Exploring alternative approaches for managing electoral injustice in Africa

This study examines and compares the role of traditional and enlightened women’s movements in managing the protracted electoral crises.

Conflict management in Africa has some discernible weaknesses. Firstly, concentration on formal peace processes which undermine informal avenues constitutes a major challenge. Secondly, peace processes are gendered, as women are excluded from formal processes, which are perceived as asexual. Thirdly, electoral violence is endemic to transitional democracy in Africa. Many countries in the region are yet to embrace the culture of electoral integrity and transparent elections for effecting leadership change. Th is study examines and compares the role of traditional and enlightened women’s movements in managing the protracted electoral crises in Nigeria and Kenya. Relying on randomly surveyed primary data, group discussions and critical content analysis, the study specifically interrogates and evaluates the potency, customary and orthodox implications, and the possibility of the regional applicability of traditionalism involving the display of half-naked bodies and bare breasts by elderly women and sex strikes in managing political conflicts and negotiating electoral justice in the two emerging democracies.

About the author

Dr Kunle Ajayi is a Professor of Political Science at the University of Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. He has published widely in both on-shore and off-shore journals within his areas of specialisation and research interests of Conflict and Peace Studies, International Relations and Democracy and Good Governance. He also has to his credit, three authored books and four edited ones. He is a Course Writer/Editor for the National Open University of Nigeria and an External Assessor/Examiner to three universities and a Course Accreditor to Nigeria’s National Cou Universities Commission. He is an Editor/Peer Reviewer to a number of Learned Journals. He is presently the Director of the Directorate of General Studies and Member of the Governing Council of the University of Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. Professor Ajayi is a Fellow of CODESRIA, Senegal and the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.