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- Description:
- The primary concern of this essay is to explain the nature of the 'transaction' between electoral politics and tribalism, especially with reference to the multiparty elections of 1992. It argues that the politics of the 1992 general elections show how ethnicity continues to be a major force influencing the behaviour of politicians and voters alike. What is more, where power and wealth were at stake, ethnic relations became conflictual. The elections also manifested how the elites can mobilise ethnic passions to defend and or promote what is otherwise their narrow sectional interests. The masses followed their leaders because of the lingering belief that only "one of your own" can best serve communal interest if placed in a position of power. But it was also clear that ethnic ideology has its limitations. Intra-ethnic divisions were manifest where narrow sectional interests came into play. The emergence of splinter parties led by members of the same ethnic group was the inevitable consequence of such contradictions.
- Date Issued:
- 1997-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- African Journal of Political Science
- Description:
- In the recent political transitions in Africa competitive elections have become the most critical events in the allocation of power. However, little attention has been given to the design of electoral systems, that is, the rules used to determine the allocation of parliamentary seats and of the presidential office. With few exceptions, plurality and majority systems are assumed to be the simplest, natural, and most democratic systems of converting votes into seats. This paper explores alternative electoral systems for apportioning seats in parliament and for securing the presidency. Specifically, it simulates outcomes in the 1992 Kenyan general elections using a proportional representation system in the parliamentary elections and a preferential ballot system in the presidential contest. The overriding normative goal is "fair representation," especially given ethnically-driven electoral behavior. The simulations reported here offer possible outcomes that could have emerged had different electoral rules been used in the 1992 elections. Given both the data used and the conditions prevailing in the 1992 elections, the specific outcome of each simulation is valid only as a demonstration and a discussion tool.
- Date Issued:
- 1997-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- African Journal of Political Science
- Description:
- This paper briefly examines the unprecedented political events in Malawi that began in March 1992 and culminated in multi-party elections in which Dr. Banda's regime yielded the reigns of power to a democratically elected government. Using detailed results of the 1994 presidential and parliamentary elections, the paper argues that regionalism rather than ethnicity appears to be the dominant factor influencing voting patterns at the national level. Regionalism appears to have resulted in the formation of three super ethnic groups each with its own regional base. Elites are securing political power by redefining the ethnic equation; and their competition for scarce resources and political power continues to occur in the guise of spatial units, among which the super ethnic region is the more salient, and has consequently become the most influential factor in elections.
- Date Issued:
- 1997-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- African Journal of Political Science
- Description:
- This contribution seeks to explain the ruling ZANU (PF) party's electoral hegemony by outlining and analysing Zimbabwe's five general elections since 1979 and the two presidential elections since 1990. In this regard, the paper argues that the ruling party is experiencing a gradual decline in elite cohesion which is manifested in the electoral challenge of independent candidates coming from the ruling party itself. This phenomenon of independent candidates could have far-reaching consequences in overcoming the present state of weak political opposition in Zimbabwe. The paper therefore suggests a scenario in which a viable opposition could come from a splinter group inside the ruling ZANU (PF) itself not unlike the major ZAPU/ZANU split of 1963.
- Date Issued:
- 1997-06-01T00:00:00Z
- Data Provider:
- Michigan State University. Libraries
- Collection:
- African Journal of Political Science