Condicionantes da participação eleitoral em 36 países do continente africano

Abstract

Previous studies on electoral participation in Africa have focused on the political and institutional factors that influence parental differences in the aggregate level of voting. This paper provides a theoretical and empirical analysis of the factors that condition electoral participation on the African continent, seeking to combine individual-level and contextual factors that have an impact on citizens' propensity to vote, with the problem: "what are the factors that condition electoral participation in Africa", a question that has not yet received significant attention. Three orders of factors that have been used to explain electoral participation in industrialized democracies (resources, psychological predispositions and mobilization networks) were tested. Analyses consisted of the interaction of two bases in a multilevel model. The Afrobarometer survey data was used to analyze the determinants of voter turnout in Africa for over 130,161 voting-age adults in 36 countries for 91 elections. It was found that Africans are driven by almost the same forces as their counterparts in other countries. Mobilization agencies are crucial in determining who votes in these countries. Notably, identifying with a political party is one of the most important predictors of voter turnout. Although African political parties have questionable credentials, they ultimately perform a democratic function of getting citizens to participate in elections, that is, they help promote the most important political habit of a democracy, voting. Certain subjective motivational characteristics also influence individuals' decisions to vote, such as interest in politics, electoral integrity, satisfaction with democracy, trust in political institutions, and support for democracy. Among the demographic variables, age registers a significant and positive relationship with voter participation. The study's findings in relation to the socioeconomic status (SES) model are contradictory: wealthy and more educated Africans do not necessarily vote more than less educated and low-income Africans. Moreover, the institutional context and the conjuncture do not influence the propensity of individuals to vote. Nevertheless, government effectiveness has been shown to be important in explaining electoral participation on the continent.