Batsau peace conference: Elections and Violence

BANDA TERTIARY STUDENTS
& ALUMNI UNION
(BATSAU)
PEACE CONFERENCE
VOTING FOR PEACE IN
ELECTION 2012
batsau.blogspot.com
http://www.facebook.com/groups/78971614382/
batsaupeacecampaign2012@gmail.com BATSAU PEACE CONFERENCE 2012 1

ِ‫يم‬ ِ‫ح‬‫ه‬‫الر‬‫ن‬ َٰ‫م‬ ْ‫ح‬‫ه‬‫الر‬ ِ
‫ه‬
‫اَّلل‬ ِ‫م‬ ْ‫س‬ِ‫ب‬
2SEIDU Moro Email: gentlemoro@gmail.com Mobile :0244290035

IS ELECTION A WAY OF EXPRESSING
PATRIOTISM OR PROPAGATING
VIOLENCE?
By
SEIDU Moro
SEIDU Moro Email: gentlemoro@gmail.com Mobile :0244290035 3

Nature of Presentation
 What is an election?
 History of election
 Characteristics of Elections
 Election Related Violence
 Areas affected: Example of violence mild with
elections
 The nature or manifestations of election
violence
 Victims of election related violence
 Causes of election related Violence
 Measures adhered by countries to avoid
electoral violence
 Policy Recommendations to prevent electoral
violence
4Email: batsaupeacecampaign2012@gmail.com BATSAU PEACE CONFERENCE 2012

What is an election?
 An election is a decision that is made by
voting. It is also a formal decision-making
process by which a population chooses an
individual to hold public office.
 Hallmark of democracy (Ojo, 2008)
 Heart of the democratic order (Chiroro,
2005)
 Pillar of Democracy (Beetham, 1999)
 Election not just what happens on a
polling day (Reynolds & Sisk, 2006)

Brief History of Election
 Used by ancient Greece and Rome select
rulers such as the Holy Roman
Emperor and the Pope
 Ancient India around 920 AD in Tamil
Nadu; Select rajas by the gana
 Used in the early medieval Bengal select
the Pala king Gopala
 Used by ancient Arabs to choose caliphs;
Uthman and Ali
 Emergence of modern election in 17th
century (North America and Europe)

Characteristics of Elections
 Suffrage
 Ancient Athens
 Original US constitution
 Nomination
 Electoral systems
 Constitutional arrangements
 Voting systems that convert the vote into political
decision
 Scheduling
 Elections are held at fixed regular intervals
 Election campaigns
 Competition for votes
 Difficulties with elections
 Electoral fraud
 Lack of open political debate /an informed voters
 Unfair rules
 Interference with campaigns
 Tampering with the election mechanism

 Having understood the concept of
election, it is very clear that election is
NOT a way of propagating violence but a
civic right of decision making where it
mandatory for legitimate persons to show
such sense of patriotism. However
elections are associated with some form
of violence which when not control can
threatens democracy, peace, stability, and
sustainable human development and may
lead to serious forms of conflict.
 What is election related violence?
Characteristics of Elections (Cont.)

Some affected areas of election related
violence
 During the 2003 Federal and States elections in
Nigeria, at least 100 people were killed and
many more were injured (Human Rights
Watch, 2004).
 During the August 2007 run-off elections in
Sierra Leone, violence erupted following a
clash between the supporters of the ruling
Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP) and the
opposition All People’s Congress (ACP).
Violent attacks were also reported against the
supporters of the SLPP when the ACP leader
was sworn in as the new president (BBC News,
2007).

 Approximately 600 people were reported killed
in the recent election violence in Kenya,
following disputes over the results of the
December 2007 presidential elections (BBC
News, 2008).
 Elections in Nigeria (2003/07), Togo (2005),
Zanzibar (2005), Democratic Republic of
Congo (2006), Lesotho (1998/2007), Kenya
(2007/08), Guinea Bissau (2008), Zimbabwe
(2008), Cote d’Ivoire (2010), Uganda, Ethiopia,
Chad () and Zambia () have also all in the past
been characterised by violence.

