Electoral conflicts continue to pose a danger to the consolidation of democracy in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. Efforts to resolve conflicts is often criticised as the use of conventional dispute resolution procedures are proving to be cumbersome, expensive, opaque and logistically challenging, all of which erode public confidence in election results. The study seeks to design and validate an integrated e-technology framework that enhances the speed, accessibility and credibility of electoral dispute resolution in SADC by aligning legal reforms with digital tools for filing, evidence management and adjudication. Six SADC member states were purposively selected: Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique and Mauritius. Selection was based on, firstly, electoral dispute history: all six have experienced post-election litigation 2018-2025, ensuring relevance; secondly, digital variance: South Africa and Mauritius represent high digital readiness per ITU ICT Development Index 2024, while Malawi and Mozambique represent low infrastructure contexts, strengthening transferability; and finally legal diversity in all six. This study used primary data collected through 150 structured surveys of IT experts and officials across the six countries, 75 key informant interviews (KIIs) with judges and national elections commissions (NECs)/electoral management bodies (EMBs) legal officers. Secondary data included electoral court judgments 2018-2025, observer reports, SADC Principles and Guidelines Governing Democratic Elections 2021 and national electoral acts to map legal gaps. The results also show that an integrated e-technology framework can minimise the cost of pursuing electoral justice by 42% on average, improve access for rural litigants by enabling mobile filing, promote transparency through real-time case tracking and reduce median case resolution time from 112 days to 38 days in pilot simulations. The proposed framework integrates four interlocking components, namely blockchain[1]based evidence preservation, e-filing and case management portals, virtual hearings, online mediation platforms, and open data dashboards. The study concludes that while digitalising electoral fairness in SADC is both essential and feasible, institutional and political shortcomings cannot be addressed by technology alone.
The development of smart contracts on distributed ledger technology has created very real doctrinal and evidentiary problems for the classical consent theory-based legal system. This article conducts a thorough comparative study on the legal regimes of defects of consent error, fraud, duress and misrepresentation regarding smart contracts in the light of the international conventions adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the United Nations Principles of International Commercial Contracts (UNCPC). The study highlights key gaps in legislation and clear issues of evidence that hinder claimants from establishing vitiated consent in algorithmically executed contracts, grounded in primary legislative sources, such as the UAE Federal Law No. 5 of 1985 (Civil Transactions Law), UAE Electronic Commerce Law No. 1 of 2006, the regulatory frameworks of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM), and Jordanian Civil Code No. 43 of 1976. The analysis demonstrates that, while automated self-executing code involves one-to-one interaction between a digital entity and a human user, both jurisdictions are poorly suited to deal with these types of interactions, as the record cannot be altered and the party deploying the code can be anonymous, and the 'agreement' can be either ambiguous or impossible in practice. The article suggests a three-part reform agenda – (i) technology-neutral statutory amendments to explicitly apply the doctrine of “defect of consent” to algorithmic agents; (ii) forensic evidentiary rules for the authentication of blockchain data and expert testimony; and (iii) a specialised dispute resolution mechanism based on the ADGM's current smart contract recognition framework. The findings add to the still emerging literature on smart contract legality in the Arab world, and provide practical suggestions for legislative reform.