An Analysis of Election and Its Purposes in a Political System: A Review
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2014
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Department of Sociology
Abstract
The imperativeness of election in a democracy is often determined by the purposes it serves. The extent to which it serves these purposes is a function of its political . milieu. This review examines the purposes which election serves in a democracy
and the objective is to carry out a prognosis of the purposes served by election in a democracy. Other objectives include: (i) an examination of what often serves as the inhibiting factors of the purposes served by election in a democracy; (ii) an examination of why the purposes fare better in some political systems than others; and (iii) an examination of the diverse forms such purposes serve in various democracies. The review is theoretical in nature but inferences were drawn from contemporary experiences of some nations across the globe. To that extent, the review adopts descriptive mode of analysis and its source of information was mainly secondary sources. The review arrives at a number of facts part of which include: (i) that most elections conducted by Election Management Bodies (EMBs) in developing nation often end up in skirmishes due to the fact that they fall -short of performing their functions unbiased; (ii) that the purposes served by elections in developed nations often fare better than developing nations because of the 'high political culture' of the latter; and (iii) that the purposes served by elections in various democracies often take diverse forms, perhaps, due to the selfish interest of the political elites of some countries or the socio-political values of some nations The review ends up with a number of recommendations which include: (i) constitutional provisions and the electoral laws of a nation should be emphatic on
. how the purposes served by an election would materialize. The implementation of the purposes gtould De seen as a collaborative effort by all electoral stakeholders; . (ii) Continuous Mass Mobilization Agency should sensitize the political actors of a country prior to and during election on the need to allow election to take its course; and (iii) in order for election or electoral processes to meet international standards, efforts should be made by a country's Election Management Body (EMB) to enforce the purposes served by election, globally, before injecting local or domestic purposes into them.
Description
Keywords
Elections, Purposes of Election, Political System, Electoral Management Bodies, Elites