Elections in Africa between hope and reality

book cover "Multi-party elections in Africa"The Library, Documentation and Information Department of the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASC) has compiled this web dossier to coincide with the conference ‘Elections in Africa: fair, façade or failure?’ held in The Hague on 25 November 2009. The conference is part of a joint programme entitled ‘The African State: façade and reality’, carried out by the ASC and the Africa Department of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DAF). The dossier contains a selection of titles from the library's online catalogue, including monographs, articles, and chapters from edited works, published since 1990, when multiparty politics began to emerge in Africa. The country cases selected for the dossier correspond to the country-specific presentations at the conference. Each title in the dossier links directly to the corresponding record in the online catalogue, which provides a more detailed description of all titles as well as abstracts of many articles and edited works. The dossier starts with an introduction to elections in Africa by J. Abbink and concludes with a selection of links to relevant web sites. Elections in Ghana were the subject of an earlier ASC web dossier (December 2008).

For further information, please email us at asclibrary@ascleiden.nl or phone +31 (0)71 527 3354.

Introduction: Elections in Africa between hope and reality

In the early 1990s a wave of protest emerged in Africa, reflecting the global fervour for democratic, accountable leadership and representative political systems. In the wake of this groundswell of protests among African populations, the discrediting of Socialist-Marxist systems, and the fall of the Berlin Wall as a contributing factor, many electoral reforms were implemented. Until then only a few African states had experience of acceptable elections and a democratic system (Botswana, Mauritius). In the early 1990s, however, many autocratic regimes in Africa caved in to the combined pressure for reform of both their citizens and the international community (e.g. donor countries demanding ‘good governance’) and introduced periodic elections for parliament or the president. This often went hand in hand with the formation of new (opposition) parties.

In the 1990s more or less competitive elections were held in dozens of African countries. Often they were preceded by a ‘national conference’ of the various stakeholders (incumbent regimes, civil society and opposition groups, or parties). In a number of cases, this opening up of democratic space proved durable, as for example in Ghana, Zambia, Senegal, and the exceptional case of South Africa (which not only held its first successful democratic elections in 1994, but also abolished an entire political system). In other countries, the first elections were a successful exercise in democratic change (such as in Benin), only to revert again to more autocratic tendencies later. In some countries, meaningful elections did not come until much later, in the early 2000s (Kenya 2002 and especially 2007), and while they led to a change of regime, the costs were high in terms of political division and violence. Several post-conflict countries, such as Mozambique and Angola, went through precarious elections, and in the absence of a developed multiparty system the ruling parties were re-elected by a big majority. In ethnically and religiously divided countries such as Nigeria, elections were continuously fraught with problems, such as corruption and vote-rigging, even if the end results more or less reflected majority opinion. In a few countries elections were not held at all, despite earlier promises, and autocratic governance was reinvented (Eritrea).

Research on elections in Africa has significantly advanced in the past fifteen years, and much more is known about the conditions, the institutional framework and the historical settings of elections. From most studies it is apparent that a careful contextualization of electoral phenomena is needed in order to make sense of their meaning and importance. As elections are a necessary but not a sufficient condition for a democratisation process to be successful, it is crucial that other factors in the political culture of African countries are taken into consideration as well (as is also the case in studies on elections in the US, Europe or anywhere else). Specific traits in local political traditions impact on the success and durability of elections: cultural notions of authority and accountability, levels of economic development, the extent of ‘neopatrimonial’ networks, civil liberties, gender relations, and religious values regarding the political process and community representation. The role of the judicial system in shaping and regulating the democratic and institutional context of elections is also highly relevant.

The present web dossier lists the most important references on elections in Africa, paying attention to both general and comparative studies as well as case studies. In the four cases at hand – Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana and Burundi - we find the various types of electoral process nicely represented: successful competitive elections in Ghana that led to a change of power; competitive but deeply problematic and divisive elections in Kenya with a perhaps unexpectedly violent aftermath; ‘façade’ elections in Ethiopia, where despite gains made the playing field has never been level and the incumbent party has largely engineered its victory in all elections since 1992; and finally, the very fragile electoral process in the post-conflict conditions of Burundi, where only one election has been held since 1990.

The case studies as well as the general literature on elections in Africa show that electoral gains are not irreversible. Democratic consolidation through elections is not yet well entrenched in the political system and institutions of most African countries, susceptible as they are to economic shocks, elite manipulation, religious contestation and ‘ethnic’ strife.

Elections in Africa

Special issue: elections and conflict in Africa / David K. Leonard (ed.). - Johannesburg : EISA, 2009. - (Journal of African elections, ISSN 1609-4700 ; vol. 8, no. 1 (2009))

Electoral violence and post-electoral arrangements in Africa / Issaka K. Souaré (ed.). - London : Adonis & Abbey Publishers, 2008. - (African renaissance ; vol. 5, no. 3/4)

Party systems in Africa: problems of categorising and explaining party systems / Gero Erdmann & Matthias Basedau
In: Journal of Contemporary African Studies: (2008), vol. 26, no. 3, p. 241-258 : tab.

