In the third of our Sound Ideas series of podcasts – which feature short interviews with leading experts on the major issues of the day – Nic Cheeseman, Editor of Democracy in Africa, speaks with Aly Verjee on the topic of election monitoring.
Aly is a Senior Researcher in the Rift Valley Institute and has participated in election monitoring across multiple African states including the Democratic Republic of Congo where, in 2006, he managed the first ever election observer network, with around 7,000 Congolese observers.
2 Comments
Thanks a lot for this very interesting podcast on what represents indeed a major topic.
Related to that, I had two different questions:
1. international election monitoring organisations are often treated as if they acted the same way, to what extent is that true? How much of an identity is projected through election monitoring practices?
2. When speaking about election monitored countries in Africa, they’re often presented as being weak and as you said, ‘lacking domestic capacity’. In some cases, maybe even in RDC and South Sudan, can it not be seen as an international weapon used to reverse power?
Thanks again and I’m looking forward to knowing more about the topic
I am a Member of Narc Kenya Party now contesting for a Member of Parliament for Kisumu Central and I am interested in proper Democracy and shall gain by joining your organisation.