Leaders of civil society, the media, election management bodies, security services and political parties from 25 sub-Saharan African countries gathered in Accra, Ghana from November 12 to 14, 2009 to assess recent elections across the continent and develop recommendations for raising standards of professionalism among election administration officials, political parties, civic groups, security services and media in order to mitigate conflict and improve electoral processes.

The Colloquium on African Elections: Best Practices and Cross-Sectoral Collaboration focused on Ghana’s 2008 elections, which were universally viewed as credible despite heated political tensions and a razor-thin margin between the candidates. Participants drew on lessons from the experience in Ghana, where for the second time in less than a decade, political power has changed hands from the ruling to an opposition party through the ballot box. Effective collaboration among all sectors of the electoral process helped ease tensions, enhanced transparency and built voter confidence in the election results. Drawing on this example, the participants identified the following as key prerequisites for peaceful, participative and credible elections: inclusiveness, transparency and accountability.

Participants also explored the differences between the Ghanaian experience and elections in other countries such as Kenya and Zimbabwe, which experienced gross irregularities, fraud and conflict. They identified the factors that contributed to different outcomes in each of these cases and discussed how to foster credible elections on the continent based on these case studies. 

“This is an opportunity for Africans to reflect on our own experiences and build upon our successes. As a regional initiative, this conference will bolster electoral reformers, and civic and political stakeholders on the continent,” said Kwadwo Afari-Gyan, chair of the Electoral Commission in Ghana, ahead of the event.

Participants deliberated on best practices of elections in Africa and recognized the importance of cross-sectoral collaboration, trust and effective communication between all election stakeholders as essential ingredients for peaceful and credible elections. Participants shared concrete experiences and mechanisms, including inter-party dialogue platforms/multi-party liaison committees and cross-sectoral codes of conduct and their enforcement mechanisms.

During the Colloquium, participants recognized the need for a holistic approach to elections that includes all sectors of society in their conduct, including civil society, the media, election management bodies, security services and political parties. Participants acknowledged the yearning and demand for democracy from the populations of countries across Africa, and believe that the political will exists to advocate for credible elections, even if the electoral process in many countries continues to fall short of citizens’ expectations.

Participants also assessed the successes and the challenges of competitive elections in Africa over the past two decades. In many countries, successful elections strengthened democratic institutions and enhanced opportunities for economic growth and political development. In other countries, credible elections paved the way for national reconciliation and return to civilian rule after decades of armed conflict and civil war. But flawed elections in other countries resulted in violence, further polarized divided societies and eroded public confidence in the political process. 

Finally, participants discussed the importance of the African Union’s Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, adopted in 2007. Article 17 of the Charter “reaffirms the commitment to holding transparent, free and fair elections in accordance with the 2002 OAU/AU Declaration on the Principles Governing Democratic Elections in Africa,” and calls on states to take concrete actions to fulfill their responsibilities. Article 22 of the Charter commits governments to “create a conducive environment for independent and impartial election monitoring or observation mechanisms.”

At the conclusion of the colloquium, participants released a communiqué summarizing these discussions. The communiqué shared recommendations for election standards in Africa including recommendations to African governments, election management bodies, political parties, domestic and international election monitoring and observer groups, the media and security and military services. 

Co-organizers of the colloquium include the National Democratic Institute, Africa Center for Strategic Studies, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, Open Society Initiative for West Africa and United Nations Development Programme.