Data Deficits and Democratic Processes in Africa

 

The robustness of democratic processes across Africa relies not only on transparent information but also on the less visible yet equally critical integrity and availability of data. This report by Guy Berger and Liz Orembo, “Data Deficits and Democratic Processes: The Under-Explored Role of Data in African Elections,” offers important insights into this often-overlooked dimension, drawing on experiences from South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Zimbabwe. The report highlights that while data holds considerable potential to strengthen electoral integrity, its misuse or mishandling can compromise the credibility, accountability, and stability of outcomes, potentially affecting the will of an informed electorate

This report identifies notable “data deficits” that can hinder democratic processes. A key issue is the limited understanding among stakeholders regarding the value of data as a public good for elections. Many primary electoral actors may not fully appreciate the centrality of data availability and integrity to credible democratic outcomes. This challenge is compounded by several systemic factors:

• Official Secrecy and Distrust: State institutions, including Election Management Bodies (EMBs), sometimes exhibit a reluctance to share data, partly due to concerns about potential legal action or a lack of trust that openness will not be misused. This can be exacerbated when political appointees influence data policies to serve party interests rather than the public good.
• Capacity Gaps: There is a widespread need for improved technical skills and capacity among EMBs, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and the academic sector to effectively access, process, and share election-relevant data. This includes challenges in data cleaning, storage, security, and the ability to interpret complex data figures.
• Access Barriers and Cost: Civil society and academia often face significant costs to access commercial data, such as market research and opinion polls, making it unaffordable for many. Even when data is available, it might be provided in formats that are difficult to use or too close to elections to be practically useful.
• The Opaque Nature of Digital Platforms: Despite increasing calls from stakeholders, social media platforms generally remain less than transparent, often not providing granular data access to researchers, journalists, and fact-checkers monitoring African elections online. This can impede efforts to identify disinformation networks and assess the impact of harmful content. The report observes that platforms frequently offer generic global information without specific, verifiable data on local implementation or threat detection.
• Misuse and Security Concerns: Some interviewees indicated that telecommunications operators might share data without legal compulsion, potentially supporting state actions during elections. There are also instances where legally accessed data is used for unauthorised purposes. Furthermore, concerns are raised regarding culturally sensitive data and its potential for political exploitation, particularly concerning voting patterns tied to ethnic affiliations.

These deficits can have tangible consequences, potentially making journalists, social justice activists, opposition candidates, and female candidates vulnerable to authoritarian regimes and online harassment, thus affecting fair political competition. They can also weaken efforts to identify and counter threats to information integrity and to assess the effectiveness of platforms’ mitigation measures.

This report offers some key recommendations for addressing these challenges, acknowledging the African Commission for Human and Peoples’ Rights’ November 2024 resolution as a significant step. These include:

• Multi-sector Roundtables: Convening diverse stakeholders can increase awareness, foster collaboration, and address the fragmentation currently present in the election data ecosystem.
• Strengthening EMB Governance: EMBs should develop and implement clear data policies and strategies that balance privacy protection with granular data availability, treating data as a public good.
• Platform Accountability: There is a need to advocate for digital platforms to provide comprehensive, granular data access to researchers, journalists, and fact-checkers for monitoring online content and assessing platform performance related to election integrity.
• Capacity Building: Targeted efforts are required to increase data awareness and skills across all stakeholder groups, including EMB staff, media, and civil society.
• Leveraging Regional Frameworks: African Union instruments like the AUDPF and the Malabo Convention can be utilised to harmonise data governance and promote rights-respecting data sharing. The ACHPR resolution, which states that public and public-interest private data should generally be made publicly available, offers an important normative standard.
• Cross-Regulatory Cooperation: Regulators should actively pursue cooperation across electoral, human rights, and privacy regulatory spaces to ensure comprehensive oversight of data use by all actors, including political parties and commercial data brokers.

As African elections are likely to become increasingly data-driven, preparedness is important. The governance and use of data during elections are not isolated issues but are part of a broader policy and regulatory landscape concerning data in society at large. A collaborative approach to election data integrity and accessibility is essential for the future of African democracy.