Towards a violence-free electoral process

Mar 04, 2015 Editorial

This publication remains steadfastly committed to the prevention of any form of violence during the upcoming electoral process. This in essence, refers to the period prior to elections, election day itself, and post-elections.
Various interesting assumptions are customarily made. For instance, it is assumed that, if the Final Voters’ List is made acceptable, that is, purged of the dead and otherwise missing, scrubbed of multiple registrants, freed of phantoms, and disenfranchising no one legally entitled to vote, a major hurdle to acceptance of the election results would have been overcome.
It is possible that the major cause of the nervousness about which party will win the elections, is the perception that whichever party wins will simply systematically favour its ethnic group, completely ignoring the Constitution, with particular reference to Article 149C.
This states that, as a fundamental right, “No person shall be hindered in the enjoyment of participating through co-operatives, trade unions, civic or socio-economic organisations of a national character, in the management and decision-making processes of the State.”
This Article thus envisages decision-making underpinned by consultation, not centrally controlled by the choice of who is consulted, and facilitated by a major degree of freedom of information relevant to the decision to be made.
Thus, for instance, no representative of the State, even at the highest level, would be permitted to specify which representatives of the Private Sector or which Trade Unionists are unacceptable for any consultation; nor could pertinent facts be withheld on the grounds of preserving confidentiality.
Whether concerned groupings in the society are aware of the existence and importance of Article 149C, and intend to exercise that fundamental right, remains to be seen.
The ACE Project website’s introductory remarks on “Elections and Security” are appropriate for any such undertaking as we have before us. The entity asserts that: “An election is a contest for legitimate power that can be described as a non-violent competition, fought within a political forum. It is important in this context to recognise that elections do not avoid confrontation, but rather, focus on its management and containment within accepted boundaries.
In practice, the assurance of equitable security during an electoral process is essential to retaining the participants’ confidence and commitment to an election. Consequently, security is both integral to the goal of an election and an inseparable part of the electoral process.
There is no single model of elections or democracy that is universally applicable to all countries. An election is unique – defined not only by the electoral rules, but also shaped by the social values, politics, religions, history and culture of the people. In the same way, the security of an election is unique to the circumstances in which it is conducted. The stakes of any given election are different – even if it is held periodically in the same country – due to the changing forces that shape the national interest and corresponding political agenda.
Similar to a sporting event, the rivalry between opposing teams entails competition within an accepted set of rules, but does not allow for the use of violence to seek victory. Extending on this comparison, if violence does occur, it can lead to the disqualification of players (candidates), teams (political parties), an amendment of the results or the abandonment of the competition altogether.
As such, the emergence of electoral violence is not a result of the process being followed, but signals a critical departure from the accepted rules that govern the process.”
Given the concerns expressed about avoidance of acts of election violence, it will be interesting to see the types of institutions that will apply to GECOM to be accredited as Domestic Observers of the Electoral Process.
It will also be interesting to see whether these organisations will use their Domestic Observer status to insist that the main person on whom they rely to protect them and their property from violence, the Commissioner of Police, is kept formally apprised of the plans for and progress of the electoral process.

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Towards a violence-free electoral process

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