Abstract
The core institution of modern liberal democracy whereby the right of the people to self-government can be exercised is competitive and participa tory elections. The extent to which elections fulfill that mission is to a signifi cant extent dependent on citizens' rationale for how they behave at the polls. If voters' behavior is determined by non-evaluative rationales such as clientelism, then the purpose of self-rule by representative government is defeated. Despite the importance of this aspect of the function of elections as instruments of de mocracy,1 independent surveys of voters' behavior and rationale in multiparty elections in new and transitional democracies remain extremely scarce. While most analyses of Africa concentrate on transitions at the level of elites, state structures, and institutions,2 or on explaining political participation as such,3
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