Table Of Contentelections
in african
developing
democracies
HILARY A. A. MIEZAH
Elections in African Developing Democracies
Hilary A.A. Miezah
Elections in African
Developing
Democracies
Hilary A.A. Miezah
ELECTION AID (ELECTA)
London, UK
ISBN 978-3-319-53705-4 ISBN 978-3-319-53706-1 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-53706-1
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Prologue
Elections in African Developing Democracies covers the whole spectrum of
the democratic electoral process, from putting in place an electoral law
either by a constitution, an Act of Parliament, a proclamation by a colonial
government, a decree in a military dictatorship or an electoral code. It
deals very broadly with all the major phases of the democratic electoral
process in both north and south, with a case study on most of the phases
in the African environment. These phases include:
1. Setting up electoral machinery and types of machinery available
2. The electoral budget and mobilization of external support
3. Registration of political parties and bodies responsible for the
registration
4. Demarcation of electoral boundaries, the criteria and the prob-
lems involved in an African environment
5. Registration of voters, types and stages of the registration process,
the eligibility criteria, the challenges and the control mechanisms
instituted to confront the challenges
6. Nomination of candidates, the prescriptions for the nominations
and the rationale behind the prescriptions
7. The political campaign
8. Appointment of polling agents, their roles and limitations
9. The poll and types thereof, the commonest being one ballot box
and one ballot paper bearing the names, symbols and photographs
of candidates
v
vi PROLOGUE
Although an electoral law may not cater for publicity and public educa-
tion, the author sees public enlightenment as the hub around which the
whole electoral process revolves in the developing world. A section of the
book is therefore devoted to public enlightenment. Cultural reproduction
strategies including music and dance, slogans and symbols, beating of
drums, gongons, fring of musketry and story-telling are some of the cited
tools of mass communication in many countries in Africa. This shows the
structure of the massive intensive public education machinery in the
regions, districts and constituencies.
Local and international observation and monitoring by foreign govern-
ments, international organizations like the United Nations (UN), the
Commonwealth, the African Union, the European Community, interna-
tional development agencies and non-governmental organizations are
included in Chap. 5. Emphasis is placed on the need to observe the prin-
ciple of sovereignty of state and non-interference by foreign election
observers and monitors in the internal affairs of host countries.
The author concedes that circumstances on the ground may compel the
electoral machinery to ask for help from foreign observers and monitors.
The help may include training of trainers, mobilization of fnancial and
logistical support and, occasionally, printing and distribution of election
materials. He cites as case studies the massive support received by the
Central African Republic and Sierra Leone in 1999 and 2002, respectively,
from external partners during these countries’ presidential and parliamen-
tary elections.
In conclusion, the author cautions that none of the phases discussed in
this chapter is less important or must be taken for granted. The 2012 elec-
tion petition in Ghana is used as a country case study to show how impor-
tant it is to scrupulously follow the laws, procedures and modalities in the
conduct of open, transparent, credible and accountable elections.
The subjects addressed in Chap. 6 on External Aid, Chap. 7 on Sel-
freliance and Chap. 8 on Security and Control Mechanisms may not be
covered by electoral law. However, these areas of the process could heavily
impact on the democratic electoral process in developing countries.
The electoral budget in many developing democracies depends on
external aid. Although the author argues that democracy should not be a
periodic gift to a developing country, he apprises the reader of the external
aid available, the types, sources and means of accessing it.
On self-reliance, the author lays emphasis on the mobilization of avail-
able local human and material resources, the use of locally made items,
PROLOGU E vii
judicious application of resources and the elimination of corrupt practices
and waste. He deals with the institution of security and control mecha-
nisms to ensure credible elections. He shows the sensitive areas of the
electoral process, which call for rigid security controls.
In Chap. 10, the author describes the media as a watchdog of the elec-
tion process. In some jurisdictions, the freedom and independence of the
media are guaranteed in national constitutions. This constitutional provi-
sion is to enable the media to serve as the eagle eye of the democratic
electoral process in emerging democracies. Ghana and Namibia are cited
as examples.
