• Twitter
  • ➜ SUBSCRIBE
African Minds is an open access, not-for-profit publisher of scholarly books
African Minds
  • About
    • Overview
    • Staff
    • Governance
    • Policies
    • Editorial board
    • Distribution network
    • Partners and memberships
  • Books
    • By topic
      • Cities
      • Education
      • Music
      • Openness
      • Politics and justice
      • Science
    • Other
      • Recently published
      • Forthcoming
      • All books
    • Other languages
      • Português
      • Français
    • Book series
      • AHED – African Higher Education Dynamic Series
      • LOITASA – Language of Instruction in Tanzania and South Africa
      • Public Broadcasting in Africa
  • News & reviews
  • Submissions
  • Research
    • Overview
    • Research projects
      • Open Data Intermediaries and Economic Ownership Rights
      • The African university press in a digital age: practices and opportunities
      • Open data and information asymmetries
      • Open data and social inclusion
  • Contact
  • Search
  • Menu Menu

Publication date
23/05/2016

Price (ZA)
R180.00

Book size
170 x 244 mm

Language
English

ISBN
978-1-920489-16-8

Election Management Bodies in West Africa: A comparative study of the contribution of electoral commissions to the strengthening of democracy

By Ismaila Madior Fall, Mathias Hounkpe, Adele L. Jinadu, Pascal Kambale

This report is an in-depth study of electoral commissions in six countries of West Africa – Benin, Cape Verde, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone – assessing their contribution in strengthening political participation in the region. As institutions that apply the rules governing elections, electoral management bodies (EMBs) have occupied, over the last two decades, the heart of discussion and practice on the critical question of effective citizen participation in the public affairs of their countries. The way in which they are established and the effectiveness of their operations have continued to preoccupy those who advocate for competitive elections, while reforms to the EMBs have taken centre stage in more general political reforms. Election Management Bodies in West Africa thus responds to the evident need for more knowledge about an institution that occupies a more and more important place in the political process in West Africa. Based on documentary research and detailed interviews in each country, the study provides a comparative analysis which highlights the similarities and differences in the structure and operations of each body, and attempts to establish the reasons for their comparative successes and failures.

Download a digital copy

Full-text PDF

Order a print copy

African Books Collective Amazon African Minds

Table of contents

Preface

1   Overview: The contribution of electoral management bodies to credible elections in West Africa – Pascal Kambale 1

A. Introduction 1

B. Colonial legacy 2

C. Elections and constitutional reforms 3

D. Membership of EMBs and appointment of Electoral Commissioners 4

E. Independence and effectiveness 4

F. Common challenges to electoral management 8

G. Conclusion 9

H. Recommendations 10

2 Benin – Mathias Hounkpe 12

A. Summary 12

B. Historical background 13

C. The Autonomous National Electoral Commission (CENA) 19

D. Funding of elections in Benin 31

E. Electoral disputes in Benin 34

F. Critical assessment of the CENA’s performance 36

G. Recommendations 47

3 Cape Verde – Ismaila Madior Fall 49

A. Summary 49

B. Constitutional development, party politics and electoral history 51

C. Election management bodies: Legal and institutional frameworks, powers and independence 58

D. Funding of elections in Cape Verde 65

E. Electoral disputes in Cape Verde 67

F. A critical assessment of the performance of EMBs in Cape Verde 67

G. Recommendations 74

4 Ghana – Mathias Hounkpe 76

A. Summary 76

B. The political development of Ghana 77

C. The Electoral Commission (EC) 81

D. Funding of elections in Ghana 92

E. Electoral disputes in Ghana 95

F. Critical evaluation of EC performance 96

G. Recommendations 106

5 Nigeria – Adele Jinadu 108

A. Summary 108

B. Constitutional development, party politics and electoral history 110

C. Nigeria’s electoral management body: History, structure and independence 117

D. Funding of elections in Nigeria 130

E. Electoral disputes in Nigeria 135

F. Assessment of electoral governance and process in Nigeria 145

G. Post-1999 debate on electoral governance in Nigeria 152

H. Recommendations 158

6 Senegal – Ismaila Madior Fall 162

A. Summary 162

B. Constitutional change, party politics and electoral history 163

C. Status, powers and functioning of EMBs 175

D. Funding of elections in Senegal 190

E. Electoral disputes in Senegal 192

F. A critical assessment of electoral governance in Senegal 194

G. Recommendations 207

7 Sierra Leone – Adele Jinadu 209

A. Summary 209

B. Historical context 210

C. Institutional structures 215

D. Funding of elections in Sierra Leone 226

E. Electoral disputes in Sierra Leone 229

F. A critical assessment of electoral governance in Sierra Leone 230

G. Recommendations 243

About the authors 245

Related books

https://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Sharing-Knowledge-Cover_recent.png 849 600 vene https://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/logo.png vene2019-10-19 17:36:002020-03-24 10:33:15Sharing Knowledge, Transforming Societies: The Norhed Programme 2013-2020
https://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Knowledge_for_Justice.cover_.WIP_.png 849 600 vene https://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/logo.png vene2017-10-05 19:00:002020-03-24 12:05:20Knowledge for Justice: Critical Perspectives from Southern African-Nordic Research Partnerships
https://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/AFRO-ACC-West-Africa-Cover-FRE-Cover.jpg 849 600 vene https://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/logo.png vene2017-07-03 14:51:002020-03-24 12:11:25Effectivité des agences nationales anti-corruption en Afrique de l’ouest: Bénin, Libéria, Niger, Nigéria, Sénégal, Sierra Leone
https://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/OSISA-DRC-Cover-72dpi.jpg 849 600 vene https://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/logo.png vene2017-07-03 14:45:002020-03-24 12:19:14La jurisprudence congolaise en matière de crimes de droit international: Une analyse des décisions des juridictions militaires congolaises en application du Statut de Rome
https://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/effectiveness_of_cover.png 849 600 vene https://www.africanminds.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/logo.png vene2017-04-13 14:56:002020-03-24 12:24:16Effectiveness of Anti-Corruption Agencies in Southern Africa: Angola, Botswana, DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Browse

Browse all books

Search books

Book categories

  • Recently published
  • Forthcoming
  • Books
    • Openness
    • Education
    • Music
    • Politics and Justice
    • Science
  • Other languages
    • Português
    • Français
  • Book series
    • African Higher Education Dynamic Series (AHED)
    • LOITASA
    • Public Broadcasting in Africa

Write a review

Wish to leave a review of this book? Please complete the book review form. Your review will be published after it has passed moderation.

Share

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share by Mail

In brief

African Minds is a not-for-profit, open access publisher of scholarly books based in Cape Town, South Africa. African Minds publishes predominantly in the social sciences and humanities, and its authors are typically African academics, as well as international academics who share a close affinity with the continent.


Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy

Subscribe

Name

Email*

Institution

Country

Contact us

Book orders
AFRICA:
Booksite Africa, orders@booksite.co.za
Gloria Makambi, gloria@africanminds.co.za

OUTSIDE OF AFRICA:
African Books Collective, orders@africanbookscollective.com

Editorial
editor@africanminds.co.za

General
info@africanminds.co.za


Follow us on Twitter



The content of this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

One world, many knowledges: Regional experiences and cross-regional links in...Change management in TVET colleges: Lessons learnt from the field of practi...
Scroll to top

This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies.

OKLearn More

Cookie and Privacy Settings



How we use cookies

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

Essential Website Cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

Google Analytics Cookies

These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience.

If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here:

Other external services

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

Other cookies

The following cookies are also needed - You can choose if you want to allow them:

Privacy Policy

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

Privacy policy
Accept settings