When Elephants Fight
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WH Electoral violence has scarred the momentous steps Africa has made in the transition from authoritarianism and despotism since the countries of the E continent began to gain their independence some 50 years ago. When Elephants N Fight chronicles contemporary trends and examines electoral conflicts and the WHEN way in which various national, regional, and international players have tried to E resolve them. The title of the book captures the point that when political parties L E and power elites battle for power it is the ordinary people who suffer most, some PHANT losing their lives, others their homes and livelihoods. The volume brings together ELEPHANTS academics and practitioners in a unique exercise aimed at shedding light on one of the most pressing contemporary issues in African politics – the need to stem the tide of electoral conflict and violence. The primary thesis is that as Africa undergoes yet another great transformation S FIGHT since independence we should learn from the institutional flaws that have FI produced electoral violence and transcend them by constitutional and electoral PREVENTING AND RESOLVING engineering. G In addition to detailed case studies of Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, Tanzania, HT ELECTION-RELATED CONFLICTS and Zimbabwe, the book focuses on the role of regional African institutions in contributing to the principles and guidelines aimed at promoting orderly and IN AFRICA peaceful political competition and the constitutional transfer of power. When Elephants Fight highlights the importance of building solid political, | Matlosa Khadiagala Shale Edited by constitutional and electoral systems that will underpin Africa’s democracy. The authors recognise that while institutions, systems, rules and regulations matter in the conduct of politics so too do the political culture and behaviour of political parties and power elites. Khabele Matlosa is the Programme Advisor, UNDP/ECA Joint Governance Initiatives, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Gilbert Khadiagala is Jan Smuts Professor of International Relations and Head of the School of Social Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Victor Shale is Senior Programme Officer, Governance Institutions and Processes Division, EISA, Johannesburg and a Doctoral Candidate at the University of South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa. Edited by Khabele Matlosa | Gilbert Khadiagala | Victor Shale FOREWORD BY FESTUS MOGAE, FORMER PRESIDENT OF BOTSWANA i WHEN ELEPHANTS FIGHT: PREVENTING AND RESOLVING ELECTION-RELATED CONFLICTS IN AFRICA ii WHEN ELEPHANTS FIGHT: PREVENTING AND RESOLVING ELECTION-RELATED CONFLICTS IN AFRICA iii WHEN ELEPHANTS FIGHT: PREVENTING AND RESOLVING ELECTION-RELATED CONFLICTS IN AFRICA EDITED BY KHABELE MATLOSA GILBERT M KHADIAGALA VICTOR SHALE iv WHEN ELEPHANTS FIGHT: PREVENTING AND RESOLVING ELECTION-RELATED CONFLICTS IN AFRICA Published by EISA 14 Park Road, Richmond Johannesburg South Africa P O Box 740 Auckland Park 2006 South Africa Tel: +27 11 381 6000 Fax: +27 11 482 6163 e-mail: [email protected] www.eisa.org.za ISBN: 978-1-920095-90-1 © EISA 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 prior permission of EISA. First published 2010 EISA is a non-partisan organisation which seeks to promote democratic principles, free and fair elections, a strong civil society and good governance at all levels of Southern African society. Printed by: Global Print, Johannesburg v CONTENTS Foreword Festus Gontebanye Mogae vii Acknowledgements ix Abbreviations x Introduction Khabele Matlosa, Gilbert M Khadiagala and Victor Shale 1 PART I: EXPLAINING CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES Reflections on the causes, courses and consequences of election violence in Africa Gilbert M Khadiagala 13 2 The legitimacy crisis and the resurgence of military coups in Africa: The limits of democratisation Mwesiga Baregu 23 3 Elections and conflict resolution in Africa David K Leonard 37 4 Electoral systems and conflict in Africa Mpho G Molomo 51 PART II: CONFLICT PREVENTION, MANAGEMENT AND RESOLUTION 5 The application of alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in handling election-related conflicts Gavin Bradshaw 69 6 Power-sharing as a mechanism for managing post-election conflicts in Africa: A cure or a curse? Victor Shale 81 7 Elections and violence in Nigeria Samuel Egwu 92 8 Elections and conflict in Zanzibar Bernadeta Killian and Richard Mbunda 117 vi WHEN ELEPHANTS FIGHT: PREVENTING AND RESOLVING ELECTION-RELATED CONFLICTS IN AFRICA 9 The 2007-2008 election conflict in Kenya: Reflections on the Independent Review Commission Jørgen Elklit 128 10 The