Elections, Legitimacy, and Democratic Consolidation in Southern Africa Lessons from Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi

Abstract

Regular elections are now the norm across most of sub-Saharan Africa, but repeated elections have not guaranteed the consolidation of democracy. Election legitimacy is crucial for democratisation. When losing political actors and their supporters are not satisfied with the electoral process, there is potential for growing political tensions. Fraudulent or controversial elections fail to confer legitimacy on the winners, and undermine the integrity of elections and democracy. Drawing on Afrobarometer data and media accounts, this paper focuses on the most recent elections held in three southern African countries: Zambia, Zimbabwe and Malawi. We show that when citizens believe that elections were not free and fair, there is a decline in their satisfaction with democracy and the trust they have in institutions such as electoral commissions and courts of law. The absence of political reforms to address disputed election outcomes increases the likelihood that future elections will not be contested fairly. This sets countries on a path of democratic decline rather than consolidation.

Candidate’s physical attractiveness as a consequence in an election

“…As such, government ought to be prepared to accept the outcome of an election by putting the interests of the voter ahead of every personal interest. Cases where incumbents have accepted defeat and handed over power are few in Africa, they include; Nigeria where GoodLuck Jonathan handed over to Muhammed Buhari in 2015 and in Malawi where Joyce Banda lost to Peter Mutharika in 2014 who was equally defeated Peter Chakwera in 2020 (Siachiwena & Saunders, 2021;Odum, 2021;Taylor, 2019;Ojo, Ibeh & Kieghe, 2019). While neither Banda nor Mutharika physically handed over to the in-coming president, they accepted defeat and stepped out of office.…”