Civic Election Observation and General Elections in Ghana under the Fourth Republic:

2016 ◽  
pp. 35-62
Author(s):  
Maame Adwoa A. Gyekye-Jandoh
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Republic ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Election Observation

A Review of the Electoral Process under Ghana's Fourth Republic

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 355-377
Author(s):  
Lydia A. Nkansah ◽  
Delali A. Gawu
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Electoral Process ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Members Of Parliament ◽  
Electoral Cycle ◽  
Fourth Republic ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Election Results

There have been seven general elections, under Ghana's Fourth Republic, to elect presidents and members of parliament. There are laws regulating the electoral process and election results have generally been accepted and, in a few cases, challenged through the laid-down process. Elections in Ghana are nonetheless reportedly flawed with irregularities tainting the outcome and creating tensions and sometimes pockets of violence. This article examines the electoral process under Ghana's Fourth Republic, namely the adoption of regulations for each electoral cycle, voters’ registration and the voters’ register, nomination of aspirants, voting, counting of votes and declaration of the results. To ensure the integrity of the electoral process, the laws regulating elections should comply with the dictates of the procedural requirements of the rule of law and the Electoral Commission's actions must be consistent with these laws.

scholarly journals Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR) and Electioneering Process in Nigeria (2015–2019)

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 215824402110067
Author(s):  
Babayo Sule ◽  
Usman Sambo ◽  
Abdulkadir Ahmed ◽  
Muhammad Yusuf
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Theoretical Explanation ◽  
Civil Society Organizations ◽  
Fourth Republic ◽  
Election Monitoring ◽  
International Donor ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Donor Agencies ◽  
Civil Societies

Civil society organizations have played a pivotal role in democratization process in Nigeria since the advent of the Fourth Republic. They have greatly helped in the success of the 2015 and 2019 General Elections through pre-election, during election, and in post-election monitoring and advocacy. This article, therefore, examined the role of the Nigerian Civil Society Situation Room (NCSSR) in improving the election in Nigeria during the 2015 and 2019 General Elections. While many civil societies flourished recently in Nigeria, their role toward democratization and facilitating credible election remain insignificant until in the 2015 and 2019 General Elections where their activities helped immensely the process of a credible election. A Civil Society as the Third Tier of Government framework was adopted as a theoretical explanation of the context of the work. The research used a qualitative case study method of data collection where informants consisting of members of NCSSR, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), and academicians were selected for the interview and Focus Group Discussion. The total number selected was 16 from the three identified categories. The research discovered that the NCSSR aided the process and fairness of the 2015 and 2019 General Elections through proper monitoring, civic voter education, active collaboration with electoral body (INEC), and collaboration with international donor agencies through what they called “Civil Society Situation Room” which consist of more than 60 registered civil societies. The research recommends that civil societies should be empowered with constitutional backing and independent funding to enable them carry out their responsibilities adequately. Also, the article recommends that the electoral body (INEC) should liaise more and cooperate with civil societies to enable them conduct good and credible elections in future.

scholarly journals Resisting International Election Observation Through Election Visit Programmes: The Case of Malaysia

2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 310-331
Author(s):  
Muhamad Takiyuddin Ismail ◽  
Norazam Mohd Noor
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Aid ◽  
International Norm ◽  
Election Monitoring ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Election Observation

Malaysia has not invited International Election Monitoring Organisations (IEMOs) for any of its general elections (GEs) since 1990 and so is numbered among those states that defy this international norm. Although the elections under the Barisan Nasional (BN) regime displayed a wide variety of manipulative practices, the BN was able, due to its position as a semi-authoritarian nature, its strategic importance and its lack of dependence on foreign aid, to successfully resist demands for the presence of IEMOs. The prospects for IEMOs has been further reduced, since the GE 2013, by the Election Commission’s “election visit programme” (EVP), adopted to compensate for the absence of IEMOs. Following Malaysia’s historic GE 2018, a widespread consensus has developed that though Malaysia should not abandon its own EVP programme, it should readopt this international norm by inviting IEMOs. This is especially needed considering the amateurish state of domestic election monitoring in Malaysia.

scholarly journals Democratic Dawn? Civil Society and Elections in Myanmar 2010-2012

2012 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Lidauer
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
Transition Process ◽  
International Community ◽  
National Election ◽  
Democratic Regime ◽  
Electoral Process ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Election Observation ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Government

While the general elections in Myanmar in November 2010 were widely condemned, both national and international actors approached the by-elections of April 2012 as a political rite-de-passage to improve relations between the government and the opposition inside, and between the former pariah state and the international community outside the country. An undercurrent of the government-led transition process from an authoritarian to a formally more democratic regime was the development of a politically oriented civil society that found ways to engage in the electoral process. This article describes the emerging spaces of election-related civil society activism in the forms of civic and voter education, national election observation, and election-related agency in the media. Noting that, in particular, election observation helps connect civil society to regional and international debates, the paper draws preliminary conclusions about further developments ahead of the general elections in Myanmar expected to take place in 2015.