The political cost of AIDS in Africa : evidence from six countries / Kondwani Chirambo (ed.). - Pretoria : IDASA, 2008

A preface to an inclusive African electoral system reform agenda / Mohamed Salih & Abdalla Hamdok
In: Journal of African Elections: (2007), vol. 6, no. 1, p. 118-133 : tab.

book cover Democracy and elections in AfricaDemocracy and elections in Africa/ Jørgen Elklit
In: Challenges of conflict, democracy and development in Africa / ed.by Khabele Matlosa, Jørgen Elklit, Bertha Chiroro.- Johannesburg : EISA: (2007), p.79-89.

Votes, money and violence : political parties and elections in sub-Saharan Africa / Matthias Basedau, Gero Erdmann, & Andreas Mehler (ed.). - Uppsala [etc.] : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet [etc.], 2007

Democracy and elections in Africa/ Staffan I. Lindberg. - Baltimore, MD : Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006

Independent candidature and the electoral process in Africa / Churchill Ewumbue-Monono
In: Journal of African Elections: (2006), vol. 5, no. 1, p. 74-99 : tab.

Introduction: the contradictions and ironies of elections in Africa / Kwame A. Ninsin, Hala G. Thabet, Adigun Agbaje, Said Adejumobi, John Makumbe, Peter Wanyande, Adam Habib & Sanusha Naidu
In: Africa Development: (2006), vol. 31, no. 3, p. 1-10, 11-24, 25-44, 45-61, 62-80 : tab.

La neutralité électorale en Afrique: analyse des commissions électorales en Afrique subsaharienne / Hilaire de Prince Pokam
In: Revue juridique et politique des États francophones: (2006), année 60, no. 3, p. 335-361.

Opposition parties and democratisation in sub-Saharan Africa / Staffan I. Lindberg
In: Journal of Contemporary African Studies: (2006), vol. 24, no. 1, p. 123-138 : tab.

Resolution and transformation of election related conflicts in Africa / Karanja Mbugua
In: Journal of African Elections: (2006), vol. 5, no. 1, p. 22-35.

Liberal democracy and its critics in Africa : political dysfunction and the struggle for social progress / Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo (ed.). - London : Zed Books, 2005. - (Africa in the new millennium)

Guide to electoral fraud : loser take all/ Tah Asongwed. - [Philadelphia] : XLibris, 2004

Le droit à des élections libres et démocratiques dans l'ordre régional africain / Dodzi Kokoroko
In: Revue juridique et politique des États francophones: (2004), année 58, no. 2, p. 152-166.

Voter en Afrique : comparaisons et différenciations / Patrick Quantin (ed.) / Association française de science politique. - Paris : Harmattan, 2004. - (Logiques politiques)

Multiparty competition, founding elections and political business cycles in Africa / Steven A. Block, Karen E. Ferree & Smita Singh
In: Journal of African Economies: (2003), vol. 12, no. 3, p. 444-468 : tab.

Post-conflict elections or post-elections conflict : Sierra Leone 2002 and patterns of voting in sub-Saharan Africa / David Harris
In: Cadernos de Estudos Africanos: (2003/04), no. 5/6, p. [39]-49.

Proceedings of CAFRAD/UNDESA-DPADM regional workshop on electoral administration in Africa / Centre africain de formation et de recherche administratives pour le développement (CAFRAD). - Tanger : CAFRAD, 2003. - (Cahiers africains d'administration publique, ISSN 0007-9588 ; no. 61)

Multi-party elections in Africa / Michael Cowen & Liisa Laakso (ed.). - Oxford [etc.] : James Currey [etc.], 2002

Emerging electoral trends in the light of recent African elections / Morné Van der Linde
In: African Human Rights Law Journal: (2001), vol. 1, no. 1, p. 127-139 : tab.

Ethnicity and recent democratic experiments in Africa / Cyril K. Daddieh & Jo Ellen Fair (ed.). - New Brunswick, NJ : African Studies Association, 2001. - (African issues ; vol. 29, no. 1/2 (2001))

Second elections in Africa: an overview / Yolanda Sadie
In: Politeia: (2001), vol. 20, no. 1, p. 63-86 : tab.

Democratisering in Afrika / Klaas van Walraven
In: Internationale Spectator: (2000), jrg. 54, nr. 5, p. 268-272.

Election observation and democratization in Africa / Jon Abbink & Gerti Hesseling (ed.). - Basingstoke : Macmillan, 2000

A first look at second elections in Africa, with illustrations from Zambia/ Michael Bratton & Daniel N. Posner
In: State, conflict, and democracy in Africa / ed.by Richard Joseph.- Boulder, Col.[etc.] : Lynne Riener Publishers: (1999), p.377-407 : tab.

