Journal of African Elections
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VOLUME 7 NO 2 i Journal of African Elections ARTICLES BY Francesca Marzatico Roukaya Kasenally Eva Palmans R D Russon Emmanuel O Ojo David U Enweremadu Christopher Isike Sakiemi Idoniboye-Obu Dhikru AdewaleYagboyaju J Shola Omotola Volume 10 Number 1 June 2011 i ii JOUR na L OF AFRIC an ELECTIO N S 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 2011 ISSN: 1609-4700 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 Copy editor: Pat Tucker Printed by: Global Print, Johannesburg Cover photograph: Reproduced with the permission of the HAMILL GALLERY OF AFRICAN ART, BOSTON, MA, USA www.eisa.org.za VOLUME 7 NO 2 iii Editor Denis Kadima, EISA, Johannesburg Editorial BOARD Jørgen Elklit, Department of Political Science, University of Aarhus, Denmark Amanda Gouws, Department of Political Science, University of Stellenbosch Abdul Rahman Lamin, UNESCO, Accra Tom Lodge, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Limerick Khabele Matlosa, UNDP/ECA Joint Governance Initiatives, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Lloyd Sachikonye, Institute of Development Studies, University of Zimbabwe, Harare Gloria Somolekae, National Representative of the W K Kellogg Programme in Botswana and EISA Board member Roger Southall, Department of Sociology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 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, advertisements, 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: publications @eisa.org.za iv JOUR na L OF AFRIC an ELECTIO N S CONTENTS Southern Sudan Referendum on Self-determination: Legal Challenges and Procedural Solutions Francesca Marzatico ......................................................................................................... 1 Mauritius: The Not So Perfect Democracy Roukaya Kasenally ............................................................................................................ 33 Les Elections de 2010 au Burundi: Quel Avenir Pour la Democratie et la Paix ? Eva Palmans ..................................................................................................................... 48 Ten years of Democratic Local Government Elections in South Africa: Is the Tide Turning? R D Russon ...................................................................................................................... 74 Democratisation in Nigeria Public Perceptions of Judicial Decisions on Election Disputes: The Case of the 2007 General Election in Nigeria Emmanuel O Ojo ............................................................................................................ 101 The Judiciary and the Survival of Democracy in Nigeria: Analysis of the 2003 and 2007 Elections David U Enweremadu .................................................................................................... 114 Throwing Out the Baby With the Bath Water: The Third-Term Agenda and Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic Christopher Isike & Sakiemi Idoniboye-Obu .................................................................. 143 Political Corruption, Democratisation and the Squandering of Hope in Nigeria Dhikru Adewale Yagboyaju ............................................................................................ 171 Electoral Reform and the Prospects of Democratic Consolidation in Nigeria J Shola Omotola .............................................................................................................. 187 Contents of previous issues ...................................................................................... 208 Notes for contributors ................................................................................................ 227 VOLUME 10 NO 1 1 SOUTHERN SUDAN REFERENDUM ON SELF-DETERMINATION Legal Challenges and Procedural Solutions 1 Francesca Marzatico Dr Francesca Marzatico was Technical Advisor to the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT This study attempts to analyse the major challenges encountered in the organisa tion of the Southern Sudan Referendum on Self-Determination and how these challenges were addressed, enabling the referendum to take place in a peaceful environment, with a high degree of transparency and fairness. In doing so it aims to identify a few lessons which, though emerging from the particular experience of the Sudan, can be used as a general paradigm in future similar contexts. The Southern Sudan Referendum Commission had less than four months to prepare, organise and conduct the operations within a broad mandate conferred by the Southern Sudan Referendum Act, many sections of which lacked clarity. The interpretation and application of this law represented, in several instances, a serious challenge to the organisation of the referendum, adding complexity to a process already made difficult by time and operational constraints amplified by the size of the territory and the highly sensitive political environment characterised by mistrust among the partners in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. The study begins with a brief introduction to the political and legal background of the referendum and of the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission, including its role and structure. It proceeds with an analysis of the legal and regulatory framework, aimed at identifying the main challenges to the process and the solutions found in order to allow the referendum to take place in a timely, peaceful and orderly manner. 1 The study has benefited from the critical views and experience of Hon Paolino Wanawilla Unango, Deputy Minister of Justice of the Republic of South Sudan, Commissioner at the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission and a member of the Joint Legal Committee which drafted the Referendum Act, who generously shared his experience and information about the SSRC’s work with me and who unfailingly gave his support to the organisation of the Southern Sudan Referendum on self- determination. 1 2 JOUR na L OF AFRIC an ELECTIO N S INTRODUCTION In January 2011, almost unexpectedly, the referendum on the self-determination of Southern Sudan took place in a peaceful and orderly manner, allowing the people of Southern Sudan to choose their status and consequently the future of the country through the exercise of their right to self-determination as recognised by the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA). The context in which the referendum was organised was extremely complex and required that attention be paid to different aspects of the process, which had to take into account many factors. The political environment was sensitive and characterised by mistrust between Northern and Southern Sudan exacerbated by non-compliance with the deadlines set in the CPA and the consequent dysfunction of those provisions of the agreement aimed at making unity attractive. The expectations of the people of Southern Sudan, who had striven for the recognition of their right to self-determination since their independence from the British government, meant they tolerated the non-compliance with the CPA deadlines in order to have the referendum go ahead. There were logistical and operational challenges relating to the size of the territory and to the absence in Southern Sudan of means of communication and transportation in remote areas, the lack of infrastructure and the high illiteracy rate of the population. The time constraints related to the late enactment of the Southern Sudan Referendum Act (SSRA or ‘the Referendum Act’ or ‘the Act’) and the late appointment of the Southern Sudan Referendum Commission (SSRC or ‘the commission’). The difficulties were augmented by the ambiguity of some of the provisions of the SSRA. In spite of all these challenges the referendum, which was considered to be a ‘remarkable operational and political achievement’ (EUEOM 2011, p 5), took place ‘on time and in a calm, peaceful and orderly environment’ (EUEOM 2011, p 5), representing the ‘genuine expression of the will of the electorate’ (Carter Center 14 February 2011). There are multiple reasons for this remarkable achievement – among them the strong commitment and support of all parties involved: the Referendum Commission, the CPA partners,