Deepening and Sustaining Electoral Democracy in Kenya: Lessons from Ghana (original) (raw)
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ENHANCING DEMOCRATIC PROCESSES IN GHANA: THE ROLE OF CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS
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Policy Brief the 10th Anniversary of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance
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The Policy Brief is part of a broader initiative to commemorate the 10th Anniversary of the African Charter on Democracy Elections and Governance (ACDEG). The specific results of this project include the publication of key peer-reviewed papers in two special issues of prestigious Africa focused journals: Africa Spectrum and the Journal of African Law. Based on these academic papers, a policy brief has been developed that synthesizes different policy relevant conclusions. A draft of this policy paper formed the basis of the discussions during a Practitioner Dialogue. With contributions from senior officials of the African Union, members of the African Diplomatic Community, African Diaspora Scholars and African NGOs, the Practitioner Dialogue provided space for a critical appraisal of the progresses, challenges and opportunities presented by the ACDEG and led to the development of critical policy recommendations that will support both the African Union and the Member States in adhering to the provisions of the ACDEG and in effect improving democracy, governance and human rights on the continent. This Policy Brief has since been formally presented to the Office of the Commissioner for Political Affairs of the African Union Commission and to the Office of the AU Ambassador to the European Union.
Enhancing Inclusive Political Participation and Representation in Africa
Africa has made significant progress in enhancing inclusive political participation and representation, mostly for women, youth and people living with disabilities. This report unpacks the trends and challenges of inclusive participation in Africa. The domestication (though at varying levels) of global and regional normative frameworks such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, the African Youth Charter, and the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance has enhanced traction towards inclusive political participation across the continent. However, traction towards progressive legislative frameworks to enhance political participation and representation of refugees remains weak. The thrust for a multigenerational and multidimensional focus in addressing barriers to inclusive political participation and representation should be strengthened.
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The article analyses the right to participate in the government of one's country under article 13 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights within the context of the post-election crisis experienced in Kenya in December 2007. It is argued that the crisis was a culmination of poor governance and undemocratic practices successively handed down from one political regime to another, from when the country attained its independence. The article maintains that since 1963, many Kenyans have been denied the enjoyment of the right to participate in government through political manipulation, corruption, intimidation, vote rigging, ethnicity and other related vices. Hence, the undermining of democracy and diverse citizenship rights have contributed extensively to the country's governance crisis, the labyrinth of which was exposed by the 2007 postelection events.
Journal of African Law, 2011
A practice of frequent constitutional amendments started shortly after Kenya attained her independence in 1963. Consequently, the country has witnessed a confusion of systems of governance, ranging from single-party autocracy to virtual multi-party democracy, which have served to endorse the chronic condition of human rights violations in the country. In the process of such experimentation, Kenyans have unabatedly been denied the enjoyment of many of their fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to participate in their government. This article analyses Kenya's constitutional order with the intention of highlighting the extent to which the country's citizens have been denied the right to participate in their government. Drawing inspiration from the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights, the article recommends ways in which this right could be entrenched in the…
Respublica Litereria, 1997
If large rural majorities in Africa are too poor to participate, too dispersed to organise, too remote from information to know alternatives, a multiparty democratic system with universal suffrage does not give them democratic influence. Not least the experience of fascist masses applauding irrational, violent and destructive policies brought philosophers to understand that democracy cannot work without a high level of information, knowledge and commitment to a wider public. Democracy requires considerable depth of opinion, a high level of political consciousness and responsibility in the population at large. Without it, no regular vote and no number of parties can guarantee democracy (Pausewang, 1994) It is very often asserted that election is a process that defines system and validates civic participation in statecraft; and, as such, it embodies the most significant institution of democracy. While this tenet of paramount importance is well understood by leaders of transitional regimes in Africa, creative leaders have used the moment of election to abuse human rights, undermining the very democratic value they seemingly claim to uphold. In this paper, the author, through systematic analysis, illustrates the potential role electoral institutions could play in sustaining democracy and provide insight in to the mechanics of civil society empowerment within the reach and ability of electoral organisations. It further develops a code of practice for electoral organisation on areas of organic networking as a regional political collateral to ensure that these organisations maintain a level of independence from encroachment by authorities and outsiders. This Keynote focuses on the Electoral Institutions in Southern Africa, the methodology and study protocol for developing a Code of Practice for Organic Networking. The problems stem from lack of programme focus and the closely related over-dependence on external finance and assistance. African electoral bodies lack of an appropriately staffed networking "nerve" centre; the absence of effective "in-house" network which coordinates their relations, represents their interests and advocate their positions on important national and regional issues, has hindered their ability to make collective demands on some important issues. Questions have been raised as to whether electoral bodies have so far been effective in building channels and media aimed at institutionalising empowerment of voters. While many proposals for remedial action have been formulated, real commitment to collaborative processes at the inter-organisational level has till now been limited. After undertaking an analytical perspective, the keynote proposes strategies for organic networking and a code of practice to share best practices among the electoral institutions of Southern Africa. The vision is to have gender equality demonstrated by women's participation and representation in decision-making of all state functions. Drawn from the vision, the mission is to achieve a 50/50 representation of women in all functions of the state (legislature, judiciary, and executive) and civic leadership. The empirical task in ensuring free and fair elections entails answering three electoral questions-electoral quantity, electoral quality and electoral meaning. But the main question that comes to mind is how could civil society empowerment and other democratic projects pursue their goals consistently in varying contexts, but do so without resorting to a self-defeating, overly scripted and stage-managed political "play"? The hallmark of a competitive election is that it creates uncertainty about who will hold power in its aftermath. Precisely because multiparty elections threaten incumbents with the potential loss of their power, they generate strong incentives for current office-holders to exploit available resources to prevent their replacement by challengers. Key words: elections, electoral institutions, gender, rules, institutions, delimitation of constituencies, plurality and majority systems, proportional representation systems, mixed electoral systems, paragons of democracy
Features The implementation of the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance
2015
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of Eastern Europe’s totalitarian regimes, a consensus seems to have emerged, worldwide, for the introduction of new standards into international standards, commonly called ‘democratic clauses’. The aim of these clauses is to promote the emergence of and contribute to the development of states based on respect for certain democratic principles in the world, particularly in Africa (OAU