Manifestations of electoral violence
 torture  attempted assassinations
 hijacking  destruction of property
 bombings  eviction/displacement
 murder  Attempted murder
 battery  defamation/insults
 threats to kill  physical disruption of public meetings
 arson  disruption of political campaign rallies
 confinement  Political thuggery
 fighting  malicious or wanton damage/destruction of property
 hooliganism  closure of party/campaign offices or premises
 looting  Sexual harassment
 rape  Economic repression/ sabotage
 killings  unfair judicial executions
 shootings  arbitrary detention
 assassinations  abduction/kidnapping
 Assault  personal humiliation by stripping to nakedness
 death threats  violent street protests
 threats of beating  attempting to prevent voting
 intimidating voters  chasing away of voters from polling stations on the
pretext that they were non-Nationals or under-age,
and malicious damage to property.
Source:Human Rights Watch Nigeria (2004); Onu & Momoh (2005); Conde, (2007)
Matlosa (2008); Nwolise, (2007).

Victims of election related violence
 Voters/electorates
 Political parties and their members
 Persons from the media and
 In some cases staff of EC
Causes of election related Violence
 Protection of incumbency
 Politicians (Attitude of Political leaders)
 Electoral Commission
Causes: Protection of incumbency:
incumbents are unwilling to cede power
 Political repression, harassment and
intimidation (e.g. Uganda)

 Under-funding of the electoral process left
critical players in elections, such as the
police, unable to satisfactorily fulfill their
fundamental mandate. Hence, security
during the election period was not
adequately catered for.
 Lack of independence of the Electoral
Commission (eg. Kenya)
 The breakdown of conflict management
mechanisms within the executive,
legislature and judiciary leading to a
sharpening of incidences of political and
electoral violence
 The use of political power to disenfranchise
opponents: This is popularly known as
“siasa za kumalizana” in Kenya
Causes of EV: Protection of incumbency (Cont.)

Causes of EV: Politicians (Attitude of
Political leaders)
 Greed: Some politicians who wish to
hang on to power irrespective of the
opinion of the electorate and use political
violence as the tool to do this
 Incitement: Opposition political leaders
encouraged the public to engage in acts
of hooliganism and public riots. A
member of parliament called upon the
electorate to kill non-Ugandans.
 Reluctance to accept legitimate political
competition or pluralism (intolerance)
 Lack of awareness of the electoral
process and legal provisions available by
most political party leaders

Electoral Commission
 Late enactment of electoral laws: This was
particularly evident in the case of the
Presidential Elections Act, 2000 which was
enacted on December 12, 2001 leaving the
Electoral Commission with only 2 months
within which to organize the elections.
Hence, some candidates held illegal
campaign meetings which later became
violent.
 Ethnic balkanization through political
manipulation such as the arbitrary creation
of districts and constituencies
 Lack of faith in the National E C
 Difficulty in securing an electoral petition
Causes of EV (Cont.)

Electorate
 Illiteracy is a reasons that can be used to
influence the electorate towards violence
 Reluctance to accept legitimate political
competition or pluralism: This has led to
political parties, notably KANU, zoning
some areas and claiming sole and
exclusive right to operate and campaign
there
 The dramatic increase of poverty leading
to a class of economically
disenfranchised people (especially the
youth) who can be used to perpetrate
political and electoral violence
 Selective use of the law
 Incitement
 Absence of a tolerant political culture
Causes of EV (Cont.)

 There have been constitutional and electoral
reforms aimed at ensuring that elections in
Uganda are held in a free and fair manner,
including the establishment of an
independent electoral commission to oversee
the conduct of regular free and fair elections.
 The government introduced elections by
secret ballot using one ballot box for all
contesting candidates. This greatly reduced
suspicion that some ballot boxes would be
tampered with in order to affect the results of
certain candidates.
 Ensuring the independence of the electoral
commission
 The enforcement of the electoral code of
conduct (e.g. Tanzania)
Measures taken by countries arrest electoral violence

 There Constant use of lobbying to combat
impunity
 Infusing credibility in conduct of elections by
increasing watchdog role of political parties
 Political parties or candidates are allowed to
have their agents act as watchdogs at every
stage of the electoral process..
 Reducing opportunities for violence:
 It is not necessary for one who aspires to be
nominated to present nomination forms in person.
 Presenting campaign schedule to returning officers for
perusal for possible redress
 Use of the Police/Disciplined Forces
(Tanzania)
Measures taken by countries arrest electoral violence (Cont.)

