Vote Buying in Africa: Comparisons Regarding Law and Practice
Vote buying remains a key challenge to democratic elections across Africa, as it does elsewhere. This article provides an overview of the concept of vote buying and its relationship to other phenomena, such as clientelism and campaign promises. The article also reviews the legislative provisions against vote buying across sub-Saharan Africa, noting that vote buying is effectively prohibited everywhere on the continent and is often connected with serious criminal sanctions. Furthermore, the article shows that vote buying remains a common problem in elections across many African countries. As illustrations, it explores the experiences of recent elections in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. Sanctions are seldom imposed, which means the deterrent effect of any sanctions provided for in law is minimised. Popular attitudes toward vote buying, as reported by various surveys, are studied. The results reveal a complex set of views, which may vary significantly across countries and within one country over time. The article concludes that the long-term solution to this challenge appears to be economic development, which would effectively remove the demand side of vote buying; however, there is no single way to eliminate vote buying in the short term.