Autopsie des élections en Afrique noire / Germain Philippe Assale Tingbo
In: Congo-Afrique: (1999), no. 332, p. 85-96.

Elections in Africa : a data handbook / Dieter Nohlen, Michael Krennerich, & Bernhard Thibaut (ed.). - Oxford : Oxford University Press, 1999

Les figures du politique en Afrique : des pouvoirs hérités aux pouvoirs élus / Momar Coumba Diop & Mamadou Diouf (ed.). - Paris [etc.] : Karthala [etc.], 1999. - (Bibliothèque du Codesria)

Les Nations Unies et les élections démocratiques en Afrique / Mutoy Mubiala
In: Congo-Afrique: (1999), no. 332, p. 68-84.

Brèves remarques sur l'assistance électorale internationale et la souveraineté des États africains / Moussounga Itsouhou Mbadinga
In: Revue juridique et politique: (1998), année 52, no. 3, p. 309-326.

Democracy in Africa : the post electoral era? / Tessy Bakary
In: CODESRIA Bulletin: (1998), no. 3/4, p. 9-15.

Election and electoral systems in Africa : purposes, problems and prospects / Amare Tekle
In: The Review / International Commission of Jurists: (1998), no. 60, p. 167-178.

book cover Elections and conflict management in AfricaElections and conflict management in Africa / Timothy D. Sisk & Andrew Reynolds (ed.). - Washington, DC : United States Institute of Peace Press, 1998

Elections in Africa : a fading shadow of democracy? / Said Adejumobi
In: Africa Development: (1998), vol. 23, no. 1, p. 41-61 : tab.

International election monitoring: the African experience / Douglas G. Anglin
In: African Affairs: (1998), vol. 97, no. 389, p. 471-495 : tab.

Le pouvoir de suffrage dans le nouveau constitutionnalisme africain / Babakane Coulibaley
In: Revue burkinabè de droit: (1998), no. 33, p. 7-32.

Postconflict elections, democratization, and international assistance / Krishna Kumar (ed.). - Boulder, CO [etc.] : Lynne Rienner, 1998

Pour une analyse comparative des élections africaines / Patrick Quantin
In: Politique africaine: (1998), no. 69, p. 12-28.

An overview of election studies in Africa / Michael Cowen & Liisa Laakso
In: The Journal of Modern African Studies: (1997), vol. 35, no. 4, p. 717-744.

Les conflits électoraux, origines, types et manifestations / T. Ali Diabacte
In: Démocraties africaines: (1997), année 4, no. 12, p. 55-60 : foto.

Meerpartijenverkiezingen in Afrika: de averechtse effecten van politieke aanpassing / Oda van Cranenburgh
In: Internationale Spectator: (1997), jrg. 51, nr. 4, p. 214-217.

Can democratic transitions tame political successions? / Aaron Segal
In: Africa Today: (1996), vol. 43, no. 4, p. 369-384 : tab.

Deutsche Wahlbeobachtung in Afrika / Ulf Engel & others (ed.). - Hamburg : Institut für Afrika-Kunde, 1996. - (Arbeiten aus dem Institut für Afrika-Kunde, ISSN 0945-3601 ; 91)

Les techniques électorales/ Ismaila Sy. - Bangui : Université de Bangui, 1996

Wahlprozessbegleitung und Wahlbeobachtung : ein Rahmenkonzept der AG KED mit Schwerpunkt in Afrika / Wolfgang Heinrich
In: Afrika Spectrum: (1996), Jg. 31, H. 1, p. 73-80 : tab.

The role of the electoral system in combining civic peace with freedom / Goran Hyden
In: East African Journal of Peace & Human Rights: (1995), vol. 2, no. 2, p. 209-217.

Consultations électorales et respect de l'expression des citoyens / Narcisse Mouelle Kombi
In: Afrique 2000: (1994), no. 16, p. 41-50.

Popular participation in transition elections in Africa, some observations/ Michael Bratton. - Toronto : [African Studies Association], 1994

Afrika : Wahlen und Abstimmungen 1991 bis 1993/ Jürgen Hermann. - Sankt Augustin : Siegler, Verlag für Zeitarchive, 1993. - (Weltgeschehen, ISSN 0049-7134 ; III/93)

Elections and electoral politics in Africa / Tom Young
In: Africa / International African Institute: (1993), vol. 63, no. 3, p. 299-312.

Fair? What has fairness got to do with it? Vagaries of election observations and democratic standards / Gisela Geisler
In: The Journal of Modern African Studies: (1993), vol. 31, no. 4, p. 613-637.

Les présidents de l'alternance / Michel Gaud & Laurence Porgès
In: Afrique contemporaine: (1993), no. 167, p. 29-39 : tab.

