Electoral observation: Evidence from Mozambique

Electoral fraud is a common problem in young democracies. Election observers constitute one possible remedy. Yet, quantitative evidence of the exact effects of observers is scarce. Data on the random assignment of observers during Mozambique’s 2009 general elections is used to estimate the impact th...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor principal: Leeffers, Stefanus (author)
Formato: masterThesis
Idioma:eng
Publicado em: 2016
Assuntos:
Texto completo:http://hdl.handle.net/10362/16509
País:Portugal
Oai:oai:run.unl.pt:10362/16509
Descrição
Resumo:Electoral fraud is a common problem in young democracies. Election observers constitute one possible remedy. Yet, quantitative evidence of the exact effects of observers is scarce. Data on the random assignment of observers during Mozambique’s 2009 general elections is used to estimate the impact that observers have on ballot fraud. It is shown that the presence of national observers reduces high levels of turnout and manipulation of ballots. The findings contribute to the understanding of the behavior of politicians and have implications for the implementation of observer missions.