Do elections imply democracy or autocracy?

Abstract

Since the early 1990s, legislative and presidential multiparty elections have taken place in 42 out of Sub Saharan Africa’s 48 states. For a majority, fourth and fifth elections have now been convened, suggesting that regularised elections have become the norm. This is because of the international emphasis, demand and funds for elections, the internal demand for democracy, and the need to legitimise rule, and because elections provide a means of distributing power evenly within parties and movements, and to diffuse internal conflict.