Access to electoral data and electoral transparency will be the focus of a three day exchange workshop hosted by the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) on September 15-17 at the Sunnyside Park Hotel in Parktown, Johannesburg.
NDI, an international non-profit, non-governmental democracy assistance organization will bring together 15 citizen election observers from across the African continent and a US-based transparency specialist to engage in discussions and practical exercises with their South African colleagues on the theme of open election data. As a co-host of the event, the IEC will share its work in promoting transparency in election administration and guidelines for citizen observers to engage constructively with election management bodies on transparency issues.
The Electoral Commission of South Africa has been a leader among election management bodies around the world in both promoting and implementing election transparency practices. NDI is proud to partner with the IEC and hopes its strong example will be repeated by election administrators across Africa and the world.
NDI’s Experience in South Africa and Focus on Exchanges
Over 30 years, NDI has encouraged democratic development through the support of more than 300 citizen election observation organizations in more than 85 countries around the world. NDI first began work in South Africa with exchange programs in 1991 and helped develop the voter education campaign Project Vote leading up to the historic 1994 elections. The Institute’s original approach to supporting democracy in South Africa through exchanges remains central to its work today; in the years prior to the 1994 elections, NDI brought South African democracy activists to other countries – including Cambodia, Chile, Georgia, Guatemala, Madagascar, Pakistan, Paraguay, Romania and Senegal – that had recently experienced democratic transitions. In this spirit, the 1994 elections also provided an important opportunity for democracy activists from other countries to see the enormous impact of this transition in South Africa, and NDI brought a number of such activists to South Africa to observe the historic process.
This Workshop and Its Context
Now, 20 years later, with much work and collaboration between NDI and South African democrats in the interceding years, NDI is bringing citizen observation leaders from across the African continent to benefit and learn from the positive example on electoral transparency set by the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). This exchange workshop, entitled “Opening Elections: Transparency and Election Data,” will take place in Johannesburg September 15-17 as part of NDI’s Africa Electoral Integrity Initiative (AEII). This event is the third in a series of AEII exchange academies focused on sharing examples of progress in election observation and addressing challenges to electoral integrity. The first such event, held in Nairobi, Kenya, in September 2013, focused on using systematic observation methodologies to assess elections and mitigate potentials for violence. The second event was held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in March 2014 and focused on observation of biometric voter registration.
The Importance of Open Election Data for Electoral Transparency
The focus on open election data is part of the open government movement, a larger transparency effort that advocates for greater access to government and institutional data for the benefit of the citizenry and a more transparent democracy. This aligns with NDI’s approach to support citizen observers’ work to collect quality, representative data using systematic methodologies. Through such work, observers can share reliable information with the public and help build confidence in the institutions that are the basis of a successful democratic government. When citizen observers analyze and share official election data with the public, in addition to their own observation data, they are better able to contextualize their observation findings and explain the electoral environment to voters.
What is Open Election Data?
Open election data is data related to the electoral process that is accessible, authentic and accurate. The data must be shared with the public in its complete form in a manner that can be easily analyzed within a timely period that allows for analysis and verification to remain relevant for the particular election process. For example, if an electoral commission is sharing a list of polling stations for an upcoming election, the list should be (1) complete – it includes all polling stations, (2) accurate – it includes correct information, (3) accessible – it is in a format that allows for easy access and analysis, such as an Application Programming Interface (API) or downloadable spreadsheet, (4) timely – it is made available in adequate time before the election to allow voters to verify their polling station location and observers to understand the distribution of polling stations for their mobilization efforts.
It is important to note that this is not simply transparency for transparency’s sake; transparency, along with accountability and inclusiveness, is one of three fundamental principles for democratic elections. The role of transparency in promoting accountability and reinforcing inclusive electoral processes helps inform the public and build confidence in elections.
The Choice of South Africa and the IEC
The Electoral Commission of South Africa has been a leader among election management bodies around the world in both promoting and implementing election transparency practices. Any citizen, journalist, election observer, academic or curious individual can easily visit its website and access data on the voters’ roll, voter registration procedures, census statistics, polling station locations, election results, political party candidate lists and more, in addition to useful laws, regulations and reports relevant to election administration. With three simple clicks, for example, visitors can download a spreadsheet including the full national and provincial election results for every polling station in the country. The IEC’s impressive outreach efforts also ensure that voters – and eligible voters who are not yet registered – are aware of these resources and information, so they might knowledgeably participate in election processes.
For 20 years, South Africa has served as a beacon of democratic inspiration for the continent and the world, and the IEC is helping to uphold this reputation through its exemplary work. NDI is proud to partner with the IEC and hopes its strong example will be repeated by election administrators across Africa and the world.
Where: Sunnyside Park Hotel, Princess of Wales Terrace, Parktown, Johannesburg
Contact: Kate Bapela, IEC Spokesperson, 072 236 2771, bapelak@elections.org.za
