Democracy and Multiparty Politics in Africa: Recent Elections in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Lesotho

Abstract

The shift from one-party to multiparty politics in many African countries has made the issue of democratisation a crucially equally important part of the development agenda. Efforts to create an economically enabling environment and build administrative and other capacities will be wasted if the political context is not favourable. This article focuses on political developments in Zambia to illustrate how a government elected on a ‘democratic ticket’ can become corrupted by the conscious development of a personality cult, and how the hunger for power can lead to the erosion of democratic values, electoral fraud, and the near breakdown of a relatively well-functioning multiparty system. A brief note on Zimbabwe is presented to amplify the Zambian case, and reform of the electoral system in Lesotho is outlined to suggest that the successful completion of elections on 25 May 2002 may serve as an excellent example of how, and under what conditions, ‘free and fair’, multiparty elections can be conducted in an African country.

Autocracy, Elections, and Fiscal Policy: Evidence from Malaysia

“…19 I thank an anonymous reviewer for highlighting this point. spending to establish political legitimacy (see Venter 2003). Similar examples include the 2006 election in Belarus that returned Alexander Lukashenko with more than 84% of the popular vote (The Times [London], March 21, 2006), and the 2004 legislative elections in Turkmenistan, where President-for-life Saparmurat Niyazov's Democratic Party won all available seats (Agence France-Presse, December 20, 2004).…”

Flypaper Effect of Regional Expenditures in Yogyakarta

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Predatory Co-optation and Party System Reversal: A Behavioural Perspective on Zambian Political Parties

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