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Journal of African Elections JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ELECTIONS Volume 19 Number 2 Oct 2020 remember to change running heads VOLUME 17 NO 1 i Journal of African Elections EDITOR Denis Kadima ARTICLES BY Joseph Olusegun Adebayo Blessing Makwambeni Colin Thakur Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi Mwiza Jo Nkhata Janet Cherry Gary Prevost Beauty Vambe Sipho Mantula Limukani Mathe Arthur Fidelis Chikerema Ogochukwu Nzewi Volume 19 Number 2 October 2020 i ii JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ELECTIONS Published by EISA 14 Park Road, Richmond, Johannesburg, South Africa P O Box 740, Auckland Park, 2006, South Africa Tel: +27 (0) 11 381 6000 Fax: +27 (0) 11 482 6163 e-mail: [email protected] © EISA 2020 ISSN: 1609-4700 (Print) ISSN 2415-5837 (Online) v. 19 no. 2: 10.20940/jae/2020/v19i2 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher Printed by: Corpnet, Johannesburg Cover photograph: Reproduced with the permission of the HAMILL GALLERY OF AFRICAN ART, BOSTON, MA, USA remember to change running heads VOLUME 17 NO 1 iii EDITOR Denis Kadima, EISA, Johannesburg MANAGING EDITOR Heather Acott EDITORIAL BOARD Chair: Denis Kadima, EISA, South Africa Cherrel Africa, Department of Political Studies, University of the Western Cape, South Africa Jørgen Elklit, Department of Political Science, University of Aarhus, Denmark Amanda Gouws, Department of Political Science, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa Roukaya Kasenally, Department of Social Studies, University of Mauritius, Mauritius Abdul Rahman Lamin, UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya Tom Lodge, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Limerick, Ireland Khabele Matlosa, Political Affairs Department, African Union Commission Roger Southall, Department of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa and Research Associate in Political Studies, University of Cape Town. The Journal of African Elections is an interdisciplinary biannual publication of research and writing in the human sciences, which seeks to promote a scholarly understanding of developments and change in Africa. Responsibility for opinions expressed and for the accuracy of facts published in papers, research notes, review articles and book reviews rests solely with the individual authors or reviewers. Contributions are referred to specialist readers for consideration, but the Editor is responsible for the final selection of the contents of the Journal. Editorial correspondence, including manuscripts for submission and books for review, should be sent to: The Managing Editor, Journal of African Elections EISA: P O Box 740 Auckland Park 2006, South Africa Tel: +27 (0) 11 381 6000 | Fax: +27 (0) 11 482 6163 | e-mail: [email protected] Business correspondence, including orders and remittances, subscription queries, advertise- ments, back numbers and offprints, should be addressed to the publisher: The Publications Department, Journal of African Elections EISA: P O Box 740 Auckland Park 2006 South Africa Tel: 27 (0) 11 381 6000 | Fax: +27 (0) 11 482 6163 | e-mail: [email protected] Abstracts for previous issues are available at: https://www.eisa.org/jae.php NB replace with new domain address no ZA email from Ilona 21 August 2020 iv JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ELECTIONS CONTENTS COVID-19, FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE FUTURE OF ELECTIONS IN AFRICA Joseph Olusegun Adebayo, Blessing Makwambeni and Colin Thakur .........................1 PRISONERS’ RIGHT TO VOTE IN UGANDA Comment on Kalali Steven v Attorney General and the Electoral Commission Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi ..............................................................................................18 COURTS AND THE MEDIATION OF PUBLIC RESOURCE (AB)USE DURING ELECTIONS IN MALAWI Mwiza Jo Nkhata .........................................................................................................33 CHALLENGES TO THE SINGLE-PARTY DOMINANCE OF THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS: Lessons from Kwazakhele Janet Cherry and Gary Prevost ...................................................................................56 THE IMPACT OF CROSS-BOUNDARY ELECTORAL DEMARCATION DISPUTES IN SOUTH AFRICA AFTER 1994: The Case Study of Moutse Beauty Vambe and Sipho Mantula ..............................................................................75 CAMPAIGN COMMUNICATION IN NIGERIA’S 2019 GENERAL ELECTIONS: Unfulfilled Party Pledges and Voter Engagement without a Social Contract Mike Omilusi ...............................................................................................................97 THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF WEB 2.0 ELECTIONS The Case