In March 2013, Kenyans took to the polls in what turned out to be another disputed election. Unlike the 2007 elections, however, the 2013 elections and their aftermath were relatively peaceful. Yet a series of crucial mistakes by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission cast doubt on whether the election was, in the parlance of election-observer missions, “free and fair.” Rather than foreshadowing a new institutional equilibrium, the relative peace of the 2013 election may simply reflect a temporary alignment of fortuitous circumstances.
About the Authors
James D. Long
James D. Long is academy scholar at Harvard University and assistant professor of political science at the University of Washington.
For years Kenya was regarded as one of Africa’s sturdiest democracies. The fraudulent 2007 presidential election, however, exposed the fragility of Kenya’s democratic framework.
In Africa today, investment flows in and civil societies grow stronger, yet many of the continent's leaders continue to behave autocratically, defending their privileges against the spread of law-based rule.
The legislature is emerging as a "player" in some African countries, though not in others. What is the relationship between legislative development and democratic consolidation in Africa?
