Congo’s electoral reform process will pose challenges

Significance After three successive electoral cycles (2006, 2011 and 2018) of decreasing legitimacy, one of the most sensitive issues on the new government’s agenda is electoral reform. Impacts The electoral reform debate may also strain the government’s relations with civil society actors whose support it needs in other domains. International partners will likely encourage electoral reforms but urge respect of the 2023 deadline for the next elections. Having senators and governors elected by popular vote could reduce corruption risks without greatly complicating the electoral format.

Significance The pro-gun lobby is one of the most influential in the United States and resists attempts to curtail Second Amendment (“right to … bear arms”) freedoms. At the heart of the pending gun-law reform debate is the power that lobbyists and ‘big money’ have over US lawmakers and elections. Impacts Lobbying will increasingly benefit the economically wealthy, including businesses and well-funded civil society groups. The controversy over alleged nefarious Russian influence in US elections could lead to higher scrutiny of campaign finance sources. If the mismatch between voters and laws grows too large, this could drive more populist politics and candidates.


Subject Pressured Malawian president Significance Recurring corruption crises over the past year have seen President Peter Mutharika and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)’s popularity decline. Despite such travails, the DPP has recently attempted to consolidate its hold on parliament by co-opting members of the opposition People’s Party (PP). This comes soon after rebel PP members controversially supported DPP efforts to defeat an electoral reform bill that would have weakened Mutharika’s 2019 re-election hopes. Impacts The opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) will receive intensified overtures from the main parties ahead of the 2019 poll. Despite the recent parliamentary setbacks, a civil society push for electoral reform is unlikely to subside. Failure properly to combat a cholera outbreak in the Central and Northern regions would put further pressure on the government.


Significance The defiance of the party whip by party members implicitly goes against South Africa’s proportional representation (PR) list electoral system, where party bosses have substantial control over candidate selection. With lawmakers at national level not dependent on constituencies, many opposition parties and civil society groups believe ANC MPs do not adequately represent the electorate, while opaque party funding rules mean parties could be beholden to unseen private backers. Impacts Civil society fears over the institutional independence of the independent electoral commission (IEC) will grow ahead of the 2019 poll. Overhaul of public funding for parties, without concomitant regulation of private donations, could potentially hurt smaller parties. Growing voter apathy may undermine broader civil society attempts at a mass grassroots electoral reform campaign.


2000 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 89-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwight Y. King

AbstractThis article describes some of the major ways in which the recent electoral reforms changed the Soeharto-era electoral system. The system of only three political parties adhering to a common philosophy (Pancasila) was replaced by hundreds of parties and considerable ideological diversity. To make elections of legislators more meaningful, responsibility for the administration and supervision of elections was placed with more neutral authorities. The reforms enhanced the representativeness, power and accountability of the legislatures in various ways, including multipartyism, establishment of standing subcommissions, bestowal of subpoena power, and decrease in appointed representatives. Particular attention is given to the debate surrounding the most sensitive issues in electoral reform: appointed military representatives, proportional versus district (plurality) electoral principle, and civil servants' involvement in political parties. Despite numerous flaws both in the design of the reforms and in their implementation, reasons for cautious optimism about Indonesia's political evolution are offered in conclusion.


Subject Canadian electoral reform. Significance Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberal government has begun the process of electoral reform. An all-party committee will consider alternative methods of allocating parliamentary seats. The government has signalled that this important change to the democratic process may be implemented without consulting the people in a referendum, to the consternation of the opposition Conservatives and New Democrats, given the murky constitutionality of a Parliament-driven reform process. The outcome will have implications for Canada's electoral map and Trudeau's premiership. Impacts Proportional representation may be a fall-back option for Trudeau if Parliament-imposed ranked balloting proves too controversial. Provincial backlash over lack of consultation could envenom negotiations in other policy areas, such as health spending or climate. Smaller left-leaning parties, such as the NDP and Greens, may achieve greater federal electoral success under a new system.


Subject Electoral reform controversies in Uganda. Significance The ruling National Resistance Movement (NRM) on July 25 tabled a new electoral reform package in parliament. Opposition parties have already decried the legislation as designed to tighten President Yoweri Museveni’s grip on power. However, the reality is more complex. While some aspects of the bills will, if passed, strengthen Museveni’s position, they also represent a long-overdue attempt to resolve the many problems that bedevil the electoral system. Impacts With the world’s youngest population, the electoral commission will need to register huge numbers of first-time voters before 2021. Youth voters are likely to favour Bobi Wine, but Museveni has made efforts to court youth groups and may perform better than expected. The monetisation of elections may persist, but could shift from internal NRM competition to the battle for youth votes.


Author(s):  
Rotimi T Suberu

Recent elections in Nigeria have produced conflicting and ambiguous assessments regarding the quality, integrity and credibility of the country’s electoral governance. On one hand, widespread domestic and international criticisms of the farcical 2007 elections provoked remarkable constitutional, statutory, and administrative proposals, programmes, and policies for reforming Nigeria’s electoral processes. Those reforms led to electoral cycles that observers adjudged to be comparatively competitive, broadly acceptable, and generally indicative of a shift away from the country’s extended history of electoral maladministration, corruption, and chicanery. On the other hand, credible reports emphasize the persistence of significant levels of fraud, violence, and disorganization in Nigerian elections. This chapter shows that these contradictory outcomes and dual perspectives are consistent with the partial and incomplete nature of recent electoral reforms in Nigeria. Those reforms have extended the autonomy of the country’s election management commission, without guaranteeing the agency’s effective political insulation or addressing broader and deeper weaknesses in the country’s electoral landscape. Nigeria resembles a classic hybrid regime with increasingly competitive electoral contests that, however, continue to witness undemocratic levels of manipulation, corruption, and violence. More extensive reforms, along the lines proposed by a major official electoral reform committee, would have produced more substantial improvements in electoral integrity and quality.


Headline TOGO: Electoral reform talks may break down


Significance Although President Cyril Ramaphosa has publicly committed to increase funding to combat what he calls South Africa’s “second pandemic”, there is a lack of transparency in how the government disburses funds linked to its National Strategic Plan (NSP) on Gender-based Violence and Femicide. Impacts Civil society groups will increase pressure on the government to make expenditure on GBV programmes more transparent. A new private-sector fund to contribute to the NSP has received strong early support, but its management structure is opaque. High levels of GBV will not only have significant humanitarian and social costs but may deter much-needed foreign investment.


Headline HONG KONG: Democracy retreats with electoral reform


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