Franchising and other tricks

The buying and selling of votes is usually not an individual trade between one voter and one candidate. It is organised, at local, regional and/or at national level. Thus there is both room for overall strategical planning and for local creativity.

One new form is what might be seen as a kind of social franchising of electoral fraud. Following this model the party organisation makes a deal with a popular local leader, in a village, a neighbourhood or in fact any geographical area. The leader agrees to provide a certain number of votes for the candidate in question, perhaps one hundred or five hundred - for a certain price. The party pays a first instalment, an advance sum, with the rest to be paid after counting votes. The advance makes it possible for the local leader to sub-franchise the tasks.

In some social environments it might seem a bit shameful to sell your vote for money. When this is the case, it is a challenge for the local trickster to find an alternative, very often in kind. In poor neighbourhoods this might be contruction materials, as sacks of cement or roofing tiles. During the elections in 2006 I noticed this being done openly. Just a few blocks from the voting place in my barrio, people were queing up to collect their goods. This was a slow process, requiring much space, as it is quite difficult to move corrugated Eternit tiles on bicycle. The local police came to help to avoid traffic congestion.

So, if on election day, you observe outlets that are not usually there, it might be election fraud you are witnessing.