The Resilient Voter? An Exploration of the Effects of Post-Election Violence in Kenya’s Internally Displaced Persons Camps

Abstract

Election-related violence, because it is meant to coerce voters, may have an adverse effect on individual attitudes towards elections—and towards democracy in general. Victims of election violence may come to associate voting with conflict, which may in turn translate into lower levels of support for democratic processes and an unwillingness to participate in future elections. This may be especially true when repeated instances of electoral violence take place, as has been the case in Kenya. To explore the possible relationship between electoral violence and democratic alienation, interviews were conducted in two internally displaced person (IDP) camps in Kenya: one which housed primarily government supporters and one which housed primarily opposition supporters. Among interviewees—all of whom were victims of past electoral violence—there were pronounced differences in stated willingness to vote in future elections. These differences depended on the individual’s perception of freeness and fairness of elections and whether the individual’s candidate or party of choice won or lost. Additionally, as ethnicity is an important factor in vote choice and partisan support, this translates into stark differences between ethnic groups. These findings suggest that electoral violence may have an uneven effect on democratic attitudes and participation.