Does international election monitoring and observation improve democratic governance in African States? Reflections on the Kenyan elections 2007-2013.

Abstract

The electoral process in African conflict ridden societies has largely been synonymous with violence since the inauguration of democratic experiments in the cold war aftermath. The transition to democracy including the role of elections in the process of building democracy has been confronted with challenges and the fate of these nations remained vulnerable. As a remedy to these challenges, external and internal forces have continually encouraged the leaders of the newly multiparty states to test their political legitimacy through inviting the Internatitonal election monitors. As a consequence, international election observation has become widely accepted around the world and is assumed to play an important role in the electoral processes. The presence of these agencies is believed to instil confidence in the domestic people and deter electoral fraud. The Kenyan case shall assess the election trends in 2007-2013 and the performance of election monitors within the international efforts to promote democracy in Africa. The issues they put across, their reports, criticisms and what they prescribed, will be useful in assessing their performance and measuring their impact on democratic governance in Kenya.