Preventing Election-related Violence

Topic IndexPoor socio-economic conditions

Poverty, inequality and high or increasing unemployment are important factors to consider when assessing the risks of election-related violence. Poverty is a complex concept that has been defined as ‘pronounced deprivation in well-being’, referring to a situation where, as a result of lack of income or consumption capacity, a person fails to attain the minimum level of well-being required to be able to function adequately in society.[1] There are many dimensions to poverty, but mostly they relate to a lack of access to food supplies, adequate education and health, among others. Closely linked to poverty are unemployment, which contributes to perpetuating its root causes, and inequality, which jeopardizes access to opportunities for disenfranchised population segments.^{^[2]} There is strong evidence suggesting causal links between poverty, inequality and political violence, in particular election-related violence.^{^[3]} Poverty increases tensions over less serious disputes, such as those concerning electoral procedures, which can lead to violent actions. Moreover, those who have little to lose are easily mobilized for violent action.^{^[4]}

Empirical cases:

Kenya presidential and parliamentary elections 2007. Economic frustration and inequalities associated with land ownership, together with unkept promises of job opportunities for young people, have been identified as some of the most important contributors to outbreaks of violence during electoral processes in Kenya. The epitome was the 2007 elections, which ultimately resulted in over an alleged 1,500 people killed, 3,000 women raped and 300,000 internally displaced.^{^[5]}

Interrelated factors: social and political exclusion (external); conflict relating to changing power dynamics (external);^{^[6]} gender-based discrimination and violence (external);^{^[7]} electoral security arrangements (internal);^{^[8]} provocative use of the media by political parties (internal);^{^[9]} management of election results (internal).^{^[10]}

Liberia presidential and legislative elections 2005. Unemployment has affected all Liberian electoral processes, in particular the 2005 elections. Although there was a considerable reduction in violence during the pre-electoral period,^{^[11]} this did not result in a peaceful post-electoral phase, as political groups mobilized unemployed youth in sprees of violence.^{^[12]} Incidents included intimidation, protests and traffic disruption in the capital, Monrovia, threats of violence against targeted political figures and journalists, and looting.^{^[13]}

Interrelated factors: social and political exclusion (external); conflict relating to changing power dynamics (external);^{^[14]} the presence of non-state armed actors (external); a poor voter information campaign (internal); unequal media access and favouritism (internal); poor performance of the electoral management bodies (internal).^{^[15]}

[1] Haughton, Jonathan and Khandker, Shahidur R., Handbook on Poverty and Inequality (Washington, DC: World Bank, 2009), p. 1.

[2] United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), Social Policy and

Development Division, ‘Social Perspective on Development: Issues’, [n.d.], <https://

www.un.org/development/desa/socialperspectiveondevelopment/issues.html>, accessed

4 May 2018

[3] Krug, Etienne G. et al. (eds), World Report on Violence and Health (Geneva: World Health Organization, 2002), p. 37, available at <http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/world_report/en/full_en.pdf>, accessed 12 July 2011.

[4] Laakso, Liisa, ‘Insights into Electoral Violence in Africa’, in Matthias Basedau, Gero Erdmann and Andreas Mehler (eds), Votes, Money and Violence: Political Parties and Elections in Sub-Saharan Africa (Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet and Scottsville: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2007), pp. 228–30.

[5] Roberts, Mara J., Conflict Analysis of the 2007 Post-election Violence in Kenya (Charlottesville, Va.: New Dominion Philanthropy Metrics, 2009), available at <http://www.ndpmetrics.com/papers/Kenya_Conflict_2007.pdf>, accessed 30 June 2011; and Institut Français de Recherche en Afrique (IFRA), The General Elections in Kenya 2007, Les Cahiers d’Afrique de l’Est, no. 38 (Nairobi, 2008), pp. 2, 11, 172, 202, 227, 228, 369.

[6] International Crisis Group, ‘Kenya in Crisis’, Africa Report no. 137 (21 February 2008), p. 9, available at

<https://www.crisisgroup.org/africa/horn-africa/kenya/kenya-crisis>, accessed 2 May 2018

[7] Ibid.; and Roberts, Conflict Analysis of the 2007 Post-election Violence in Kenya.

[8] Alston, Philip, ‘Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions. Addendum: Election-related Violence and Killings’, UN document A/HRC/14/24/Add.7 (18 May 2010), p. 38, available at <http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/E002895AFBE42ABA492577370007FFE9-Full_Report.pdf>, accessed 1 September 2011

[9] Mbeke, Peter Oriare, ‘The Role of the Media in Conflict and Peace Building in Kenya: Draft Literature Review Report’, April 2009, p. 13, available at <http://www.internews.org/pubs/kenya/LiteratureReview_ReportingPeaceKenya_20090415.pdf>, accessed 21 October 2011.

[10] [Kriegler Commission], Report of the Independent Review Commission on the General Elections Held in Kenya on 27 December 2007, pp. 35, 125, 129, available at

<http://aceproject.org/regions-en/countries-and-territories/KE/reports/independent-review-commission-on-the-general>, accessed 4 May 2018

[11] International Observation Delegations, Observing Presidential and Legislative Elections in Liberia, Final Report on the International Observation Delegations, sponsored by the National Democratic Institute and Carter Center, October/November 2005, p. 1, available at <http://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/news/peace_publications/election_reports/FinalReportLiberia2005.pdf>, accessed 30 June 2011.

[12] Carnegie Mellon University, ‘Conference to Mitigate Violence in Liberia’s 2011 Electoral Contests: Resolution’, Monrovia, 2010, p. 2, available at <http://www.cmu.edu/cipi/news-events/pdfs/Liberia2010Conference_Resolution-SummaryOfProceedings.pdf>, accessed 30 June 2011.

[13] International Observation Delegations, Observing Presidential and Legislative Elections in Liberia, p. 26.

[14] Ibid., pp. 36, 38.

[15] Carnegie Mellon University, ‘Conference to Mitigate Violence’, p. 2.

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Preventing Election-related Violence