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Periodical article Periodical article Leiden University catalogue Leiden University catalogue WorldCat catalogue WorldCat
Title:The Politics of International Election Observation: The Case of Zimbabwe in 2000
Author:Laakso, LiisaISNI
Year:2002
Periodical:Journal of Modern African Studies
Volume:40
Issue:3
Period:September
Pages:437-464
Language:English
Geographic term:Zimbabwe
Subjects:elections
2002
election monitoring
Politics and Government
Law, Human Rights and Violence
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/3876044
Abstract:The example of Zimbabwe in 2000 shows that in a context of violent election campaigning, the role of international election observation is an ambiguous one. Unlike earlier elections organized by the Zimbabwean government, international donors wanted to observe its 2000 parliamentary election amidst a deepening crisis. They noted that the elections would not be free and fair in their view. Neighbouring countries with a more positive view joined the observation exercise. The government's discriminatory invitation and accreditation policy, the observers' emphasis on the peacefulness of the polling rather than free and fair elections, and the selective publication of their reports in various media, were affected both by the political agendas of the domestic players and by the governments which sent the observers. The case of Zimbabwe suggests that political violence during the campaigning was both the main motivation for sending observers and the main hindrance to the elections ever becoming free and fair. The difference between the Western view of the government, which had changed drastically since the 1980s and early 1990s, and the view of neighbouring governments, was crucial and may become significant elsewhere in Africa. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum.
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