A comparison of the role of domestic and international election observers in Zambia's 2016 and 2021 general elections
A comparison of the role of domestic and international election observers in Zambia's 2016 and 2021 general elections
复制标题
国内和国际选举观察员在赞比亚 2016 年和 2021 年大选中的作用比较
DOI：
10.1080/17531055.2022.2235657
复制
发表时间：
2023
影响因子：
1.4
通讯作者：
Kaaba O
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Kaaba O
在本文中，我们专注于外部和国内的观察员在选举周转机构的作用。近年来，观察员受到了审查，特别是在他们对肯尼亚和马拉维选举进行评估之后，他们没有提出严重的关切，但随后法院以严重违规行为为由宣布投票无效。通过比较和对比国际和国内观察员在2016年和2021年赞比亚大选中发挥的作用，可以表明观察员小组可以为积极的选举结果做出贡献，虽然不在其职权范围内，但可以促进和平过渡。选举观察员承认，赞比亚顺利过渡的最大因素是选民投票率高和反对派以较大优势获胜，但他们在协助民主过渡方面发挥了关键作用。本文通过审查国内和国际观察员在赞比亚最近两次大选中参与的关键领域，为有关国内和国际观察员作用的文献做出了贡献。该研究通过参与者观察、2021年选举前后进行的小组调查以及对利益相关者的采访进行。
In this paper, we focus on the role of the institution of external and domestic observers in electoral turnovers. Observers have come under scrutiny in recent years, particularly following their assessments of the Kenya and Malawi elections, for which they raised no serious concerns, but the polls were subsequently annulled by courts on the basis of serious irregularities. By comparing and contrasting the role played by international and domestic observers in Zambia’s general elections in 2016 with those of 2021, it can be shown that observer groups can contribute to positive electoral outcomes and, while not under their remit, can be in a position to facilitate peaceful transitions. While acknowledging that the biggest factor of the smooth transition in Zambia was the huge turnout of voters and the wide margin of the opposition’s victory, election observers played a key role in aiding the democratic transition. This paper contributes to the literature on the role of domestic and international observers by examining key areas of their engagement in Zambia’s last two general elections. The research was carried out through participant observation, a panel survey conducted before and after the 2021 elections and interviews with stakeholders.