ABSTRACT There have been a number of initiatives in Africa to rid the Continent of political instability, conflict, poverty and disease. Many have argued that aid from the West has helped Africa in many ways—from stopping wars, to food relief and rescuing the African environment. Yet others have slated Western involvement which they contend, frequently leaves Africans dependant rather than capable of solving their own problems. In line with the pan-Africanist and the African Union (AU) ideals, there is now a realisation by Africans that there is a need to find African solutions to African challenges and problems. This review article explores the University of South Africa’s (Unisa’s) Management of Democratic Elections in Africa (MDEA) programme, by looking at its objectives and the reason why it must be labelled a Programme, its mandate, which is in line with the brief of the AU and pan-Africanist ideals. The article focuses on how Unisa’s programme responds to the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance (ACDEG); and how it has attempted to facilitate knowledge for peace in Africa, through empowering electoral officials from various African states. The article concludes by looking at the successes and limitations of the Programme over a five-year period, from its inception in 2011.

中文翻译：

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南非大学的非洲民主选举管理 (MDEA) 项目：这是解决非洲问题的正确途径吗？

摘要 非洲采取了许多举措来消除非洲大陆的政治不稳定、冲突、贫困和疾病。许多人认为，西方的援助在许多方面帮助了非洲——从停止战争到粮食救济和拯救非洲环境。然而，其他人则认为西方的介入经常让非洲人依赖而不是能够解决他们自己的问题。根据泛非主义和非洲联盟（AU）的理想，非洲人现在意识到需要找到非洲解决非洲挑战和问题的办法。这篇评论文章探讨了南非大学 (Unisa) 的非洲民主选举管理 (MDEA) 计划，通过查看其目标以及必须将其标记为计划的原因、其任务、这符合非盟和泛非主义的理念。文章重点介绍 Unisa 的计划如何响应非洲民主、选举和治理宪章 (ACDEG)；以及它如何通过授权来自不同非洲国家的选举官员来促进非洲和平的知识。文章最后回顾了该计划自 2011 年启动以来五年内的成功和局限性。