Regional polarisation in voting pattern

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
Place:
Malawi, Malawi, and Malawi
Subject Topic:
Presidents, Election, Elections, 1994, Regionalism, Political aspects, Ethnic relations, and Political aspects
Subject Name:
Malawi. Parliament
Language:
English
Rights:
In Copyright
URL:
https://n2t.net/ark:/85335/m52n50v5m