Election and quest for power by the political elite has become a major source of violence in the contemporary African history. In many parts of Africa, election and quest for powerful position is the main source of accumulation of private wealth. Those that are in the seat of power uses it as an opportunity to amass unlimited national wealth and loth the treasury. They largely share the masses’ commonwealth thereby undermining the necessary resources needed for development and societal transformation into private pocket.
Furthermore, the quest to attain these degree of wealth naturally pushes many African power elites into the competition for political offices. They engage in elections at all cost and unleash private, group and personal resources towards the attainment of their political interest. This Issue of the Journal focuses on the nature of elections, electoral violence in power politics within the African continent and the way forward.