Election Administration in West Africa The Case of Ghana and Nigeria

Harrison Adewale Idowu

《Taiwan Journal of Democracy》 17卷2期 (2021/12) Pp. 177-206

摘要

This essay provides an insight into the nitty gritty intricacies of election administration systems in Ghana and Nigeria and their implication for democracy in these countries. Given the often controversial nature of election administration in Africa, it becomes pertinent to empirically examine the cases of Ghana and Nigeria-two prominent countries in the West African sub-region. The study makes use of primary and secondary data sources. Findings show that the election administration system in Ghana is very transparent and has resulted in democratic advancement in the country. However, in Nigeria, although the election administration system has improved, it is still not as seamless or capable of producing credible elections and democratic advancement as the system in Ghana. The study concludes that, while elections and election administration in Ghana is often straightforward, the election system in Nigeria is akin to mobilization for war. This finding has implications for election administration and democracy in the rest of the West African sub-region.

關鍵字

Election ； election administration ； Ghana ； Nigeria ； West Africa

參考文獻

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Francois Fall, “Elections Still a Weak Spot in Central Africa,” African Renewal (2017), http://www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/july-2017 (accessed September 29, 2018).

Abiodun Fatai, “Elections and Democratic Consolidation in West Africa: Comparative Study of Nigeria and Senegal, 1999-2012” (PhD diss., University of Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, 2017).

Sarah Repucci, Freedom in the World 2021: Democracy under Siege (2021), Freedom House, https://freedomhouse.org/countries/freedom-world/scores (accessed May 5, 2021).

Wale Adebanwi and Ebenezer Obadare, “The Abrogation of the Elections: An Emergent African Phenomenon,” Democratization 18, no. 2 (2011): 275-310