Democracy and elections in Botswana with some reference to general literature on democracy and elections in Africa : bibliography/ Kusum Datta. - Talence : Centre d'Étude d'Afrique noire, Institut d'Études Politiques de Bordeaux, 1991. - (Bibliographies du Centre d'Étude d'Afrique noire, ISSN 1147-3568 ; no. 4)

Political succession in Africa/ Aaron Segal. - [S.l. : s.n.], 1991

Elections in Burundi

Briefing: Burundi: a peaceful transition after a decade of war? / Filip Reyntjens
In: African Affairs: (2006), vol. 105, no. 418, p. 117-135 : tab.

Les médias face au traumatisme électoral au Burundi / Éva Palmans
In: Politique africaine: (2005), no. 97, p. 66-81.

Médias et élections au Burundi: l'expérience de 1993 et perspectives pour 2005/ Eva Palmans
In: L'Afrique des Grands Lacs : annuaire 2004-2005 / sous la dir.de F.Reyntjens et S.Marysse.- Paris [etc.] : L'Harmattan [etc.]: (cop.2005), p.47-70.

Burundi : ethnocide as discourse and practice/ René Lemarchand. - Cambridge [etc.] : Cambridge University Press [etc.], 1994. - (Woodrow Wilson Center series)

Burundi: das Scheitern einer Demokratisierung "von oben" / Andreas Mehler
In: Afrika Jahrbuch: (1993), p. 24-34 : tab.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating: the June 1993 elections in Burundi / Filip Reyntjens
In: The Journal of Modern African Studies: (1993), vol. 31, no. 4, p. 563-583 : krt.

Wahlbeobachtung in Burundi / Christine Jansen, Andreas Mehler & Eckart Rohde
In: Afrika Spectrum: (1993), Jg. 28, H. 3, p. 387-392.

NDI elections advisory mission to the Republic of Burundi, December 13-19, 1992 / National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI). - Washington, D.C. : National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), 1992

Elections in Ethiopia

Ambiguous elections: the influence of non-electoral politics in Ethiopian democratisation / Kjetil Tronvoll
In: The Journal of Modern African Studies: (2009), vol. 47, no. 3, p. 449-474 : tab.

Briefing: the 2008 Ethiopian local elections: the return of electoral authoritarianism / Lovise Aalen & Kjetil Tronvoll
In: African Affairs: (2009), vol. 108, no. 430, p. 111-120.

The May 2005 elections and the future of Ethiopian democracy / Merera Gudina
In: Horn of Africa: (2008), vol. 26, p. 49-83 : tab.

Nominations and party development in Ethiopia : the opposition and the 2005 parliamentary election / John Ishiyama
In: African and Asian studies: (2007), vol. 6, no. 1/2, p. 81-105 : tab.

Power - 'mengist' - and peasants in rural Ethiopia : the May 2005 elections / René Lefort
In: The Journal of Modern African Studies: (2007), vol. 45, no. 2, p. 253-273.

Discomfiture of democracy? : the 2005 election crisis in Ethiopia and its aftermath / J. Abbink
In: African Affairs: (2006), vol. 105, no. 419, p. 173-199.

Prager Frühling in Addis : die Parlamentswahl in Äthiopien und die Repression der Regierung/ Jon Abbink
In: Wohin geht Afrika / Renate Wilke-Launer ...[et al.].- Bonn : Verlag Dienste in Übersee im Evangelischen Entwicklungsdienst: (2006), p.46-49 : foto's.

Jeux de pouvoir et référents identitaires : quel statut institutionnel pour Dire Dawa? / Thomas Osmond
In: Politique africaine: (2005), no. 99, p. 63-82 : krt.

Le rôle du vote urbain dans les élections éthiopiennes de 2005 / Bezunesh Tamru
In: Afrique contemporaine: (2005), no. 216, p. 183-202 : krt, tab.

Parlamentswahlen in Äthiopien / Wolbert G. C. Smidt
In: Afrika Spectrum: (2005), Jg. 40, H. 2, p. 319-330.

The Ethiopian election of 2005 : a bombshell & turning point?/ Abdi Ismail Samatar / Abdi Ismail Samatar
In: Review of African Political Economy: (2005), vol. 32, no. 104/105, p. 466-473.

Democratic assistance to post-conflict Ethiopia : impact and limitations/ Rahmato Dessalegn & Ayenew Meheret. - Addis Ababa : Forum for Social Studies, 2004. - (FSS monograph series ; 3)

Ethiopia since the Derg : a decade of democratic pretension and performance/ Siegfried Pausewang, Kjetil Tronvoll & Lovise Aalen. - London [etc.] : ZED Books, 2002

Voting, violence and violations: peasant voices on the flawed elections in Hadiya, southern Ethiopia / Kjetil Tronvoll
In: The Journal of Modern African Studies: (2001), vol. 39, no. 4, p. 697-716.

book cover An evaluation of the June 21, 1992 elections in EthiopiaConceptualizing democracy: elections in the Ethiopian countryside / Eva Poluha
In: Northeast African Studies: (1997), n. s. , vol. 4, no. 1, p. 39-70 : fig.

