In answering the question of why some African countries conduct elections that meet international democratic standards while others fall short, Nicholas Kerr places electoral commissions (ECs) at the center of this puzzle, treating them not as mundane administrative bodies but as key informational institutions. Their autonomy and capacity shape how citizens and elites form expectations about elections, influencing turnout, participation, losers’ consent, and overall legitimacy. By highlighting the informational role of electoral commissions, Kerr explains variation in election quality and legitimacy across African democracies, drawing on survey data and fieldwork and using the Nigerian case to test the argument that electoral commissions matter deeply for democratization in Africa.

The first chapter of the book is a substantial introduction where the author explains that ECs play an informational role in reducing uncertainties that undermine confidence in elections, particularly regarding fraud and administrative irregularities. The second chapter develops the theory in depth: the information role of ECs. Both autonomy and capacity, which constitute the dimensions of EC institutionalization, are said to have both individual and joint effects on the quality and legitimacy of elections. The chapter introduces a typology distinguishing between institutionalized commissions (Ghana and South Africa, post-2000), partially institutionalized commissions (Rwanda, post-2003; Malawi, 1994–2014), and non-institutionalized commissions (Zimbabwe, post-2005; Nigeria, post-1999).

To briefly detail the historical overview of ECs in Africa and Nigeria, the third chapter focuses on their institutional development since the 1990s wave of multipartyism. The author distinguishes between autonomy and capacity, both in law and in practice, and highlights their key subdimensions. Moving to the empirical section, the fourth chapter empirically tests the core argument that EC autonomy and capacity shape the strategic considerations of political elites. Using regression analysis across forty sub-Saharan African countries (1989–2010), the author shows that opposition boycotts are less likely when EC autonomy is high. Similarly, losing candidates and parties are more likely to comply with the results when EC capacity is strong. The findings suggest that autonomy matters more for discouraging opposition boycotts, while capacity is more decisive in fostering losers’ consent. To be specific, the fifth chapter investigates the consequences of the EC autonomy and capacity for shaping the attitudes and behavior of political elites in Nigeria. The findings reveal that Nigerian elites rely heavily on INEC cues when evaluating electoral legitimacy. Specifically, parliamentary candidates’ acceptance of outcomes is strongly tied to their perception of INEC’s autonomy and capacity, highlighting how institutional credibility directly affects losers’ consent.

In Chapter Six, Kerr highlights that EC capacity has the strongest and most consistent impact on voters’ strategic considerations. Cross-national evidence shows that citizens respond most to signals of capacity when judging election credibility. However, political knowledge and partisan affiliation also matter. To further demonstrate the theory’s reliability, the seventh and final empirical chapter shows how citizens’ direct experiences with ECs during the 2015 and 2019 presidential and legislative elections in Nigeria shape their perceptions of election quality and legitimacy. The findings reveal that voters who encounter malfunctioning technologies, such as faulty voting machines, are less likely to view elections as free and fair. Similarly, long wait times at polling stations negatively affect perceptions of election quality, especially among voters with weak partisan ties. These results demonstrate that ECs’ everyday administrative practices play a critical role in shaping public trust. Ultimately, the chapter reinforces the broader argument that ECs’ informational role is central to sustaining electoral legitimacy in Nigeria and across Africa.

The book’s strength lies in reframing ECs as informational institutions rather than just administrative bodies. Also, the typology of autonomy and capacity is innovative, and the Nigerian case provides depth to the comparative analysis. From a methodological perspective, the author successfully balances causal identification with theoretical development. While the theory is tested most directly in a single case, the analysis provides persuasive interpretations that extend beyond that context. Another strength of the research design lies in its dual approach to theory generation and testing: the theory was developed using multiple comparative cases and then tested in depth through a focused single-case study. This combination enhances the broader applicability of the findings, which is central to the goals of comparative politics.

At the same time, the analysis focuses heavily on formal ECs and pays less attention to informal institutions. In many African contexts, patronage networks and traditional authorities strongly shape how citizens interpret electoral credibility and legitimacy. A fuller treatment of these dynamics would have made the argument even richer and more nuanced. Another limitation is that, while the informational framework persuasively places ECs at the center of the electoral process, it could have been further enriched by explicitly considering the role of party systems. The number, type, and strength of parties can also shape the strategic behavior of elites and citizens, and these dynamics may condition how ECs operate beyond autonomy and capacity. Integrating party systems into the framework, or at least analyzing their interaction with ECs, would have deepened the theoretical insights and broadened the scope of application. Overall, Electoral Commissions and Democratization in Africa: Everyday Production of Democratic Legitimacy is a thoughtful, well-argued, and empirically rich contribution that significantly deepens our understanding of elections and democratization in Africa.