Briefing Paper

2013 Elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe: Lessons for Africa and Beyond

“The 2013 elections in Kenya and Zimbabwe took place in the context of both optimism and fear. Held under new constitutional dispensations that promised democratic progress, these were ‘first-generation’ elections that followed the gruesome electoral-related violence of 2007 and 2008 in Kenya and Zimbabwe respectively. Those earlier violent polls infused renewed scepticism about elections as a peaceful mechanism for choosing governments. In a diametric departure from the previous electoral process, the 2013
elections were conspicuously peaceful in both countries, albeit with a nonconsensual outcome. This policy brief highlights several lessons drawn from
the experiences of these elections, with policy insights for the rest of Africa
and beyond.”