Closing the transition: the May 1995 elections in Ethiopia / Terrence Lyons
In: The Journal of Modern African Studies: (1996), vol. 34, no. 1, p. 121-142.

Ethiopia elects a new parliament / June Rock
In: Review of African Political Economy: (1996), vol. 23, no. 67, p. 92-102 : tab.

Breaking and making the State : the dynamics of ethnic democracy in Ethiopia / J. Abbink
In: Journal of Contemporary African Studies: (1995), vol. 13, no. 2, p. 149-163.

Ethiopia elects a Constituent Assembly / Kassahun Berhanu
In: Review of African Political Economy: (1995), vol. 22, no. 63, p. 129-135 : tab.

The 1994 election and democracy in Ethiopia/ Siegfried Pausewang. - Oslo : Norwegian Institute of Human Rights, 1994. - (Human rights report, ISSN 0804-0672 ; no. 4)

An evaluation of the June 21, 1992 elections in Ethiopia / National Democratic Institute for International Affairs;African-American Institute. - Washington, D.C. [etc.] : National Democratic Institute for International Affairs [etc.], 1992

Elections in Kenya - General

Political corruption, party financing and democracy in Kenya / Oscar Gakuo Mwangi
In: The Journal of Modern African Studies: (2008), vol. 46, no. 2, p. 267-285.

Election petition case digest/ Christopher Gitari Ndung'u / Kenya Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya). - Nairobi : Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya), 2007

Political transition without transformation: the dialectic of liberalization without democratization in Kenya and Zambia / Shadrack Wanjala Nasong'o
In: African Studies Review: (2007), vol. 50, no. 1, p. 83-107 : tab.

State creation of internally displaced persons in Kenya, 1991-98 : the process and political dimensions / Ahmednasir M. Abdullahi
In: East African Journal of Peace & Human Rights: (2004), vol. 10, no. 1, p. 1-33.

Mungiki et les élections : les mutations politiques d'un prophétisme kikuyu (Kenya) / Hervé Maupeu
In: Politique africaine: (2002), no. 87, p. 117-137.

"Ethnic clashes" and winning elections: the case of Kenya's electoral despotism / Jacqueline M. Klopp
In: Canadian Journal of African Studies: (2001), vol. 35, no. 3, p. 473-517.

Election handbook for political parties and candidates on parliamentary and civic elections/ S. M. Kivuitu. - Nairobi : Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2001

Kenya: one step forward, three steps back : the succession dilemma / Rok Ajulu
In: Review of African Political Economy: (2001), vol. 28, no. 88, p. 197-212.

Kimondo, satire, and political dialogue : electioneering through versification / Kimani Njogu
In: Research in African Literatures: (2001), vol. 32, no. 1, p. 1-13.

book cover Political and electoral violence in East AfricaPolitical and electoral violence in East Africa. - Nairobi : Friedrich Ebert Stiftung [etc.], 2001. - (Political and electoral violence in East Africa ; 2)

Dilemmas of the Kenyan succession / Roger Southall
In: Review of African Political Economy: (2000), vol. 27, no. 84, p. 203-219.

L'économie politique d'une succession annoncée / Chris Thomas
In: Politique africaine: (1998), no. 70, p. 40-53 : tab.

Les aléas du contrat social kényan / François Grignon & Hervé Maupeu
In: Politique africaine: (1998), no. 70, p. 3-21 : tab.

Understanding elections in Kenya : a constituency profile approach / Institute for Education in Democracy. - Nairobi : Institute for Education in Democracy, 1998

A manual for election observers : "together for peaceful elections" / Institute for Education in Democracy (IED). - Nairobi : Institute for Education in Democracy (IED), 1997

National elections data book Kenya 1963-1997 / Institute for Education in Democracy (IED). - Nairobi : Institute for Education in Democracy (IED), 1997

The electoral environment in Kenya : a research project report / Okech Owiti (ed.). - [S.l. : s.n.], 1997

The media : professional independence and fair coverage of elections / P. Ochillo
In: Kenya Journal of Sciences. Series C, Humanities and Social Sciences: (1997), vol. 4, no. 1, p. 86-95.

Wahlbeobachtung in Kenya / Ralph Michael Peters
In: Afrika Spectrum: (1997), Jg. 32, H. 3, p. 351-360.

Bleak future for multi-party elections in Kenya / Roddy Fox
In: The Journal of Modern African Studies: (1996), vol. 34, no. 4, p. 597-607 : krt. , tab.

Elections and political legitimacy in Kenya / David Throup
In: Africa / International African Institute: (1993), vol. 63, no. 3, p. 371-396 : tab.

