The EU Observer Mission to the Zambian Elections 2001: The Politics of Election Monitoring as the Construction of Narratives

Abstract

There is consensus amongst election monitors and official observers that the 2001 Zambian general elections were flawed and did not express the preferences of Zambian voters. This article argues on the basis of participant observation in the EU Observer Mission that this consensus was more a socially constructed narrative than a reasoned judgement based on observation. Central in this story is how the EU Observer Mission behaved as a rival source of authority and information to the Electoral Commission of Zambia. Analysis of African elections should view those who are vested with authority to judge about democracy as actors in political processes rather than as impartial arbiters of justice.