Publication

This paper examines the effect of vote buying on voter turnout in Kenya using a nationally representative survey on the presidential and parliamentary elections. The author also examines the strategic logic of vote buying. The results suggest that poor individuals and 'swing' voters in the country's most electorally competitive districts are most likely to be targeted, and even under secret balloting, the most likely to vote accordingly. The author concludes by assessing what implications this has for the quality of democracy.