Election Observation in Sub-Saharan Africa

Original question:

I am attending The University of Cape Town, and I am looking for some information. I was told you may have some information regarding elections in Africa.

My research project needs data for all Sub-Saharan African countries with regards to whether their elections are free and fair, from 1994 to the present.

If you do not have this information, do you have an idea as to where I can find it?

ACE Network Facilitator's response:

Thank you for your inquiry. There are several resources which you might like to explore and which should help you with your project.

• The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network. Click on ‘Regions and Countries’ and then ‘Africa’. Then select each country individually and look in the top right hand box ‘links to organizations’. Some countries here have links to EU Electoral Observations Mission reports which will comment on the freedom and fairness of the election in question.
• Election reports by The Commonwealth Secretariat
• IFES posts reports from their missions in the region on their website.
• The website of the National Democratic Institute (NDI) may also have some useful information. Under the ‘NDI worldwide’ choose the region of Africa and then the particular country.
• Check the UN website for early reports on Mozambique ONUMOZ 1994.

Regional Resources:

• African Union reports offer a different viewpoint from US/EU ones.
• Election Observation in West Africa: The ECOWAS Experience
• Norms and Standards for Elections in the SADC Region
• EISA coordinates observer missions in southern Africa. See its Mission Reports. A summary regarding the freedom and fairness of the election is at the bottom of each report.
• See also the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation (PEMMO) in the SADC Region. 
• The International Crisis Group (ICG) also has some info and reports on elections in Africa.

The opinions expressed by the ACE Network Facilitator do not necessarily reflect those of the ACE Partner organizations.

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