As indicated in Chap. 2, there are no erga omnes rules for the conduct
and supervision of elections. Every country has its specifc needs and its
elections must be consistent with the needs and aspirations of the people.
However, all elections are subject to universally accepted norms and the
electoral jargon “free expression of the will of the people”. Every coun-
try’s peculiar circumstances determine the design and implementation of
its electoral process.
For purposes of illustration, the people of Zimbabwe went to the polls
in 1980 without a voters’ register as known in Britain, Ghana or any other
developed or developing democracy, as discussed in Chap. 5 of this book.
Instead, individual personal identifcation documents including passports,
driving licences and work permits constituted the Common Roll for black
voters, who voted for the frst time in Zimbabwe.
Ghana, Sierra Leone, Namibia, the Central African Republic, South
Africa and Zimbabwe have been selected for case studies. The book is lit-
tered with references to cases in India, the world’s largest democracy, and
Cambodia, where the author served as Zone Controller and Provincial
Director with the United Nations during the country’s constitutional pro-
cess from 1992 to 1993.
In Chaps. 1, 2, 3 and 4, the book generally covers democratic elections.
An attempt is made to defne an election, the electoral process and the
electoral system, terms often used interchangeably in developing coun-
tries, in order to aid readers who are not thoroughly briefed on election
mechanisms.
As country case studies, the author cites Ghana’s return to constitu-
tional rule from 1967 to 1969, UN Resolution 435(1978) on the
Namibian political question and the 1980 Zimbabwe (Southern Rhodesia)
independence elections to show the differences between the single act of
an election on a statutorily appointed day or days, and the electoral pro-
cess itself, which may take several months or years to complete.
viii PROLOGUE
Using the 1978 Referendum on Union Government in Ghana in
Chap. 1, the author highlights some of the challenges and intricacies
in the conduct and supervision of elections, referenda and plebiscites in
developing democracies. These challenges include governmental and
other external pressures and interferences, intimidation, harassment from
state ideological institutions, political parties and so on. The author cites a
catalogue of benchmarks for the conduct and supervision of democratic
elections, including principally capable men and women charged with the
conduct and supervision of the electoral process, courage, boldness, fear-
lessness, positive neutrality and non-alignment, strict observance of the
electoral law, rules, regulations, procedures and modalities, openness,
transparency, credibility and the cooperation of the electorate.
In Chap. 3 the author works on models of elections in Africa. He cat-
egorizes these into the pre-colonial model, pre-independence model, elec-
tions held in special circumstances, elections from military rule to
constitutional rule and elections held after the normal term of Parliament
or the end of presidential incumbency. He cites Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire
in the pre-colonial model and uses Ghana as an example in the preinde-
pendence model. The 1980 Zimbabwe independence elections, the 1989
Namibia elections, the South African frst multiracial elections of 1994
and the Sierra Leone elections of 2002 are cited as Africa’s historical
examples of elections in special circumstances.
In Chap. 4, the author critically examines the electoral systems avail-
able and the advantages and disadvantages of each system in the light of
the inadequacies in many developing countries. He explains how the
single member transferable vote or single majority/plurality system is
the most preferred option in most African countries. He cites the party
list system adopted in Namibia under UN Resolution 435(1978) and
the district block system used in Sierra Leone in 2002 due to the pre-
vailing circumstances at the time. He adds to these arrangements an
indigenous electoral system, a system based on consultation and com-
promise and in accordance with customary practices and usage.
Using Sierra Leone as a case study, he refers to a provision in the 1991
Sierra Leone Constitution which enables traditional rulers to be elected to
Parliament.
In Chap. 5, the author deals very broadly with all the major phases of
the democratic electoral process in both north and south, with a case study
on most of the phases in the African environment. This chapter com-
mences, as the frst step of the electoral process, with the promulgation of
PROLOGU E ix
an electoral law, either through a constitution, a statute, an electoral code,
a constitutional or legislative instrument or a decree in a military dictator-
ship. The chapter ends with the election petition. The author emphasizes
the point that the law is the foundation of the whole electoral process.
