These Election Reports are the observations, conclusions and recommendations of Commonwealth Observer Groups. The Secretary-General constitutes these observer missions at the request of governments and with the agreement of all significant political parties. At the end of a mission, a report is submitted to the Secretary-General, who makes it available to the government of the country in question, the political parties concerned and to all Commonwealth governments. The report eventually becomes a public document.
The book provides readers a set of case studies covering a diverse range of African states in order to identify the major causes of change and the movement towards democracy.
The aim of this reference work is to make African human rights law accessible to all those involved in or interested in human rights law on the continent in order to strengthen its impact. Primary documents are introduced and reproduced and presented in a coherent framework. The main institutions - public and private - dealing with human rights in Africa are identified and discussed. Comprehensive overviews of the international human rights legal regimes applicable to Africa, as well as country reports are provided. This book tries to contribute towards documenting, systemising and anchoring the African human rights system. The print edition is available as a set of two volumes (9789004138810).
First published in 1999, the essays in this book examine the context and conduct of a series of watershed elections held in Anglophone Africa in the first half of the 1990s. These elections crystallized a wider process of democratization, underway in much of sub-Saharan Africa during the last decade, in which attempts were made to shift from various forms of authoritarian rule (colonial or racial oligarchies, military regimes, one-party states, or presidential rule) to pluralist parliamentary politics. This volume brings together for the first time, studies of these events in countries sharing a comparable legacy of British colonialism, an acquaintance with the Westminster constitutional tradition and related experiences of decolonization and democratic struggle. Written from a variety of perspectives by contributors with first-hand knowledge and long experience of research in Africa, the papers situate each election in its wider political context, examining the political forces at work and the events which gave rise to reform. All indicate that, despite Western pressure for reform and the influence of the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in Eastern Europe, internal African demands for democracy provided the primary driving force for change. Not all the elections fulfilled the hopes invested in them. In Nigeria, they were annulled before all the votes had been counted. In Kenya, the disarray of the opposition ensured the return to power of the old order. Even where they produced a successful regime transition, the democratic credentials of the new governments were sometimes seriously flawed. Yet for all these limitations, these watershed elections signalled important progress for African democracy. They brought a formal end to colonial rule in Namibia and to three centuries of racial discrimination in South Africa. They brought changes of government through the ballot box in Zambia and Malawi, among the first instances in Africa of such change being accomplished without the use of force. Above all, they provided African electorates with an opportunity to pass judgement on long-serving authoritarian regimes – with unequivocal results: in every case, when given the chance to vote, Africans voted for democracy.
The 133rd edition of The Statesman's Year-Book is completely revised and updated. Widely respected as an authoritative and accessible reference work, The Statesman's Year-Book provides the basic building blocks of knowledge about any country in the world - constitution and government, international relations, industry, agriculture, trade and social issues. Known as a 'people, events and statistics' work, this year's edition includes accounts of the latest developments in trouble-spots such as Bosnia, Israel and Northern Ireland, and records the results of recent elections in Italy, Austria, Spain and Turkey.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries on the globe. Subsistence agriculture remains at the very heart of its social fabric, and also lies at the root of its tremendous poverty. Yet while Malawi is among the worst performers in terms of per capita income and infant mortality, it is also a surprising leader in other areas (such as freedom of the press), has enjoyed over fifty years of relative stability since independence, and still holds great potential for economic development. Bringing together some of the leading experts on the country, this collection offers a comprehensive introduction to contemporary Malawi, encompassing its economy, culture, and politics. An invaluable resource for scholars and development professionals alike, the book assesses the root causes of Malawi's impoverishment, and also offers insight into how the country might break out of its development impasse.
For the last 136 years, The Statesman's Yearbook has been relied upon to provide accurate and comprehensive information on the current political, economic and social status of every country in the world. The appointment of the new editor - only the seventh in 136 years - brought enhancements to the 1998-99 edition and these are continued in the 2000 edition. Internet usage figures are included. Specially commissioned essays from major political and academic figures supplement country entries in areas of major upheaval and change. A fold out colour section provides a political world map and flags for the 191 countries of the world. The task of monitoring the pattern or flow of world change is never-ending. However, the annual publication of The Statesman's Yearbook gives all the information needed in one easily digestible single volume. It will save hours of research and cross-referencing between different sources. A prestigious and popular book, The Statesman's Yearbook is updated every 12 months. In a world of continual change The Statesman's Yearbook is a necessary annual purchase.
This book examines the experience of democracy in developing countries such as Mexico, Zambia, India and Indonesia. It considers the patchy democratic record of such countries, as well as investigating the relationship between external and domestic factors to democratisation. The contributors assess the importance to democratic progress of a number of key variables, including: *the institutionalisation of political parties and electoral systems * the role of civil society *the influence of external actors, such as the European Union
The vote in favour of multi-party politics at the National Referendum of 1993, and the subsequent General Election of 1994, heralded the advent of a democratic system of government in Malawi. lt soon became apparent, however, that there remained many obstacles to overcome before Malawi would be a truly democratic country. In this volume, a multi-disciplinary approach has been employed to examine both the progress and the pitfalls of the democratization process. Political scientists, lawyers, historians, theologians, literary critics, linguists, economists, and educationalists apply the tools of their respective disciplines to take stock of democratization in Malawi. This book is an indispensable guide to anyone seeking to understand the social and political situation in Malawi in the early years of the Second Republic.
