Site Created: October 2004
Launch Date: 10 November 2004
The purpose of the African Elections Database is to provide
a comprehensive archive of past and present election results for the 49 countries of Sub-Saharan Africa.
Each country's election page starts with a political profile.
The political profile gives an overview of the political leadership and a brief history of the political situation in the
country since its independence (for a description of terms used in this section, visit the Terms and Definitions page). A list of political parties (sorted alphabetically by acronym) and coalitions
are found at the end of the political profile.
Election Results at this site may differ from those posted
on other sites for some of the following reasons:
-Many sites post the provisional final results that are released
soon after an election. On this site, provisional results are posted until the definitive results (usually one to two weeks
after the election) are released.
Example: In Ghana's 2004 presidential election,
held on 7 December 2004, the provisional final results gave incumbent President John Kufuor 52.75% of the vote. The definitive
results, which were released on 2 January 2005, gave him 52.45%. This site uses the 52.45% figure, while most others used
the provisional result.
-When some sites (especially government sites) post election
results, they include invalid/blank votes in the final total. On this site, percentages are based on distribution among valid
votes, unless otherwise noted.
Example: The final results of Burundi's Constitutional
Referendum, conducted on 28 February 2005, showed a 90.10% "Yes" vote and a 7.82% "No" vote. The invalid votes constituted
the remaining 2.08%. On this site, the new results that exclude invalid votes gives the "Yes" vote 92.02% and the "No" vote
7.98%.
Data on this web site was obtained from a variety of Internet
sources, including:
Official government documents (government gazettes, court rulings, etc.)
Electoral Observer Mission reportsOnline newspapers and periodicals
Dieter Nohlen, et al. Elections in Africa: A Data Handbook. Oxford University Press, 1999. (This book is
the only non-Internet source consulted as a reference)
