ACCORD convened a two day election workshop from 11 – 12 December 2024 in Johannesburg, focusing on the electoral outcomes, trends and prospects for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in Johannesburg. This workshop was timely, given the wave of elections that took place across SADC in 2024, with seven countries having already held elections by the time of the event. The election workshop provided a crucial opportunity to analyse the outcomes, trends, and future prospects for the region. The intersection of conflict management and electoral outcomes is particularly important because elections often amplify political tensions, which can then lead to instability if not managed properly.
The workshop brought together a diverse stakeholders, including scholars, election practitioners, and civil society representatives from various countries in the SADC region for high-level discussions. The election workshop served as a platform to reflect on various electoral outcomes in SADC and the implications for democracy and governance in the region, given the region’s complex history with political transitions. The election workshop covered some critical and wide-ranging topics that are central to the political landscape in Southern Africa including but not limited to: the governance, peace, and security nexus in Africa. This is crucial, as political stability, governance quality, and peace are deeply interconnected. The ability to maintain these elements ensures that democratic processes, including elections, can take place without violence or disruption and Electoral Trends in Southern Africa, this is important for understanding the evolving political dynamics in the region. It helps identify emerging patterns and potential challenges, like shifts in voter behaviour or changes in party dominance. Each of those focus areas is essential to ensuring fair, peaceful, and inclusive elections across the region.
This workshop aligns with ACCORD’s strategic objectives in strengthening the role of multi-dimensional stakeholders and contributing to evidence-based analysis, policy support and knowledge to respond to complex conflicts.
