ABSTRACT
This concluding chapter presents some of the key concepts discussed in the book. An examination of more than two decades of independence electoral activity in the preceding chapters demonstrates the rich diversity of forms, experiences, and meanings of elections in Africa. There is no one pattern which emerges, no model which is "typical," no type of electoral system generally held to be ideal. The examination of the electoral process suggests a number of themes and conclusions about the relationship of the electoral process to: state power and institutions, elite competition, mass participation, legitimacy and its limits, ethnic conflict, mobilization, party competition, authoritarian regimes, and mass support for democratic values. Some of the variations found in the book are a consequence of the kind of election (referenda, party, parliamentary), some represent differences in the type of political system (competitive, semi-competitive, noncompetitive), still others reflect the diversity of intent, organization, design, and execution.
