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AGRIII to deepen understanding of elections and diversity management in Africa
ECA Press Release No. 108/2011
Addis Ababa, 11 August 2011 (ECA) - The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) has embarked on a joint research initiative with the UNDP in an effort to deepen understanding of democracy, elections and diversity management in Africa. The research, whose focus is elections and diversity management, will be published in the third edition of the African Governance Report (AGR-III).
During a methodological workshop for researchers held on 10th-11th August, Said Adejumobi, the AGR coordinator at the ECA said that AGR is the most comprehensive report on governance in Africa. “It assesses and monitors the progress African Countries are making on governance, identifies capacity gaps in governance institutions and makes appropriate policy recommendations aimed at improving governance on the continent.”
The theme, said Adejumobi is pertinent and timely in light of Africa’s evolving democratic governance.
The current research comes against the backdrop of a growing trend, which according to the ECA and UNDP, has seen political leadership and other key democracy actors politicize social identities, such as race, ethnicity, religion, regions and language for political gain in a number of African countries.
In his remarks, the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative for Ethiopia, Eugene Owusu emphasized that if identity and social diversity is managed in a constructive, consultative and inclusive manner, it should not pose a major problem for elections.
“Marrying politics and ethnicity leads to a dysfunctional family and bodes ill for democratization and elections in Africa,”
said Owusu.
He pointed out that the recent developments in North Africa; dubbed by some as the ‘Arab Spring’, show that when governance is not premised on popular consent, “it breeds its own demise through popular uprising.”
As seen in the post-election crisis in Cote d’Ivoire, the predictable end results are protracted violent conflicts and retardation of socio-economic progress, which, he said, are inimical to the quest for sustainable human development and achievement of the MDGs.
The group of researchers has been selected through a competitive bidding process and will join other National Research Institutes that have already begun compiling national reports on the theme. The recommendations will be packaged as tools that could influence the way diversity is managed during elections.
Issued by:
ECA Information and Communication Service P.O. Box 3001
Addis Ababa Ethiopia
Tel: 251 11 5445098 Fax: +251-11-551 03 65 E-mail: ecainfo@uneca.org Web: www.uneca.org Related Articles
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4/2/2014 Article - AGRIII to deepen understanding of elections and diversity management in Africa
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