Lessons from Kimondo: an aspect of Kiswahili culture / Assibi Apatewon Amidu
In: Nordic Journal of African Studies: (1993), vol. 2, no. 1, p. 34-56.

A manual for election monitors : monitoring democracy in Kenya / National Election Monitoring Unit (NEMU). - [S.l.] : National Election Monitoring Unit (NEMU), 1992

Elections and political change in Kenya / C. Hornsby & D. Throup
In: The Journal of Commonwealth & Comparative Politics: (1992), vol. 30, no. 2, p. 172-199 : tab.

Multiparty electoral process in Kenya/ Nick Gatheru Wanjohi. - Nairobi : National Council of Churches of Kenya, 1992

Elections in Kenya in the 1990s

Yearning for democracy : Kenya at the dawn of a new century / Smokin Wanjala (ed.). - Nairobi : Claripress, 2002

Out for the count : the 1997 general elections and prospects for democracy in Kenya / Marcel Rutten, Alamin Mazrui, & François Grignon (ed.). - Kampala : Fountain book cover Democracy in KenyaPublishers, 2001

The Kenya 1997 general elections in Maasailand: of 'sons' and 'puppets' and how KANU defeated itself/ Marcel Rutten
In: Out for the count: the 1997 general elections and prospects for democracy in Kenya / ed.Marcel Rutten, Alamin Mazrui & François Grignon.- Kampala : Fountain Publishers: (2001), p.405-440 : tab.

The Kenyan media in the 1997 general elections: a look at the watchdogs/ Joe Kadhi & Marcel Rutten
In: Out for the count: the 1997 general elections and prospects for democracy in Kenya / ed.Marcel Rutten, Alamin Mazrui & François Grignon.- Kampala : Fountain Publishers: (2001), p.242-273 : graf.

From Ford-K to NDP : political mobilization in Luoland / Adams G. R. Oloo
In: L'Afrique orientale: (2000), p. 351-394.

Vie et mort d'un groupe de pression électoral: l'exemple de "Youth for Kanu '92" au Kenya / Hervé Maupeu
In: L'Afrique orientale: (2000), p. 395-421.

IED's public opinion surveys in Tigania West and Kitui South / Institute for Education in Democracy (IED). - Nairobi : Institute for Education in Democracy, 1999

Dispositifs électoraux et violences ethniques: réflexions sur quelques stratégies territoriales du régime kényan / Claire Médard
In: Politique africaine: (1998), no. 70, p. 32-39.

Duel of the decade : in perspective, Hon Mwai Kibaki's 1997 general election campaign. - [S.l. : s.n.], 1998

Kenya general elections 1997 : implementing a new model for international election observation in Africa/ M. M. E. M. Rutten. - [S.l. : s.n.], 1998

Kenya's democracy experiment: the 1997 elections / Rok Ajulu
In: Review of African Political Economy: (1998), vol. 25, no. 76, p. 275-285 : tab.

Kenya's hobbled democracy revisited : the 1997 general elections in retrospect and prospect/ Arne Tostensen, Bård Anders Andreassen & Kjetil Tronvoll. - Oslo : Norwegian Institute of Human Rights, 1998. - (Human rights report, ISSN 0804-0672 ; no. 2/1998)

Kenyan women and electoral processes : the vagaries of the long road to leadership / Martine Renee Galloy
In: SAFERE: (1998), vol. 3, no. 1, p. 3-18.

Killing the vote : state sponsored violence and flawed elections in Kenya/ Mwangi Kagwanja. - Nairobi : Kenya Human Rights Commission, 1998

Moi's flawed mandate: the crisis continues in Kenya / Roger Southall
In: Review of African Political Economy: (1998), vol. 25, no. 75, p. 101-111 : tab.

book cover Multiparty politics in KenyaMulti-party politics in Kenya : the Kenyatta & Moi states & the triumph of the system in the 1992 election/ David W. Throup & Charles Hornsby. - Oxford : James Currey, 1998. - (Eastern African Studies)

Report on the 1997 general elections in Kenya 29-30 December 1997 / Institute for Education in Democracy;Catholic Justice and Peace Commission;National Councils of Curches in Kenya;Arcadia Communications. - Nairobi : Arcadia Communications, 1998

The 1997 elections in Kenya : the politics of communality and locality/ Michael Cowen & Karuti Kanyinga. - Helsinki : Institute of Development Studies, University of Helsinki, 1998. - (Working papers, ISSN 1238-898X ; 7/98)

Toward a new constitutional framework in Kenya / Joel D. Barkan
In: Africa Today: (1998), vol. 45, no. 2, p. 213-226.

