Election management bodies in West Africa : a comparative approach between Mali and Guinea ; Les organes de gestion des élections en Afrique de l'Ouest : approche comparative entre le Mali et la Guinée

Independent or autonomous electoral commissions emerged in Africa in the mid-1990s with the democratic aim of resolving crises surrounding the organization of elections. They are institutions legally responsible for all or part of the electoral process. They are either political, technical or mixed and are seen as a solution to the lack of transparency in electoral processes. Mali and Guinea have chosen political electoral commissions. While the presence of political parties in these commissions is a guarantee of transparency and credibility of the elections, opening the electoral commissions to political parties runs the risk of reproducing political rivalries within them. The creation of electoral management bodies has taken place in the context of various crises and political intrigues. In theory, all legal instruments governing the organization of elections recognize and guarantee free and transparent elections. However, in practice, the texts and institutions are used and manipulated, thereby undermining the confidence of political actors in an overly politicized electoral administration. The quality of electoral processes remains suspect because of the weakness or partiality of its members or simply the communalization of elections. Elections become the means by which the political system is perpetuated for years and electoral fraud the systemic regulator. We are no longer in the crises inherent in the absence of elections, but in the crises linked to rigged elections. The vote as a tool for the designation of elites at the disposal of the citizens is weakened and the possible control devices do not allow the containment of the multiple frauds orchestrated during the polls. ; Les commissions électorales indépendantes ou autonomes sont apparues en Afrique à la moitié des années 1990 dans le but démocratique de résoudre les crises autour de l’organisation d’élections. Ce sont des institutions juridiquement responsables de l’ensemble ou d’une partie du processus électoral. Elles sont soit politiques, ...