701,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Elections","volume":"30 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127455844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-10-02DOI: 10.20940/JAE/2018/V17I2A5
A. O. Akanji
{"title":"Election administration in Nigeria","authors":"A. O. Akanji","doi":"10.20940/JAE/2018/V17I2A5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.20940/JAE/2018/V17I2A5","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":159701,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African Elections","volume":"76 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130010584","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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