ID | 135789 |
Title Proper | Identifying the institutional effects of mixed systems in new democracies |
Other Title Information | the case of Lesotho |
Language | ENG |
Author | Banerjee, Vasabjit ; Rich, Timothy S ; Recker, Sterling |
Summary / Abstract (Note) | This paper addresses the effects of the mixed system used for the last three elections in Lesotho (2002, 2007 and 2012), a small African country with a turbulent history regarding opposition acceptance of elections. The decision to implement a mixed system was in part to encourage democratic stability, yet whether the electoral system has become more conducive to democratic competition is unclear. Through an analysis of national and district-level results, this paper addresses the following questions. First, at the district level, is competition consistent with Duverger’s law or the contamination thesis and is a progression over time evident? Second, does the population size of a district influence the number of candidates and the concentration of votes? Finally, following recent research on detecting electoral fraud, this paper tackles whether the reports of district results suggest extra-institutional manipulation |
`In' analytical Note | Journal of Asian and African Studies Vol.49, No.6; Dec.2014: p.637-653 |
Journal Source | Journal of Asian and African Studies 2014-12 49, 6 |
Standard Number | Africa |