Between the two phases above, the author methodologically works
through all the principal phases in the democratic electoral process, with
bullet points on the most sensitive phases of the process, in order to guide
election practitioners, seminar organizers, researchers, politicians, political
party agents and students of political science.
The author includes the discussion of local and international observa-
tion and monitoring by foreign governments, international organizations
like the United Nations, the Commonwealth, the African Union, the
European Community, international development agencies and non-
governmental organizations. Emphasis is placed on the need to observe the
principle of sovereignty of state and non-interference by foreign election
observers and monitors in the internal affairs of host countries.
The author concedes that circumstances on the ground may compel the
electoral machinery to ask for help from foreign observers and monitors.
This help may include training of trainers, mobilization of fnancial and logis-
tical support and, occasionally, printing and distribution of election materials.
He cites as case studies the massive support received by the Central African
Republic and Sierra Leone in 1999 and 2002, respectively, from external
partners during these countries’ presidential and parliamentary elections.
In conclusion, the author cautions that none of the phases discussed in
this chapter is less important or must be taken for granted. The 2012 elec-
tion petition in Ghana is used as a country case study to show how impor-
tant it is to scrupulously follow the laws, procedures and modalities in the
conduct of open, transparent, credible and accountable elections.
The subjects addressed in Chap. 6 on External Aid, Chap. 7 on
Selfreliance and Chap. 8 on Security and Control Mechanisms may not be
covered by electoral law. However, these areas of the process could heavily
impact on the democratic electoral process in developing countries.
The electoral budget in many developing democracies depends on
external aid. Although the author argues that democracy should not be a
periodic gift to a developing country, he apprises the reader of the external
aid available, the types, sources and means of accessing it.
On self-reliance, the author lays emphasis on the mobilization of avail-
able local human and material resources, the use of locally made items, the
judicious application of resources and the elimination of corrupt practices
x PROLOGUE
and waste. He deals with the institution of security and control mecha-
nisms to ensure credible elections. He shows the sensitive areas of the
electoral process, which call for rigid security controls.
In Chap. 10, the author describes the media as a watchdog of the elec-
tion process. In some jurisdictions, the freedom and independence of the
media are guaranteed in national constitutions. This constitutional provi-
sion is to enable the media to serve as the eagle eye of the democratic
electoral process in emerging democracies. Ghana and Namibia are cited
as examples.
In the Central African Republic, registration of voters is compulsory
and the voters’ register is prepared by local chiefs.
While some countries have non-partisan multiparty electoral commis-
sions, some have partisan multiparty electoral commissions, sole electoral
commissioners and government departments organizing their elections.
In Chap. 5, for each phase of the electoral process the author shows the
types, options and challenges, with as many case studies as possible.
Ghana has incorporated into its electoral laws biometric registration
and verifcation at voting, as part of the control mechanisms to ward off
multiple registration, registration of minors, impersonation and multiple
voting.
As argued in this book, there is no guarantee that the feared mischief
can be completely cured through the introduction of expensive equip-
ment and machinery. A massive intensive effort at public education,
capacity-b uilding, inspiring confdence in the process and the elimination
of corrupt practices could go a long way to aid the democratic electoral
process in emerging democracies.
A country’s Electoral Commission may be independent. In the perfor-
mance of its functions, it may not be subject to the direction or control of
any person or authority. However, a country’s electoral machinery may
create a consultative or advisory body comprising political parties in legal
existence, civil society and religious bodies. This body may draw up a
Code of Conduct to regulate the conduct of political parties. Ghana, a
case study, has one such body, which has been incorporated into its elec-
toral laws. The reason for the formation of this body is to set the relations
between the electoral machinery and political and civil society on a formal
and regular basis, thus facilitating consultation and the receipt and
s ettlement of complaints. This action also helps to ensure openness, trans-
parency, accountability and credibility.
As indicated in Chap. 9, over the years there have been debates in many
African countries on the desirability of moving away from what are per
