Part 1
I have been working in the field of elections for many years and I often hear people talk about free and fair elections and the need for developing democracies to improve standards for the conduct of elections with the ultimate aim of meeting international standards. What are the standards all democracies should be trying to achieve?
The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), benchmarked the important principles of the right of everyone to participate in the government of their country. Article 21,3 of this reads:
“The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by secret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures”
Later documents, particularly the OSCE Copenhagen commitments of 1990, have explained further what these principles mean. Some of the main aspects of these commitments are to ensure that the elections are free from intimidation, on equal conditions (fair) and verifiable by observers on all levels (transparent).
The purpose of competing in an election is to win public office and to gain power and influence over policy and resources for the area of representation. Elections are the result of a complex process that requires the participation of a multitude of actors, each with different roles and agendas. At the end of an election, there are winners and losers. Everyone wants to be the winner; few of us want to be the loser. Stakes can be high. The temptation to win through unethical or illegal means can also be high.
One important thing to remember here is that the election is a process, it is not an event. It starts months, even years, before Election Day.
What makes elections meet up to internationally accepted standards? I will take you through the main elements of the electoral process and relate these to International standards.
The law and administration of the electoral process
Countries should take the necessary legislative steps to set up a framework for regular free and fair elections that are up to the standards of international law. There is no single electoral process or political system that suits every nation. Each State has a sovereign right, in accordance with the will of the people, to develop its own systems, provided there are genuine attempts to meet the standards we are talking about today.
There are numerous varieties of electoral systems throughout the world, and it is impossible to pick one particularly more “democratic” than another. On the contrary, they all have weaknesses and advantages, and different systems favor different groups. Ideally every vote shall carry equal weight. This principle is decisive for how the country should be divided into constituencies: There should be approximately the same number of votes behind each seat gained in the national parliament. Delimitation plays an important part here.
The electoral processes should be regulated by a sound electoral code or law that reflects the principles of international standards. There could be one general piece of election legislation relevant to any election, a so-called Universal Electoral Code, or specific election legislation relevant to specific elections, like Parliamentary elections, Presidential elections, local elections or referenda.
The selection of individuals to serve on Electoral Commissions at all levels and the general management of the electoral process are all important factors for consideration under this sub-heading. The administration of elections should be in the hands of independent and competent officials who are perceived as impartial and fair not just to the political parties and candidates involved in the election but to the voters also. These people, whether they be full time or temporary electoral administrators need to be trained and they need to be adequately rewarded for the job they are doing. In Liberia’s recent elections, the poll workers complained that they were not being paid enough for their work ($5) and they managed to effect a rise ($10). The selection of individuals to work at the elections was also a cause for concern. There were complaints against the electoral management body of favoritism in the selection process for those individuals working on the registration of voters some month earlier. Accordingly UNMIL, the United Nations Mission in Liberia, became involved in the selection process for people to work on election day and this was deemed to be a fairer process.
Election management bodies usually have their method of appointment and terms of reference set out in the Constitution. This too can be problematic. In Nigeria for example, stakeholders complain that the Independent National Electoral Commission can never be an independent body as the Chairman and National Commissioners are appointed by the President. This means that Commission members have to work harder to be seen as independent. In some countries, the EMB is made up of individuals drawn from all strata of society: political appointments, judges, civil society representatives, ordinary members of the public. On occasion these positions are advertised and people apply to become members; often members are nominated by the bodies they represent. Each country has to choose what is good for them but direct appointments by the Executive can lead to criticism and a more open and transparent selection process should be chosen.
A recent study of Electoral Management Bodies undertaken by Professor Rafael Lopez Pintor – Electoral Management Bodies as Institutions of Governance UNDP 2000 – shows that in Sub-Sahara Africa, elections are generally managed by an independent commission (53%) or supervised by an independent collective body (39%). In only three of 36 countries (8%) were elections managed solely by the Executive.
Voter rights and voter registration
Voting at the age of 18 years is currently the norm throughout the world. However, to vote the citizen must usually appear on the voters’ list. The basis of democratic, competitive elections should be a transparent voters’ list. One of the most consistent criticisms of the elections is about the accuracy and the lack of public exposure of the voters’ list.
In terms of accuracy, some lists are only up-dated when an election is called or immediately before a scheduled election. Better examples include the regular update of registers. This is sometimes referred to as rolling or continuous registration of voters. In respect of public access, the public needs access to ensure that they have been included and that the dead are removed and only those people genuinely entitled to vote appear on it. The political parties need access so they may, in turn, contact potential voters. The public must be provided with a genuine opportunity to bring mistakes in the voters’ registers to the attention of the officials handling them. The voters’ list is the engine that drives the election vehicle; it is crucial to the process. Developing democracies can receive help from the international community with the update of their voters’ lists should they need it. There are experts around with great knowledge of different systems and the trick is choosing the right system for the country requesting advice and other assistance. The voters need to feel confident that the lists used at the election are as accurate as they can be given the circumstances surrounding the electoral process.
In some situations individuals are able to register on election day itself. I recall this was the case in Namibia at their first elections in 1989. But this should be avoided wherever possible as it can lead to accusations of people registering and voting more than once of proper checks are not put in place and administered properly.
Civic education and voter information
Democracy must be understood by the citizen’s taking part in the election process. The education of adults about democratic values, the importance of voting and the effects of the results of the democratic process should not be just the responsibility of the government, it should be taken on by political parties, Non–Governmental Organizations and if necessary also the international community. Posters, leaflets, radio advertisements, advertisements in newspapers and television slots are all important here. Some of the most creative voter education tools here in Africa – particularly in Kenya and Uganda.