Election politics and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) : comparing the 2001 elections in Zambia and Uganda (original) (raw)
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Uganda's 2006 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections
2006
Ugandan voters decided who will govern for the next five years. 1 These were the first multi-party elections in the country since 1980 and marked the end of 20 years of "no-party democracy". 2 It was also the first tripartite elections, with voters electing the President and parliamentary representatives (including special seats for women) on the same day. An important day indeed, 3 but elections are more than the casting and counting of votes. Much is decided in the weeks and months prior to election day, and events in the aftermath of the polling may alter the outcome. To judge an election on the basis of a narrow focus on the polling and tallying of results, and perhaps the last part of the campaign, often yields a very different verdict than if the basis for analysis is the broader process, where the parameters and structures are set that underpin and restrain the electoral process. This report analyses the 2006 presidential and parliamentary election in terms of the broader process starting with the processes of setting the rule for political contestation, through the registration of voters and parties, the nomination of parties and candidates, the campaign, the voting, counting and tallying and finally, the handling of election complaints. The report shows how problems and irregularities at various stages of the election cycle tilted the playing field and compromised the integrity of the 2006 elections. The report comes out of research collaboration between the departments of Political Science and Public Administration, Public and Comparative Law (Makerere University) and the Chr. Michelsen Institute in Bergen, Norway. The project analyses the development of democratic processes in Uganda by focusing on institutions aimed at securing democratic accountability. To ensure that elected political leaders 'play by the rules' and act in accordance with their mandate without violating citizens' rights, is a key challenge for new democracies in sub-Saharan Africa, and elections and succession 'test' the strength of political institutions to check against executive dominance. In many cases incumbents find ways to win electoral mandates without opening for genuine political competition, and we ask to what extent the institutions established to guard against executive dominance in Uganda were able to exercise their functions in the context of the 2006 elections. The research project examines four sets of institutions charged with ensuring an impartial and fair electoral process: the institutions comprising the electoral channel, the party system, parliament, and the judiciary. 4 These four institutions are interdependent but also partly autonomous from each other and to understand how they operate and interact is necessary in order to grasp the degree of democratic institutionalisation. The quality and impartiality of the electoral administration is central for whether an election is seen as a legitimate process for delegation of authority from citizens to representatives. In new democracies the organisation of the electoral process is often characterised by ambiguous rules and problems associated with enforcement of the rules. The political party has become a most significant actor in electoral processes and democratic governance. Parties also serve to link citizens with parliament, which represents the citizens in setting the rules of the electoral game, influencing policy decisions and acting as an institutional 1 Local council elections were held later: L.C.5 Elections on March 2, and L.C.3 Elections on 10 March 2006. 2 In the previous elections held since the coming into power of the National Resistance Movement in 1986, presidential and parliamentary candidates all ran under the Movement umbrella, competing on the basis of individual merit. 3 The local elections were, however, held on different dates as were the elections of representatives to parliament for special groups (the army, workers, youth, and people with disabilities). 4 The study is designed to allow comparisons with findings from similar research projects in Zambia
Democratic Bearings in Africa An African Case Study -Zambia
Research Gate, 2021
Abstract Presidential and legislative elections are taking place in Africa's new multiparty systems in acceptably punctual fashion. These elections are meaningful, in the sense that they have injected a measure of competitiveness and uncertainty into contests for top political office. The Zambia case study presented in here provides a glimpse of alternative ways of weighing up the transition process to a stable and sustainable democracy, but opening up issues for debate. They are by no means exhaustive and complete, but to initiate debate with issues that may reflect the root causes of zero-sum political games in Africa. In 2021 Zambia, for the third time in the country’s history, power changed hands via the ballot box – not just democratically but peacefully, the opposition had won in a landslide, Zambia is now leading the way as one of a very small number of countries to move away from authoritarianism. The most obvious lesson for Africa is that economic crisis can undermine the hold on power of genuinely repressive regimes. Civil society groups in Africa have often been criticised for being too aggressive on the one hand or too pliant on the other. Zambia, however, shows just how important civil society groups can be, and why it is essential to support them through hard times (Sishuwa & Cheeseman, 2021). The central thesis of the paper is that the relative strength of political organisations determines the rules of the political game that are installed. Democratisation requires a plural set of political organisations, which promote and protect rules of peaceful political participation and competition. Together, democratic institutions ensure control of the state executive. The hallmark of a competitive election is that it creates uncertainty about who will hold power in its aftermath. The empirical task in ensuring free and fair elections depend the electoral quantity, quality and meaning. The nuclear thesis of the paper bases its question on is the endowment of institutions in civil society and state conducive to democratic transition? Keywords: civil society, elections, multiparty systems, competitiveness, uncertainty, electoral quantity, electoral quality and electoral meaning, Zambia
African Journal of History and Culture Review Elections and electoral processes in Africa: A gimmick
2013
This paper seeks to highlight the controversial way elections have been held in some countries, which have led to the loss of confidence with the results, in some cases, the disputed elections has led to civil wars, rerun of the electoral process or the formation of coalitions. Election time on the African continent has therefore brought about anxiety to both the contesting political parties and the electorate. In the battle for political hegemony, pre-and post-electoral violence has become commonplace. But the most susceptible victims of the battle for political supremacy have been the electorate who are swayed left right and centre by completing political parties. The aftermath of most elections has left citizens licking their wounds as they take stock of the brunt of supporting whatever political party of their choice. To avoid outright defeat, most ruling political parties have been able to manipulate both the vote and state security machinery to their advantage. Legislation governing the conduct of free and fair elections has not been of much use either as it has also been manipulated. This paper explores the vagaries associated with elections on the African continent. The paper utilises available debates to support the argument of cases of flawed electoral processes on the African continent.