Kenya's 1992 election and its implications for democratisation in Sub-Saharan Africa/ Rok Ajulu. - Braamfontein : Foundation for Global Dialogue, 1997. - (FGD occasional paper ; 9)

Preludes to the 1992 and 1997 elections in Kenya : reconciling reform within a chain of events/ Michael Cowen & Mutahi Ngunyi. - Helsinki : Institute of Development Studies, University of Helsinki, 1997. - (Working papers, ISSN 1238-898X ; 10/97)

The relevance of the electoral system : a simulation of 1992 Kenyan elections/ Stephen N. Ndegwa. - Nairobi : Institute for Development Studies, 1997. - (IDS working paper ; 516)

1996, Year of civic education : report of the proceedings of TOGETHER: the coordinated civic/voter education for the 1997 general elections and beyond workshop held at Silversprings Hotel, Nairobi on 8-10 February, 1996 / Kivutha Kibwana & others (ed.). - [S.l. : s.n.], 1996

Ethnicity and the renewal of competitive politics in Kenya/ Githu Muigai
In: Ethnic conflict and democratization in Africa / ed.by Harvey Glickman.- Atlanta, Ga.: African Studies Association Press: (1995), p.161-196 : tab.

Kenias Weg in die Mehrparteiendemokratie : von Uhuru über Harambee und Nyayo erneut zur Uhuru/ Stefan Mair. - Baden-Baden : Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft, 1994. - (Aktuelle Materialien zur internationalen Politik ; Band 35)

Leidt Afrikaanse democratisering tot etnische polarisatie? : etniciteit in de politiek in Kenia en Kameroen / Dick Foeken & Ton Dietz
In: Geografie: (1994), jrg. 3, nr. 1, p. 30-34 : fig. , foto's, krt. , tab.

The multi-party general elections in Kenya : 29 December, 1992 / The National Election Monitoring Unit (NEMU). - Nairobi : The National Election Monitoring Unit (NEMU), 1993

Women of Kenya in the democratic era/ Muthoni Likimani. - [S.l.] : Noni's Publications, 1992

Elections in Kenya 2000-2008

Kenya's uncertain democracy: the electoral crisis of 2008 / Peter Kagwanja & Roger Southall (ed.). - Abingdon : Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2009. - (Journal of contemporary African studies, ISSN 0258-9001 ; vol. 27, no. 3)

Weapons of mass destruction: land, ethnicity and the 2007 elections in Kenya / Marcel Rutten & Sam Owuor
In: Journal of Contemporary African Studies: (2009), vol. 27, no. 3, p. 305-324.

"Kibaki tena?" : les enjeux d'une campagne / Anne Cussac
In: Politique africaine: (2008), no. 109, p. 122-134.

After the vote : 5 dispatches from the Coalition of Concerned Kenyan Writers / Concerned Kenyan Writers. - Nairobi : Kwani Trust, 2008. - (Kwanini? series)

Courting the Kalenjin: the failure of dynasticism and the strength of the ODM wave in Kenya's Rift Valley Province / Gabrielle Lynch
In: African Affairs: (2008), vol. 107, no. 429, p. 541-568.

Des fraudes aux violences : cartographie d'une régression politique / Bernard Calas
In: Politique africaine: (2008), no. 109, p. 135-149 : krt.

Healing the nation : a reflection into the post-2007 election violence in Kenya / Brutus Sirucha. - [Nairobi] : Montage Media Services, 2008. - 1 dvd-video (ca. 30 min.). : kleur, gel.

Kenya's 2007 general election and its aftershocks / Axel Harneit-Sievers & Ralph Michael Peters
In: Afrika Spectrum: (2008), Jg. 43, H. 1, p. 133-144.

book cover Les ??lections g??n??rales de 2007 au KenyaLes élections générales de 2007 au Kenya / Jérôme Lafargue (ed.). - Paris [etc.] : Karthala [etc.], 2008. - (Les terrains du siècle)

Special issue: Election fever : Kenya's crisis / Nic Cheeseman & Dan Branch (ed.). - Abingdon : Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2008. - (Journal of eastern African studies, ISSN 1753-1055 ; vol. 2, no. 2)

Special issue: Kenya / Gilbert M. Khadiagala (ed.). - Johannesburg : EISA, 2008. - (Journal of African elections, ISSN 1609-4700 ; vol. 7, no. 2 (2008))

'Power to 'uhuru'' : youth identity and generational politics in Kenya's 2002 elections / Peter Mwangi Kagwanja
In: African Affairs: (2006), vol. 105, no. 418, p. 51-75.

Beyond democratic consolidation in Kenya : ethnicity, leadership and 'unbounded politics' / Jeffrey Steeves
In: African Identities: (2006), vol. 4, no. 2, p. 195-211.

Kenya general election : 27 December 2002 / Commonwealth Observer Group. - London : Commonwealth Secretariat, 2006. - (Commonwealth observer report series)

Popular music, popular politics: 'Unbwogable' and the idioms of freedom in Kenyan popular music / Joyce Nyairo & James Ogude
In: African Affairs: (2005), vol. 104, no. 415, p. 225-249.