The 2019 General Election in Nigeria: Examining the Issues, Challenges, Successes and Lessons for Future General Elections

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Babayo Sule ◽  
Umar Adamu ◽  
Usman Sambo
Keyword(s):  
Participant Observation ◽  
General Election ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Fourth Republic ◽  
General Elections ◽  
History Of ◽  
Approach Method ◽  
The Subject

The 2019 General Election is another milestone and a watershed in the efforts of Nigeria towards democratisation. It has been the six consecutive times that General Elections are successfully conducted in the Fourth Republic which has been unprecedented in the history of the country. This work investigated the major issues, challenges, successes and lessons learnt from the Election. It is notable that elections in Nigeria for over fifty (50) years remain a war-like affair and the phenomenon seem to be continuous despite the long experience of democratic practice in the current Republic. The research used both primary and secondary sources of data analysis. The primary sources consist of participant observation, data from the electoral body; the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and reports from observers and civil societies that directly participated in the exercise. The secondary sources include books, journals, internet and other existing literature on the subject matter of study. The data obtained were analysed and discussed using a qualitative approach method where themes and sub-themes were identified and discussed analytically. The research discovered that the 2019 General Election was heralded with several issues, various challenges and some level of success and that there are lessons that are learnt from the process for future General Elections’ conduct in the country. The work recommends among other suggestions that for a better General Election in future in the country, some observed avoidable mistakes must be taken care of immediately and that the success part should be strengthened to ensure effectiveness.

scholarly journals “A valid electoral exercise”? Uganda's 1980 Elections and the Observers’ Dilemma

2017 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 211-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Willis ◽  
Gabrielle Lynch ◽  
Nic Cheeseman
Keyword(s):  
Civil War ◽  
Public Participation ◽  
African State ◽  
State Building ◽  
Fragile State ◽  
General Elections ◽  
History Of ◽  
Election Observation ◽  
Uk Government ◽  
Government Records

AbstractThe presence at Uganda's 1980 general elections of a Commonwealth Observer Group might be seen as a seminal moment. This was the first formal international observation of polls in a sovereign African state and the precursor of multiple similar missions that later became routine. Yet the 1980 mission sits uneasily in the history of election observation. The observers endorsed the results despite evidence of malpractice, and Uganda plunged into civil war within months. Internationally, the mission is now either forgotten or treated as an embarrassment. Within Uganda, it has been denounced as part of an outsider conspiracy to foist an unwanted president on an unwilling people. This article argues that the 1980 mission was neither entirely seminal nor an aberration, and that both the elections and observation were driven partly by actors within Uganda rather than simply imposed by outsiders. The availability of UK government records allows us to see the events of 1980 as a particularly clear example of a recurring “observers’ dilemma.” Ideally, elections combine democracy and state-building. They offer people a choice as to who will lead or represent them, and at the same time they assert through performance a crucial distinction between a capable, ordering state and a law-abiding citizenry. Yet these two aspects of elections may be in tension; a poll that offers little or no real choice may still perform “stateness” through substantial, orderly public participation. When that happens in what would now be called a “fragile state,” should international observers denounce the results?

scholarly journals Politics, Political Parties and the Party System in Nigeria: Who's Interest?

2020 ◽  
Vol 89 ◽  
pp. 33-50
Author(s):  
Dhikru Adewale Yagboyaju ◽  
Antonia Taiye Simbine
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
Party System ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Documentary Sources ◽  
Fourth Republic ◽  
Electoral Laws ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Law Reports ◽  
Special Committees ◽  
Selection Of

Party system and the administration of political parties are critical factors in determining the direction of politics and democracy. Three political parties contested at the inception of Nigeria’s Fourth Republic in 1999, but the number increased to more than 91 as at 2019. This paper raises fundamental questions as to whose interest – public or private interest of promoters and financiers - these parties serve, and whether the increase in the number of political parties has significantly entrenched democratic values in the country? These questions are compelling because of several events in political party operations in the 20 years of the Fourth Republic. These include controversial and vexatious party primaries preceding every major election, often leading to protracted and distractive litigations and rampant political defections. Unregulated use of money has, in particular, restrained ample participation by women and youths, while violence is almost becoming a norm and permanent characteristic of the electoral and political system. The paper draws data from secondary documentary sources for its conceptual and theoretical contents. Primary data are generated from events analyses by the authors as observers at party conventions and other meetings for the selection of candidates for political offices as well as during general elections. This is complimented by content analyses of relevant documents including electoral laws, court and law reports, and reports by special committees such as the Electoral Reform Committee (ERC). A combination of the ecological approach and conspiratorial theory is deployed for the paper’s analytic frame.

scholarly journals Managing the Incidence of Electoral Violence in Ghana’s Fourth Republic

2020 ◽  
pp. 39-46
Author(s):  
Harrison Kofi Belley
Keyword(s):  
Sampling Technique ◽  
Electoral System ◽  
Primary Sources ◽  
Electoral Violence ◽  
Process Factor ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Fourth Republic ◽  
General Elections ◽  
Volta Region

Since the inception of the fourth republic in 1992 [1], Ghana has gone through seven major successive general elections and has received numerous commendations all over the world. Incidentally, all these elections were associated with electoral violence. This study aimed at studying the causes, nature, and effects of electoral violence in the Volta Region of Ghana. The objective of the study included how electoral violence affects the credibility of the electoral system and what measures the Electoral Commission (EC) and the stakeholders in the conduct of elections have put in place to address the occurrence of electoral violence in the Volta Region in particular. The study identified two broad factors as responsible for the occurrence of electoral violence. The first factor is the process factor that serves as immediate cause of an eruption of electoral violence. The second is the external factors which, also serve as fertile grounds for electoral violence to occur. The study used qualitative research design in gathering data. The study used purposive sampling technique. In-depth interviews were conducted as the primary sources of data collection while secondary sources were gathered through existing documents, reports, textbooks, and internet search. The study recommended that EC should be professional in their electoral activities so that their actions would not serve as a spark of electoral violence.

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