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R@D: Mobile Activism in African Elections – a Comparative Case Study

The purpose of Research@DigiActive (R@D) is to produce applied, thought-provoking, actionable research at the cutting edge of Digital Activism. It seeks to highlight and disseminate studies in the new academic field of digital activism by publishing short papers by promising scholars. To submit a paper or get more information, please contact our Director of Applied Research, Patrick Meier, at Patrick AT Digiactive.org.

Title: Mobile Technology in African Elections: a Comparative Case Study

Author: Rebekah Heacok

Abstract: The proliferation of mobile phones in Africa is transforming the political and social landscape of the developing world, empowering people to source and share their own information and to have a greater say in what comes to international attention. This R@D product compare the use and impact of mobile technology in three recent African elections: Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Kenya.

In Nigeria’s April 2007 presidential election, a local civil society organization used free software to collect over 10,000 text message reports from voters around the country, boosting citizen participation in a political process many Nigerians doubted. In Sierra Leone’s August-September 2007 elections, trained local monitors used mobile phones to collect data from designated polling sites, enabling the independent National Election Watch to compile and release an accurate, comprehensive analysis of the election almost two weeks before the official report. And in Kenya’s December 2007 election, a group of local digital activists developed and implemented a citizen reporting platform to allow Kenyans to report and track post-election violence during a month-long media blackout, collecting and publishing a comprehensive account of riots, displacement and human rights abuses that serves as one of the best available records of the crisis.

Read the publication…

What actually happened in Bakassi?

Description: Did you hear? The oil rich peninsula of Bakassi was handed to Cameroon by Nigeria on the 14th of August. The event was unmarked and forgotten by the international press, the Cameroonian military is shy of neutral monitoring and the Cameroonian press is heavily muzzled. Yet, through the use of blogs the true nature of events has been noted.

Tools: Blogs

How these tools are being used: ConnectAfrica is a group of professional journalists based in Lagos, Nigeria whose focus is on covering development issues in Africa. ConnectAfrica has been blogging about Bakassi during and since the handover. They report unprovoked shootings and aggression by the Cameroonian gendarmes.