This volume examines democracy and elections in Africa, taking stock of the state of constitutional democracy on the continent after the democratic gains of the 1990s and 2000s, focusing on how competitive politics or multiparty democracy can be realized and how, through competition, such politics could lead to better policy and practice outcomes.

Freedom in the World, the Freedom House flagship survey whose findings have been published annually since 1972, is the standard-setting comparative assessment of global political rights and civil liberties. The survey ratings and narrative reports on 195 countries and fourteen territories are used by policymakers, the media, international corporations, civic activists, and human rights defenders to monitor trends in democracy and track improvements and setbacks in freedom worldwide. The Freedom in the World political rights and civil liberties ratings are determined through a multi-layered process of research and evaluation by a team of regional analysts and eminent scholars. The analysts used a broad range of sources of information, including foreign and domestic news reports, academic studies, nongovernmental organizations, think tanks, individual professional contacts, and visits to the region, in conducting their research. The methodology of the survey is derived in large measure from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and these standards are applied to all countries and territories, irrespective of geographical location, ethnic or religious composition, or level of economic development.

Research Paper (undergraduate) from the year 2017 in the subject Law - Public Law / Constitutional Law / Basic Rights, Mzumbe University (MZUMBE UNIVERSITY MAIN CAMPUS), course: LL.B, language: English, abstract: Most aspects of human life are dependent on the political make up of the state and the contemporary world has put into priority democratic forms of government as it allows the followers to have a dictative power to determine who to rule over them and under which standards the leader should conduct his reign. For that porpose democratic elections were introduced in The United Republic of Tanzania. For the purpose of ensuring democratic elections, laws are enacted and put into force both at the municipal and international levels. Also, electoral management bodies are established by the laws to execute the purpose in all democratic elections. In Tanzania two bodies act for the purpose as establised by the Constitutions inforce therein. The bodies are the National Electoral and Zanzibar Electoral Commissions (NEC and ZEC). The core principle governing the powers and operations of these commissions are independence and impartiality and the elections executed in complience with the principles are deemed free and fair (just), this is tested by the electoral stakeholders through their post electoral views and commentaries. Generally, the study is about the independence and impartiality of the commissions as to secure confidence of the public in their dealings so as to realise democratic elections in the state. The study is made up of five chapters as follows: Chapter one covers the background information, research problem, research objectives, and research methodology. Chapter two explains the conceptual framework covering the operational meanings of key words concepts and the perspectives of various levels of the universe on democratic elections. Chapter three provides the legal and institutional frameworks, while Chapter four dwells on analysis and presentation of findings of the study. The last chapter provides the conclusion and proposes recommendations to curb the researched problem.

A comprehensive look at how violence has been used to manipulate competitive electoral processes around the world since World War II Throughout their history, political elections have been threatened by conflict, and the use of force has in the past several decades been an integral part of electoral processes in a significant number of contemporary states. However, the study of elections has yet to produce a comprehensive account of electoral violence. Drawing on cross-national data sets together with fourteen detailed case studies from around the world, Electoral Violence, Corruption, and Political Order offers a global comparative analysis of violent electoral practices since the Second World War. Sarah Birch shows that the way power is structured in society largely explains why elections are at risk of violence in some contexts but not in others. Countries with high levels of corruption and weak democratic institutions are especially vulnerable to disruptions of electoral peace. She examines how corrupt actors use violence to back up other forms of electoral manipulation, including vote buying and ballot stuffing. In addition to investigating why electoral violence takes place, Birch considers what can be done to prevent it in the future, arguing that electoral authority and the quality of electoral governance are more important than the formal design of electoral institutions. Delving into a deeply influential aspect of political malpractice, Electoral Violence, Corruption, and Political Order explores the circumstances in which individuals choose to employ violence as an electoral strategy.

The book is the first in a planned trilogy by Pippa Norris on Challenges of Electoral Integrity to be published by Cambridge University Press. Unfortunately too often elections around the globe are deeply flawed or even fail. Why does this matter? It is widely suspected that such contests will undermine confidence in elected authorities, damage voting turnout, trigger protests, exacerbate conflict, and occasionally lead to regime change. Well-run elections, by themselves, are insufficient for successful transitions to democracy. But flawed, or even failed, contests are thought to wreck fragile progress. Is there good evidence for these claims? Under what circumstances do failed elections undermine legitimacy? With a global perspective, using new sources of data for mass and elite evidence, this book provides fresh insights into these major issues.

This book examines the practice of international election observation in a Caribbean context. It presents a survey of the Commonwealth Caribbean perspective and a concise case study of Guyana between 1964 and 2015. This research traces the roots of election observation and how this practice became integrated into the landscape of Caribbean electoral politics. More specifically, the study examines the process by which election observers have become key actors in elections in the Commonwealth Caribbean. One of the issues the book contemplates is why Caribbean countries accept the imposition of observation within the context of sovereignty. The case of Guyana and other Anglophone Caribbean states shows the costs of not having observers have been multidimensional and have eclipsed concerns of respecting state sovereignty.

Electronic and internet voting has become increasingly widespread in recent years, but which countries are the leaders of the movement and who lags behind? Is the digital divide likely to present a permanent challenge to electronic democracy? What are the experiences with regard to online voting, and what are the arguments for and against? Electronic Voting and Democracy examines these issues and the contexts in which they are played out, such as problems of legitimacy and the practical considerations that have driven some countries toward electronic voting faster than others.

This book presents a searching critique of excessive reliance on courts as 'democracy-builders' in states emerging from authoritarian rule.