“The likely impact of the election principles and guidelines adopted by the SADC Heads of State and Government at the 2004 Summit in Mauritius is open to question. Is democracy equal to, or synonymous with, elections per se? What exactly is the relationship between elections
and democracy? This paper attempts to answer these questions, but we will also indirectly point to the uncertain future of electoral democracy in the SADC region and the challenges faced when institutionalising liberal democracy.”
