AfriMAP Call for Papers : Elections in Africa

(AfriMAP)--The Africa Governance Monitoring and Advocacy Project of the Open Society network of foundations in Africa (AfriMAP) wishes to announce the publication of three papers considering the relevance to Africa of recent constitutional reform proposals from Britain, France and Canada. They are available here: <http://www.afrimap.org/papers.php. In addition, we are pleased to issue our next call for papers on the issue of elections in Africa

Recent electoral crises in Kenya and Zimbabwe have hit the headlines across Africa and beyond. But many other countries in Africa have seen contested elections in recent years, or have forthcoming elections where problems are anticipated: among them Nigeria, Cameroon, Malawi, Angola and Côte d’Ivoire. Among the critical issues in these election crises has been the independence and effectiveness of the national election commission, manipulation of the voters’ roll, equal access to broadcast media, and the capacity of the courts to help resolve election disputes. If electoral management is not impartial and effective, those disappointed by an election result are unlikely to accept its outcome.

There are many examples of successful elections in Africa that have led to power changing hands and thus to greater democratic accountability: South Africa, Ghana, Benin, Senegal, and others have all held repeated successful elections of agreed legitimacy. Nonetheless, there is a need for continued vigilance. Even in Ghana, where steady progress has been registered over the past 15 years in the increasing respect for democratic standards, concerns have been raised about the resources and effective independence of the election commission in relation to elections scheduled for late 2008.

The African Union has adopted many standards relating to elections and election management, most importantly the 2007 African Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance (ACDEG). At sub-regional level, the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) has adopted the SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections, while the SADC Parliamentary Forum has its own Norms and Standards for Elections in the SADC Region. In West Africa, the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance also contains relevant commitments. All these standards are available on the AfriMAP website <www.afrimap.org. AfriMAP invites submissions of papers on electoral management in Africa, based on information from one or more countries. Among the different approaches that could be adopted are:

• A consideration of the degree to which electoral commissions respect the standards in the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance
• The extent to which the standards on election management in the ACDEG are adequate, in the face of the particular types of abuses reported.
• Proposals for effective enforcement of the ACDEG by the African Union and regional economic communities (RECs) with reference to the situation in specific countries: under what circumstances should AU sanctions be invoked in accordance with the ACDEG and what sanctions are most appropriate? What sorts of regional/continental monitoring systems should be put in place?
• The significance of electoral systems - first-past-the-post or proportional representation - for the successful conduct of elections, with reference to one or several countries.
• The role of electoral dispute resolution mechanisms, including election tribunals and the courts, in resolving disputed election results: at what point does an election result become too contested for the courts to play an effective role?
• A comparison of the recommendations made in one or more of the APRM country review reports relating to electoral management and the extent to which they address the most important issues for elections in that country.
• The role of national or international election monitors, with reference to particular examples of effective (or ineffective) monitoring exercises.
• The role of Africa’s development partners, for example in funding election administration, election monitoring, or other support.

The deadline for submissions to be received is 15 September 2008.
Our objective is to encourage and promote new thinking and debate on issues that AfriMAP is exploring through its research. We are particularly keen to encourage submissions based on primary sources, personal research and innovative thinking. Papers are accepted in English, French and Portuguese, between 1,500-2,000 words in length, and those selected will be published on our website. Winners will receive an honorarium of $250. See the<Guidelines on Call for Papers on the AfriMAP website for further details on submitting a paper. The winning papers from our previous calls for papers are available on the AfriMAP website. If you would like to contact AfriMAP for advice on topics for your paper, please email us at <info@afrimap.org.

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