Abstract
M.A. (Politics)
The aim of this study was to analyse the role of international election observation in
the 2006 and 2011 elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC),
against the backdrop of the highly contentious academic and policy discourse on
international democracy promotion. The research was guided by five key objectives.
These included: to examine the motivation behind the deployment of election
observation missions; to analyse the nature, scope and activities of these missions;
to discuss the assessments and findings of the various election observation
missions; to do an in-depth analysis of the work of the different election observation
missions in both the 2006 and 2011 elections; and finally to critically reflect on the
contribution of international election observation to the democratisation process in
the DRC, in particular, and Africa generally. This was a documentary study that
relied mainly on a critical review of the reports and statements of election
observation missions deployed by a sample of international organisations. These
organisations were purposefully selected on the basis of two major criteria – whether
they were African or Western organisations, and whether they were
intergovernmental or nongovernmental organisations.
The study found that despite identifying shortcomings in the 2006 electoral process,
international election observers unanimously endorsed the polls. This owed mainly to
the significance of the 2006 elections as a mechanism that was expected to facilitate
the DRC’s transition from war to peace. However, the international consensus that
was observed in 2006 was conspicuously absent in the 2011 elections. While
election observation missions deployed by African intergovernmental organisations
such as the Southern African Development Community (SADC) endorsed the 2011
elections, Western organisations such as the European Union (EU) and the Carter
Center questioned the integrity and transparency of the electoral process, and
concluded that its outcomes lacked credibility. The divergent international opinion on
the DRC’s 2011 elections, it is argued, reflects an enduring tension between the
liberal internationalist project of democracy promotion that is championed by
Western governments, and the Third Worldist tradition to which many African
governments subscribe, and which is suspicious of the idea of democracy promotion...