Application Of The Conflict Resolution Mechanism Of Ecowas On The Management Of The Gambia’s Post Presidential Election Crisis

1.2 Statement of the Problem     
Since the decolonization process began in Africa in the mid-1960s several African leaders who were elected have had serious problem with relinquishing their position or allowing an election to take place in their unending quest for power. Such leaders include Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea, Jose Eduardo Dos Santos of Angola, Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi, Paul Biya of Cameroon, General Idris Deby of Chad, Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea and Yahya Jammeh of The Gambia.  A significant debate that has not only engulfed the academic sphere, but also the public space, is how to consolidate democracy. This is perhaps because the attempt at consolidating democracy is a more arduous task than the effort at establishing it (Schedler, 2001). The electoral experience of credible and flawed elections, which have put many countries on contradictory trajectories regarding the consolidation of democracy, further underlies the complexities of this challenge.   

In some African countries where democracy have thrived, such as Senegal, Ghana and Benin, there are worrying concerns about the manner in which political elites flagrantly and frequently violate the principles of the rule of law, constitutionalism and liberties (Lynch and Crawford, 2011). In the absence of these principles, elections have been reduced to ‘do-or-die affairs’ or a zero-sum game attached to winning elections.  By clinging on to political power, they do not only engage in ‘reckless manipulation, but are also engulfed with the politics of brinkmanship and subversion of democratic rule and procedures’ (Adejumobi, 2000:59). Within the ECOWAS framework they have observed that this is the problem and as such  have issued that all members should adopt the protocol on Good Governance and Democracy and the protocol on Conflict Management, Security and Resolution which is in fact the reason why ECOWAS leaders were mandated to seek resolution of the Post Election crisis in the Gambia. Hence this study is expected to provide empirical facts on conflict resolution mechanism applied in the Gambian crisis.
 
1.3 Research Questions
The following questions were posed as a guide to this study:
1. .Did the principle of Non Interference in the ECOWAS treaty weaken early resolution of the Gambia’s post election crisis?  
2. Did the deployment of Coercive Diplomacy during the post-election crisis contribute to Democratic Consolidation in The Gambia?  
3. Can ECOWAS tactics of Coercive Diplomacy serve as a model to other regional bodies in the Continent?
 
1.4 Objectives of the Study
 The general objective of this study aims at evaluating critically the Application of the ECOWAS Conflict Resolution Mechanism. However the specific objectives of this study are as follows:  
1. To examine if the Non Interference in the ECOWAS treaty weakened early resolution of the Gambia’s post election crisis.  
2. To ascertain critically the deployment of Coercive Diplomacy by ECOWAS in consolidating  Democracy  in the Gambia.  
3. To evaluate if the ECOWAS tactics of Coercive Diplomacy in the Gambia has the possibility of General Applicability in the regional bodies in the continent.  
 
1.5 Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were formulated in the pursuit of the set objectives:  
1. The principle of Non Interference in the ECOWAS treaty weakened early resolution of the Gambia’s post election crisis.  
2. The employment of the Coercive Diplomacy by ECOWAS in resolving the post election crisis contributed to Democracy Consolidation in the Gambia.  
3. The ECOWAS tactics of Coercive Diplomacy in the Gambia has the possibility of General Applicability in other regional bodies in the continent.  

1.6 Significance of the Study
 This work has both theoretical and empirical significance. Theoretically, it will be of great importance to the existing body of knowledge on the topic Conflict Resolution mechanism and Democratic consolidation in West Africa; it will also serve as a basis for educating people on electoral conflict and the importance of conflict resolution in Africa and its impact on Democratizing countries. It will also serve as a source of reference for other researchers and for further research.
Empirically, the study of this nature is expected to improve the performance of ECOWAS in making decisions that will enhance peace and conflict resolution in warring countries. It will also pave way for other African leaders to have democratic consciousness in implementing and executing laws which will be of utmost benefit to all.
 
1.7 Scope of Study
The work is on Application of the Conflict Resolution mechanism of ECOWAS in the Management of the Gambia’s post presidential election crisis. Its content scope is focused on the mechanism used by the ECOWAS in resolving the conflict in the Gambia.   

1.8 Limitation
During the course of this study the researcher encountered a lot of constraints, prominent on the list is fund, time and insufficient materials to carry out the research.  Another major constraint was the inability to lay hands on vital information given that the topic is something that happened recently and most work on it are mainly in newspapers and not in Text books. Also during the course of this study people were not too free to give me information for security reasons in the country. Despite these obvious limitations, the researcher was able to pull through, thanks to the information gotten from the state library. All information obtained were carefully scrutinized and placed within proper context to avoid ambiguity.