Vote, But You Cannot Verify: The Namibian Supreme Court’s Presidential Election Decision
On 5 February 2020, the judgement of Panduleni Itula, concerning the constitutionality of using electronic voting machines without a voter-verified audit trail (paperless EVMs), and thus the validity of the...
The High Court of Malawi Nullifies May 2019 Presidential Election in Landmark Judgment
In a landmark judgment, Saulos Klaus Chilima & Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera v Arthur Peter Mutharika & Electoral Commission, a unanimous bench of the High Court of Malawi nullified the country’s...
Challenge to Electronic Voting Machines in Namibia’s Elections Dismissed by the Electoral Tribunal
On November 27, Namibians will, for the 7th time since independence and multi-party democracy, go to the polls in Presidential and National Assembly elections. This time, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs)...
US Supreme Court split on the partisan politics of district drawing
At the end of June, the U.S. Supreme Court waded into the fight over political partisanship in American politics. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held in Rucho v. Common...
Turkish Local Elections: What Does the Delayed Declaration of Election Results Mean?
While nearly three weeks have passed since local elections were held in Turkey on 31st March 2019, the Turkish Supreme Electoral Council has not issued any statement on the election...
Zambia’s police force undermine opposition in Sesheke
Recent reports and video footage of the political unrest in Sesheke’s Parliamentary by-elections have brought to light the disproportionate use of force by Zambia’s police, who opened fire at the...
Should Canadian Citizens Abroad have an Unfettered Right to Vote?
Canadian citizens who have resided abroad for five years or more did not have the right to vote in a federal election unless and until they resumed residence in Canada....
Coup, Constitution and Commission: Commission of Inquiry into Zimbabwean Electoral Violence Confirms Military Killings of Civilians
In a series of earlier posts, I have tracked a series of events in Zimbabwe beginning with the military-assisted coup to remove Robert Mugabe and install Emmerson Mnangagwa as President....
Standard of Proof in Zimbabwe’s Presidential Petition: A Response
On 5 September 2018, renowned scholar Alex Magaisa published a piece on the standard of proof in Zimbabwe’s presidential petition. He argued that the ruling of the Constitutional Court led...
Zimbabwe’s Presidential Petition: The Standard of Proof
The Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe (the Court) last week upheld the election of Emmerson Mnangagwa as the duly elected president of Zimbabwe. The decision came after a legal challenge by...
Coup, Constitution and the Court: Zimbabwean Constitutional Court whitewashes flawed rigged elections
Today, the Constitutional Court dismissed a legal challenge to Zimbabwe’s presidential elections. In my previous post, I reported on the conduct of the elections and the ensuing military crackdown. Information...
Coup, Constitution and the Count: Zimbabwe’s Disputed Elections
In November 2017, Robert Mugabe’s 38-year rule ended. At the time, I called this what it was – a coup – though popular among many Zimbabweans who thronged the streets...
