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Public trust in elections: the case of Zanzibar

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Abstract

Trust in elections contributes significantly to legitimizing democracy, reducing inter-group political conflict, and promoting peace. Yet, election management bodies are critical in shaping public trust in elections, not least in deeply divided societies. Since the return of multiparty democracy in Zanzibar, election results, save for the 2010 elections and referendum, have been contested. This paper contributes to the study of this topic by analyzing how the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) impacts on public trust in elections. We investigate how ZEC’s institutional design and conduct shape public perceptions towards elections. Using models of election management bodies and election observation reports for previous elections, we argue that public trust in elections is declining owing to the ZEC factor, thus exacerbating the Isles’ political conflicts. The findings of this study resonate well with demands for electoral management reforms to enhance the trustworthiness of elections in deeply divided societies.

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Data availability

All authors declare that this work used secondary data and citations which are fully included in the references as per this journal’s guidelines.

Notes

  1. Tanzania can just as well be seen as an asymmetric federation.

  2. Article 3(2) of the constitution.

  3. See Mwafaka I 1999 and Mwafaka II 2001.

  4. BTI 2022.

  5. The Washington Post, “In Zanzibar, democracy, peace and unity are at stake after annulled elections November 1, 2015”.

  6. Ref. No. CCM/AKZ/U.30/21.

  7. Ref. No. CUF/HQ/TUZ/95/045.

  8. CUF/HQ/ZEC/037/010/056, dated October 18 2010.

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Funding

All authors declare that this work did not receive any financial support from any person or organization.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Political Science, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, DK-8000, Denmark

    Jørgen Elklit

  2. Arnold-Bergstraesser—Institute, Windausstr. 16, DE-79110, Freiburg, Germany

    Alexander Makulilo

  3. Department of Political Science and Public Administration, University of Dar es Salaam, P. O. Box 35042, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

    Alexander Makulilo & Rodrick Henry

Authors
  1. Jørgen Elklit
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  3. Rodrick Henry
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Contributions

All authors contributed substantially to the study conception and design. J.E. conducted the literature review. R.H. collected election observation reports and extracted facts and figures that were used in this paper. The first draft of the manuscript was written by A.M. and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. J.E. edited the language and proofread the whole work. All authors read and approved the final manuscript. A.M. acted as a corresponding author. All authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

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Correspondence to Alexander Makulilo.

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Elklit, J., Makulilo, A. & Henry, R. Public trust in elections: the case of Zanzibar. SN Soc Sci 4, 81 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-024-00881-1

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