of Zimbabwe Limukani Mathe .........................................................................................................125 SUCCESSION POLITICS AND STATE ADMINISTRATION IN AFRICA: The Case of Zimbabwe Arthur Fidelis Chikerema and Ogochukwu Nzewi ....................................................146 VOLUME 19 NO 2 DOI: 10.20940/JAE/2020/v19i2aDOI: 10.20940/JAE/2020/v19i2a1 1 1 COVID-19, FOURTH INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION AND THE FUTURE OF ELECTIONS IN AFRICA Joseph Olusegun Adebayo, Blessing Makwambeni and Colin Thakur Joseph Olusegun Adebayo is a research fellow, Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa Blessing Makwambeni is research and postgraduate coordinator, Media Department Public Relations Programme, Cape Peninsula University of Technology, South Africa Colin Thakur is the research chair of digitalisation at InSeta and BankSeta, Durban University of Technology, South Africa ABSTRACT The initial focus of this study was on exploring the potential impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) on future elections in Africa. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is fundamentally changing the way we live, work and relate to one another. In its scale and complexity, 4IR could change humanity and human existence as we presently know it. The suddenness with which the novel coronavirus pandemic has shut down life across the globe, including the cancellation and postponement of scheduled elections, led to a realignment of the research goals. The study thus includes ways in which 4IR and unforeseen global emergencies like pandemics can impact future elections, with specific reference to Africa. Keywords: elections, electoral management, Fourth Industrial Revolution, novel coronavirus, pandemic BACKGROUND The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has significantly reshaped the way humans interact. The world as we knew it prior to the onset of this disease now seems like a period in a distant past. The resultant pandemic has reoriented people’s relationships to government, the outside world, and to each other. Traditional social norms such as hugs, handshakes, and social gatherings, have become socially restricted and are frequently banned by governments attempting to contain the spread of the disease. The future of politics and politicking has also 1 2 DOI: 10.20940/JAE/2020/v19i2a1 JOURNAL OF AFRICAN ELECTIONS been affected. Political parties’ primaries, electoral campaigns, and elections are first and foremost about people. Given the human nature of political campaigns and elections, and with the emergence of social distancing as a new norm, it becomes pertinent to examine the implications for the future of elections, specifically in Africa. The central focus of this article is an examination of the manner in which pandemics such as that of COVID-19, and changing advancements in technology as occasioned by 4IR, could potentially have on future elections. The last few decades have seen an upsurge in the number of elections conducted on the African continent. According to a report in 2019 by the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA), elections took place in 27 African countries in 2019, confirming the point by Cheeseman and Klaas (2018) that elections have become a regular event on the continent. In 2019, the only poll postponed indefinitely was the constitutional referendum in Burkina Faso scheduled for 24 March 2019. Thirty African countries had elections planned for 2020. Some took place before the global pandemic, such as Togo’s presidential election which took place on 22 February 2020, and Mali’s parliamentary elections which took place on 29 March 2020. Other polls include Guinea’s parliamentary election for the National Assembly which, together with a constitutional referendum, was held on 22 March 2020; the parliamentary elections in Comoros held on 19 January 2020, and elections for the National Assembly in Cameroon held on 9 February 2020 (EISA 2019). There were 25 elections scheduled to take place on the continent before the global lockdown. It is intriguing to imagine what form the polls would take, given global adjustments in social norms, particularly regarding human gatherings. The reality of the new global regime of social distancing and limited human contact predicates the study’s research questions, which are: What will characterise political campaigns of future elections? What role will 4IR play in post-COVID-19 elections? What impact will adjustments in social norms and the application of 4IR have on political parties and overall electoral spending? Unforeseen occurrences like pandemics are reminders of the limited capacity humans have to anticipate the future. In the political realm, the novel coronavirus can potentially provide
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