Paper short abstract:

Citizen election observation is a worldwide phenomenon of great importance with a significant expression on the African continent. This paper conducts an exploratory and in-depth analysis of the motivation and agency of nonpartisan citizen election observation in post-war Angola and Mozambique.

Paper long abstract:

The observation of electoral processes by citizens is a worldwide phenomenon of great importance with a significant expression on the African continent. In response to the weaknesses of international/regional election observation, there are several citizen organizations in about 24 countries of the Sub-Saharan region that seek to monitor and promote election integrity, and citizens’ access to information in the electoral process. This paper conducts an exploratory and in-depth analysis of the motivation and agency of nonpartisan citizen election observation in Angola and Mozambique. The violent past and the political regimes with poor democratic credentials in these two post-civil war countries have not prevented citizens from mobilizing proactively for election integrity and transparency. The research seeks to explore what motivates citizens to engage in electoral observation initiatives, which observation tools they use, including digital ones, their discourse on democracy and credible electoral processes, and how divergent the election assessment reports made by the citizen election observation organizations and those from the international/regional election observation. Empirical data from Angola and Mozambique’s civil society organizations (CSOs) which undertook actions of electoral observation, as well as from officials of national and international electoral monitoring bodies since the transition to multipartism will be collected. The analysis hopes to contribute to the research not only on the present and future state of the election observation in Africa but also on the relationship between democracy and citizenship in contemporary Southern African states at the height of election processes.