The Economist recently posted two articles on the theme of African elections. In the first article, it is noted that the number of elections taking place all over Africa this year is above normal – all in all 48 local, regional and/or national elections should have been held in sub-Saharan Africa by the end of 2010. The article further concludes that a fair share of those elections were considered to be “below international standards” by observers.

The second article discusses further the phenomenon of unfair elections, noting that “African leaders are getting better at rigging elections”. Although this is problematic, the article optimistically states that “Even bad elections are better than none”. Although many elections might be fraudulent – often through the creation of an uneven political playing field rather than classical vote rigging - the fact that authoritarian leaders nowadays have to devote so much more energy in order to secure victory these elections is a sign of people’s increased determination to have their say. It is becoming increasingly difficult for any African dictator to take away the people’s right to vote in elections. 

What are your views on these articles, their arguments and the 2010 election marathon in sub-Saharan Africa – are bad elections better than none?