Political pluralism and well-functioning political parties are crucial to sustaining democracy. In a democracy elections allow for open political competition in order to win votes. Thus elections are a necessary but not sufficient condition to consolidate democracy. The 2010 elections in Burundi showed that elections, although crucial to the estbalishment of democracy and peace, are […]
There seems to be a worldwide trend towards direct democracy instruments such as referendums and initiatives. The African Union Charter (2007) and the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) strategy papers (2003) recommend these instruments. Is direct democracy the panacea for the problem of strong personalisation of African party politics? If electoral democracy is the […]
Three fundamental points underpin the paradigm of electoral conflict resolution. First, resolving a particular electoral conflict does not imply that disputing parties will never resort to conflict. In Africa, political, economic, and social issues are deeply intertwined, a link which generates various forms of tensions and conflicts. The paradigm of conflict resolution, in this context, […]
Burundi has now held three elections in a bid to end the Transitional Government that has been ruling the country since 2002 following the signing of the Arusha Peace Agreement. It was not an easy task to hold elections in a war-torn country where no population census has been undertaken for decades and where scores […]