African Studies Review
Jaimie Bleck and Nicolas van de Walle's Electoral Politics in Africa offers unique insights into the complex relationship between elections, democracy, and change (or lack thereof) in Africa. The authors claim that electoral politics in Africa since 1990 have been marked essentially by political continuity-for both good and bad. Multiparty elections are an element of continuity, "as once countries started to hold multiparty elections they continued to do so," but the democratic gains are not yet observable in most countries, and we still find the same political class as well as pervasive clientelism. The stasis in political life is striking, given the dramatic social and economic changes the continent has experienced in the last three decades. So "why has the move to routine and regular multiparty elections not promoted more political change in Africa? And why did it not generate democratic consolidation?" The authors argue that two main factors account for the limited impact of multiparty elections in Africa. The first is presidentialism, namely the presence of strong presidents with enormous influence on how electoral politics unfold. The second is the liability of newness, that is, the fact that almost no African countries had had significant experience of multiparty elections before the transitions in the early 1990s. Thus, moving beyond pessimistic or optimistic appraisals of the nexus between elections and democracy in Africa, the authors define elections as "brief periods" during which political change-either toward democratic progress or backsliding-is more likely to occur. The book's interesting findings draw on hundreds of elections, survey data, newspapers, and case studies. Starting with a path dependent argument to show the surprising importance of founding multiparty elections for political dominance and to explain the very limited alternation over time, the authors then explore the multiple mechanisms used by presidents to win elections. Emphasis is given to the role of incumbency, which allows presidents to claim credit for economic progress, access state resources, and control clientelistic networks to their own advantage, and to the illiberal
Elections and electoral processes in Africa: A gimmick or a curse?
African Journal of History and Culture, 2013
This paper seeks to highlight the controversial way elections have been held in some countries, which have led to the loss of confidence with the results, in some cases, the disputed elections has led to civil wars, rerun of the electoral process or the formation of coalitions. Election time on the African continent has therefore brought about anxiety to both the contesting political parties and the electorate. In the battle for political hegemony, pre-and post-electoral violence has become commonplace. But the most susceptible victims of the battle for political supremacy have been the electorate who are swayed left right and centre by completing political parties. The aftermath of most elections has left citizens licking their wounds as they take stock of the brunt of supporting whatever political party of their choice. To avoid outright defeat, most ruling political parties have been able to manipulate both the vote and state security machinery to their advantage. Legislation governing the conduct of free and fair elections has not been of much use either as it has also been manipulated. This paper explores the vagaries associated with elections on the African continent. The paper utilises available debates to support the argument of cases of flawed electoral processes on the African continent.
Introduction: Elections and electoral politics in Africa
Africa, 1993
The new British ambassador to Maputo, Richard Edis, recently travelled to the Renamo base at Maringue to meet its leader Alfonso Dhlakama. He carried with him a letter from Overseas Development Minister Baroness Lynda Chalker, two footballs and a pile of books on ‘democracy’ for Dhlakama's library.’Warning: We don't want itThe people of Yardaji Have No Regard For Any Political Party Whatsoever: We Are Tired of Hearing Idle Talk. Whoever Ignores This Advice Will Regret It. Listen Well: Don't Come Here. This is Not a Matter Of One Person Alone. We Don't Want It.
International Conference “Elections in Africa”. Book of Abstracts
International Conference “Elections in Africa”. Book of Abstracts, 2018
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.