Including peace: the influence of electoral management bodies on electoral violence

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Periodical article

Title:	Including peace: the influence of electoral management bodies on electoral violence
Authors:	Opitz, Christian Fjelde, Hanne Höglund, Kristine
Year:	2013
Periodical:	Journal of Eastern African Studies (ISSN 1753-1063)
Volume:	7
Issue:	4
Pages:	713-731
Language:	English
Geographic terms:	Ethiopia Malawi Zanzibar
Subjects:	elections election management bodies political violence
External link:	https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17531055.2013.841024
Abstract:	What accounts for the difference between peaceful and violent elections in semi-authoritarian countries? This article analyses the influence of electoral management bodies (EMBs) on the likelihood of widespread violence triggered by opposition protest during election times. It is argued that by establishing inclusive and collaborative relationships through which political actors can jointly negotiate important electoral issues, EMBs influence the incentive structure of the major stakeholders in favour of non-violent strategies. The relationship is explored by comparing elections in Malawi (2004), Ethiopia (2005) and Zanzibar (2005). The analysis supports the idea that inclusive EMBs, rather than legal independence, are critical to guarantee the influence of the opposition in order to address both their interests and their mistrust of electoral politics. Bibliogr., notes, ref., sum. [Journal abstract]