Government (Judiciary, legislation,
Executives)
 The government should manifest the political
will to conduct free and fair elections by
providing the necessary financial and technical
assistance to carry out elections in appropriate
time
 The harmonization and reforms of electoral laws
and procedures to ensure regular, free and fair
elections
 Constitutional review to allow for free and fair
elections, the respect of human rights and the
institution of checks and balances against
unfettered executive control of the means to
coercion and justice
 Parliament should consult as widely as possible
while formulating electoral laws and reforms
Policy Recommendations

Government (Judiciary, legislation,
Executives: Cont.)
 The role of security agencies in the electoral
process should be clearly spelt out in relevant
legislation
 A comprehensive study and research into
political and electoral violence should be
conducted
 Poverty alleviation should be carried out in
order to shut down the merchants of violence
 The improvement of image of the EC in order
to cultivate confidence in it
 The suggestion has been made that representatives of
political parties be incorporated but the experiences of the
first Electoral Commission of Malawi and the National
Elections Commission of Mozambique suggests that this is
not a solution.

Electoral commission
 The EC should develop and implement
continuous voter education using all forms of
information dissemination media
 The EC should continuously update and maintain
the voters’ register as stipulated in the law
 The EC should collaborate with the Ghana
Statistical Services in updating the voters’
register
 The EC should build the capacity of election
officials in order to organize elections more
efficiently
 In order to maintain its own independence, the
EC should appoint its own returning officers
instead of using government officials

Electoral commission (Cont.)
 The electoral commission should use
transparent ballot boxes and the number of
ballot boxes should always tally with the
number of polling stations in order to
eliminate irregular voting
 The EC should establish a proper system
for the storage, distribution and accounting
for its materials at all levels
 Civic education should be conducted as
widely as possible
 Regular meetings between the EC and
political parties as well as between the
political parties themselves in order to
nurture mutual trust and confidence

Electoral commission (Cont.)
 The EC should be given special helping hand in
the form of power and resources to investigate so
that electoral violence perpetuators can be
prosecuted very fast.
 The EC should assiduously enforce the code of
conduct
 More frequent use of the police
Mass Media
 The media should not be impeded in its role as a
platform to publicly discuss political and
governance issues
 State-owned media should be required to give
equal coverage and balanced reporting to all
candidates
 The media should be encouraged to continue
exposing violence and those involved
 Journalists should adhere to their professional
code of conduct

Electorate
 There is a need to create respect for political, social and
cultural institutions
 The public naming-and-shaming of those who fund,
perpetrate and perpetuate violence should be enhanced
 A comprehensive study and research into political and
electoral violence should be conducted so that their
nature, magnitude and proper intervention methods are
established
 Poverty alleviation should be carried out in order to
shut down the merchants of violence
 Those who are hired to perpetrate violence should be
encouraged to volunteer evidence that will lead to the
arrest or disqualification of the funders of violence
 Groups hired to unleash violence should be identified
and alternative means of income generation sought for
them which in tend can lead to the arrest of the funders
of the group

Politicians
 There is a need to cultivate a culture of
constant dialogue and coordination among
the key players in the electoral and political
fields so that the existing gap of suspicion
between them is bridged
 Politicians should refrain from issuing
irresponsible and inflammatory statements
 Political parties should take part in assisting
to calm and control emotions and
aspirations of their followers / electorate
 Politicians should learn to lose

External Players
 The international community should openly rebuke
and ostracize leaders of political parties who preach
violence.
 The external players should assist countries that are
unable to meet their election budget
Considerations for ‘losers’
 Losers should not be excluded from participation in
policy development
 Losers should have a recognized institutional role,
such as legal provisions granting official status to
losers:
 a statute of opposition
 a recognized role for the leader of the opposition
 participation in decision-making on issues of national interest
 a real role for parliament with an impact on the policy-making
process.

THANK YOU
ASSAMUALAYKUM
SEIDU Moro Email: gentlemoro@gmail.com Mobile :0244290035 27

Batsau peace conference: Elections and Violence

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Viewers also liked

Viewers also liked (12)

Similar to Batsau peace conference: Elections and Violence

Similar to Batsau peace conference: Elections and Violence (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Batsau peace conference: Elections and Violence