Electoral Violence and Young Party Cadres in Zambia

Abstract

Zambia's 2016 general elections were a turning point in the country's political history, with electoral violence threatening its democratic fabric. This paper analyses accounts of electoral campaigns by one private online newspaper, the Lusaka Times, to reflect on the relationship between electoral violence and young party cadres. Evidence from the study indicates that negative socioeconomic conditions, leadership manipulation and incentives as well as the perception of plural politics all contribute to the susceptibility of young people to electoral violence. The violence witnessed in 2016 included molestation and intimidation, seizure of public property, public disorder, vandalising of party property, lawlessness and aggressive rhetoric. The paper also notes that events of 2016 were counterweight to the consolidation of democracy as the activities of young party cadres undermined the free political participation of other stakeholders.