Sadc must scale up role in preventing election-related conflicts
MANY people believe that elections are a sign of democracy. Most Southern African Development Community (Sadc) countries are set to hold elections in 10 of the 15 Sadc member nations between January 2023 and December 2024. But because of fraud and anomalies, elections in some of these nations — as well as the rest of Africa — remain a source of political unrest and instability rather than prosperous governance. Partisan electoral administrators, or electoral systems intended to preserve the political status quo are still used in many nations in their electoral processes.
Allegations of electoral fraud, corruption and acts of political violence are frequent. In certain instances, like in Zimbabwe’s case, they undermine regional and national stability by causing protracted periods of political turbulence. A typical example is the August 2023 elections which were held in Zimbabwe and were widely condemned by literally all election observers, including the Sadc observer mission. Of the southern African nations that have conducted elections thus far, Zimbabwe and DRC election results are subjects of dispute. The elections and the region’s democratisation process as a whole are marred by disagreements and a lack of public trust in electoral procedures.
The reason for this is that elections and the numerous political sub processes that make them up are so intricate that they frequently serve as arenas for conflicts involving ideologies. The diverse ways in which political parties and individuals are bound by a deep moral relationship that transcends generations and stems from the liberation struggle make electoral processes in Sadc countries particularly unique. Nevertheless, the democratic process in Sadc has never been easy, and the results of the most recent elections rekindled widespread public scepticism towards electoral management organisations, which is cause for alarm.
A lack of strong and transparent institutions exacerbates the majority of election-related disputes. One tool that can help to instil order in the region is the Sadc standards and principles, which serve as benchmarks for the expansion of democracy in the area. The values upheld by the nation-States differ significantly from reality. The desire for democratic administration and the necessity for self-preservation frequently clash, despite the existence of a democratic legal framework. For instance, administrations lack the political will to put in place independent and impartial electoral commissions, media outlets, courts and security services that are acknowledged as essential to democratic elections. Even in cases whereby entrenched violence and electoral fraud are evident, Sadc does not denounce electoral malpractices that tarnish its reputation, which exacerbates the situation. This has led some analysts to characterise the organisation as feeble and incompetent. This means that in order to end the vicious cycle of disputed elections, Sadc, through its Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Co-operation, must act.
Sadc should not only condemn the persistent disregard for regional electoral standards and call for adherence to law in order to disrupt the cycle, it should also adopt some enforcement mechanism to ensure adherence to its election guidelines. As part of oral democratic process, this includes interacting with governments about how they should respond to voters who voice discontent over how elections are run.