role of multiparty liaison committees in preventing and managing conflict in South Africa Mosotho Moepya 143 PART III: THE ROLE OF AFRICA’S INTERGOVERNMENTAL INSTITUTIONS 11 The challenges of elections in Africa: Lessons from the African Peer Review Mechanism process Afeikhena Jerome and Khabele Matlosa 157 12 The role of the African Union in the prevention, management and resolution of election-related conflicts in Africa Francis Ikome 176 13 The role of the Southern African Development Community in mediating post-election conflicts: Case studies of Lesotho and Zimbabwe Khabele Matlosa 196 14 ECOWAS and election-related conflict in Guinea-Bissau and Nigeria Ade Adefuye 219 Conclusion Khabele Matlosa, Gilbert M Khadiagala and Victor Shale 232 Bibliography 237 Index 255 Contributors 263 vii FOREWORD I was delighted to learn, that the Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa (EISA) was organising and hosting its fourth symposium in November 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa. This annual forum was attended by various stakeholders, including representatives of election management bodies, the judiciary, the legislature, political parties, civil society organisations, the donor community, development agencies, the African Union Commission, the Pan-African Parliament, the African Peer Review Mechanism, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, regional economic communities such as the Southern African Development Community, the Economic Community of West African States and the East African Community, universities and research institutes and the media. The main purpose of the symposium was to examine the democratic value of elections by exploring mechanisms for the constructive management of election-related conflicts. This book, with its theme, ‘Preventing and Resolving Election-related Conflicts in Africa’, presents a stimulating and diverse collection of papers, written by renowned academics and practitioners in the field of elections, democracy and governance. Thus, the book traverses both theory and practice, making it of interest to a wide audience. It assesses the challenges of election-related conflicts in Africa and explores best practices for preventing, managing and resolving them, with a view to ensuring durable peace, consolidated democracy and sustainable human development. It is my considered opinion that the overall strength of the book is that it not only succeeds in analysing objectively and critically issues that are often deemed sensitive in various regions of Africa, it also offers relevant policy recommendations. While there is general consensus that the African continent has made progress in democratisation since the end of the Cold War, the contributors to this volume do not hesitate to highlight the remaining challenges that require prudent policy responses. They observe that, while elections have been held regularly in multiparty dispensations, the results have been mixed with regard to the extent to which they have helped promote democracy, peace and security in Africa. The book shows that in some countries elections have been followed by political stability while in others the aftermath has been violence and instability. In the latter case, evidence in the book points to causes ranging from poor management of the electoral processes to shortcomings of electoral systems, to a lack of visionary leadership, among other factors. There is major concern about the resurgence of unconstitutional changes of government in the recent past in a number of African countries. However, I congratulate the African Union, its viii WHEN ELEPHANTS FIGHT: PREVENTING AND RESOLVING ELECTION-RELATED CONFLICTS IN AFRICA various organs and the regional economic communities on their efforts to deal with unconstitutional changes of government and violent electoral conflicts. I am gratified that this volume also highlights these efforts. If democratic gains are to be consolidated it is incumbent upon all of us to find a means of ensuring that these worrying trends are arrested before they jeopardise Africa’s development prospects. The book combines general discussion and specific country studies, prevention, management and resolution of election-related conflicts. The richness and diversity of material makes it an invaluable contribution to African efforts to deal with election-related conflicts. It will benefit academics, policy makers and practitioners as they grapple with the problematic nexus between elections and democracy. I commend EISA and the contributors to the book, particularly the editors (Khabele Matlosa, Gilbert M. Khadiagala and Victor Shale), for their relevant and timely contribution to the ongoing discourse about mitigating election-related conflict