L'enjeu des élections du 27 décembre 2002 au Kenya / Paule Bouvier
In: Bulletin des séances / Académie royale des sciences d'outre-mer: (2004), année 50, no. 4 p. 449-466.

Theorising Kenya's protracted transition to democracy / Stephen Brown
In: Journal of Contemporary African Studies: (2004), vol. 22, no. 3, p. 325-342.

Briefing: Kenya's elections 2002 : the dawning of a new era? / David M. Anderson
In: African Affairs: (2003), vol. 102, no. 407, p. 331-342 : tab.

Elections in Kenya / Anders Närman
In: Review of African Political Economy: (2003), vol. 30, no. 96, p. 343-350 : tab.

Enhancing the electoral process in Kenya : a report on the transition general elections 2002, 27th December, 2002 / Oketch Owiti (ed.) / The Institute for Education in Democracy. - Nairobi : Institute for Education in Democracy, 2003

Factional intrigues and alliance politics : the case of NARC in Kenya's 2002 elections / Shumbana Karume
In: Journal of African Elections: (2003), vol. 2, no. 2, p. 1-13.

Kenya : le régime Kibaki - an I / Hervé Maupeu
In: L'Afrique orientale: (2003), p. 161-188.

Kenya: les élections de la transition / Hervé Maupeu
In: Politique africaine: (2003), no. 89, p. 149-166.

Le Kenya après Moi / Hervé Maupeu, David Anderson & others
In: Politique africaine: (2003), no. 90, p. 5-111.

Legitimising electoral process : the role of Kenya Domestic Observation Programme (K-DOP) in Kenya's 2002 general elections / Wole Olaleye
In: Journal of African Elections: (2003), vol. 2, no. 2, p. 14-29.

Les élections kenyanes (décembre 2002) à travers la presse écrite d'Afrique en français / Annie Lenoble-Bart & André Jean Tudesq
In: L'Afrique orientale: (2003), p. 233-245.

Une page tournée au Kenya / Daniel Bourmaud
In: Géopolitique africaine / OR. IMA International: (2003), no. 10, p. 215-226.

Système de partis et marché politique au Kenya : les enseignements d'une élection, l'élection partielle de Kilome du 9 novembre 2001 / Mathieu Mérino
In: L'Afrique orientale: (2002), p. [43]-90 : krt. , tab.

Selected web resources

The ASC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites

African Elections – General

Adam Carr’s Election Archive
“The largest, most comprehensive and most up-to-date archive of electoral information in the world, with election statistics from 176 countries”, including Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya.
http://psephos.adam-carr.net/

African Elections Database
A database of election results in Sub-Saharan Africa created in 2004 and maintained by Albert C. Nunley. Contains political profiles of each country and links to electoral authorities.
http://africanelections.tripod.com/index.html

African Elections Project
Project to develop the capacity of the media through ICT for the elections in Ghana, Cote d'lvoire, Guinea, and Malawi from 2008 to 2009. News, blogs, videos, photographs. The Project is co-ordinated by the International Institute for Information Communications Technology Journalism based in Accra, Ghana.
http://www.africanelections.org/

The Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA)
Not for profit organization established in 1996 and based in Johannesburg. Its programme areas include balloting & electoral services; conflict management, democracy & electoral education; governance and elections & political processes.
https://www.eisa.org.za/index.php

IFES on Sub-Saharan Africa
The website of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, based in Washington, DC, includes reports on elections and other aspects of democratic participation and institution building. "Since our founding in 1987, IFES has worked with election assistance and democratic development in over 100 countries...Every IFES project team partners with local organizations, and every project is staffed by local personnel". IFES has a regional project in Burundi.
https://www.ifes.org/africa
cover Journal African Elections
Journal of African Elections
Interdisciplinary, biannual journal published by the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA).
Contents listing at
https://www.eisa.org.za/jae.php

Staffan I. Lindberg: selected articles, book chapters and data sets
List of publications on democracy and elections in Africa, partly downloadable, by Staffan I. Lindberg, assistant professor at the Department of Political Science and Center for African Studies, University of Florida.
http://users.clas.ufl.edu/sil/downloads.html

Elections in selected African countries

Ethiopian general election 2005
Wikipedia article including election results and poll-related as well as violence-related links. It also contains a link to an article by Christopher Clapham ‘Comments on the Ethiopian crisis’ (7 November 2005).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_general_election,_2005

Ghana Elections 2008
Webdossier compiled by the Library of the African Studies Centre Leiden to coincide with the parliamentary and presidential elections in Ghana on 7 December 2008.

Elections in Kenya
Wikipedia article on multiparty elections in Kenya in general and the elections of 1992, 1997, 2002 and 2007 in particular. See also the article on the 2007-2008 Kenyan crisis that erupted after incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner of the presidential election held on December 27, 2007.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_Kenya
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007–2008_Kenyan_crisis