Electoral choices for divided societies: Multi-ethnic parties and constituency pooling in Africa

Abstract

The third wave of democratisation has given new impetus to the debate about the choice of electoral system in divided societies. The growing preference for proportional representation has been dented by Horowitz's advocacy of 'vote pooling' through the alternative vote. However, the conditions in most African polities are unfavourable to the working of the alternative vote. This article seeks to reveal the hidden potential in Horowitz's analysis by focusing on 'constituency pooling' as a related but distinct way of promoting cross-cutting cleavages in the party system. The principle is illustrated with the unique Ugandan electoral law for the 1971 parliamentary elections and its possible application is examined with the help of the case of contemporary Nigeria. Constituency pooling may have special relevance for new democracies in Africa, because it is expected to work best under conditions of non-fragmented party systems and geographically concentrated ethnic groups.