The past two years have seen significant changes in the electoral landscape of most Southern African Development Community (SADC) countries. At least 10 out of the 15 countries in the SADC region have experienced changes in the leadership of their Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) or Electoral Commissions as they are commonly referred in the region.
These leadership changes refer to the end of term of office for electoral chairpersons, commissioners and/or chief electoral officers, which range from five to seven years renewable. This is a significant change in that it impacts two thirds of our electoral management bodies in the SADC region, with the affected countries being the following, in alphabetical order: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, South Africa, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
In recent years the SADC region has seen a gradual consolidation of peace, security and democracy. Our EMBs have demonstrated ever increasing independence, professionalism and efficiency especially in the manner they organise and manage elections. This is, in my view, no mean feat given that most EMBs are called upon to deliver free and fair elections under difficult conditions with limited resources.
This laudable tenacity and resilience of individual EMBs in the SADC region has benefitted immensely from the unparalleled solidarity and cooperation among EMBs as championed by the ECF-SADC since its establishment in 1998. The ECF is an umbrella body of SADC EMBs which seeks to promote, inter alia, technical exchanges and professional development among EMBs.
We in the ECF-SADC agree that as EMB leadership changes, there is a need to ensure continuous EMB capacity development so that the new leadership is able to build on the achievements of its predecessors. Whereas individuals may come and go, we need to build robust and effective electoral institutions capable of promoting credible elections on a continuous and sustainable basis. There is a need to ensure that new chairpersons, commission members and chief electoral officers maintain the high standards set within the region through continuous learning and peer networking.
For this purpose, ECF-SADC, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) agreed to partner in convening this historic workshop. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (the IEC) - as a member of the ECF-SADC - has agreed to host this event in Pretoria.
In attendance here today we have more than 50 delegates from various EMBs as mentioned earlier plus the ECF-SADC Secretariat. We have also invited other SADC EMBs to share their experiences and to support this capacity building initiative: they include Lesotho and Mozambique. To further enhance inter-EMB networking and South-South cooperation, we are joined by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission of Kenya which has sent four delegates to participate in this workshop. Representatives from Lesotho are also attending.
At this workshop we have about 12 resource persons who are distinguished scholars, analysts and experts on elections and who are very familiar with the region. The workshop will employ the internationally renowned and award-winning electoral training methodology, popularly known by its Acronym ‘BRIDGE’ which stands for Building Resources in Democracy, Elections and Governance. And each participant will be given a BRIDGE certificate at the end of the three-day workshop.
The workshop will facilitate engagements by newly appointed EMB members and senior staff on the mechanics, principles and good practices in the electoral field and provide them with an opportunity to reflect on their new responsibilities. Furthermore, the workshop will enhance peer learning and networking among ECF member EMBs. The overall goal of the workshop is to enhance the credibility and capacity of SADC EMBs to promote transparent, credible and peaceful elections.
This capacity building workshop for EMBs is well-timed considering a number of scheduled elections in the region within the next two years. Amongst others, these elections will include Local Government Elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo; the Referendum, Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government in Zimbabwe; the House of Assembly Elections in Swaziland; the National and Provincial Elections in South Africa; the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Malawi; the Presidential, Parliamentary and Local Government Elections Botswana; the Parliamentary and Parliamentary Elections in Mozambique; and the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections in Namibia; the Referendum in Tanzania; Worth mentioning here are the general elections in Kenya in March 2013.
This workshop is unique in many ways. For example, participants will benefit from contributions and interaction with retired chairpersons and/or commissioners from the region. This is in recognition of the legacy and invaluable contributions of those retired to strengthening electoral democracy in our region. This is will be an opportunity for retired election practitioners to share and impact, first-hand, the invaluable experiences they have mustered during their terms of office. In my view, there can be no better peer learning and experience sharing outside this context and environment.
The workshop will combine plenary and group discussions in order to facilitate active participate and ‘learning by doing’ in line with the BRIDGE philosophy and values. Simultaneous translations will take place in two of the languages commonly spoken in SADC region, such as English and French.
The three day programme will cover pertinent and broad topics and issues, including: historical trends in election management; international and regional electoral instruments and obligations; electoral systems; challenges facing EMBs; electoral stakeholder influence, challenges and good relationships; working with political, civil society and the media; and EMB networking and professional development.
It is our hope that through this workshop will help our individual EMBs and the ECF-SADC to foster credible, peaceful and transparent elections which are capable of contributing to democratic consolidation and sustainable development in our region and beyond.
For media queries, please contact:
Lydia Young
Cell: 082 650 8652
Tumi Sethoba
Cell: 012 622 5401
