User:Gioroggia/ElectoralManipAcc

Studies on political accountability have emphasized the key role of elections in promoting accountability in democratic settings. It is through elections that citizens hold governments accountable for past performance. However, the role of elections in fostering accountability is often undermined by electoral manipulation and fraud. By preventing citizens from removing leaders through elections based on their performance in office, electoral manipulation breaks down accountability and undermines the consolidation of democratic institutions. Governments, politicians and political parties are more likely to resort to electoral manipulation and fraud when they believe they might be removed from office and face few institutional constraints to their power. Alternatively, low political competition has also been linked to some forms manipulation, such as extending or abolishing presidential term limits. Further, well-connected candidates are more likely to resort to vote count fraud. However, governments may engage in electoral manipulation not only to obtain victory at a given election or to remain longer in office, but also for post-election reasons such as reducing the strength of the opposition and increasing their own bargaining power in the subsequent period.

Electoral manipulation is not rare: some estimates point out that in the last two decades up to one fourth of elections suffered some form of substantial manipulation. This includes a large array of pre-election and election-day tactics, such as outlawing rival parties and candidates, employing violence and intimidation, and manipulating voter registration and vote count. Some efforts at improving accountability by preventing electoral manipulation and fraud have obtained a certain measure of success, such as employing cell-phone applications for monitoring and disseminating polling station results and using domestic or international election observers. However, governments sometimes simply shift the type or the place of manipulation in order to deceive external observers.