From eisa at lists.sn.apc.org Tue Apr 14 10:51:14 2009 From: eisa at lists.sn.apc.org (eisa@lists.sn.apc.org) Date: Tue Apr 14 11:28:05 2009 Subject: [Eisa] Observer Mission to the South African National & Provincial Elections 2009 Message-ID: <984C0E7445FEA14886A140D1DD957EAED96B0E@xena.eisamail.eisa.org.za> EISA Observer Mission to the 2009 South African National & Provincial Elections EISA is pleased to announce the launch of its election observer mission to the forthcoming National and Provincial Elections in South Africa. The elections will be held on 22 April 2009. Leading the delegation is Professor Ade Adefuye, Adviser to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). The mission will consist of 40 members drawn from civil society organisations (CSOs) and election management bodies in all regions of Africa. The mission's assessment will be based on international standards for credible elections, including the * African Union Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections and * Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC Region (PEMMO). The mission is expected to arrive in Johannesburg on 15 April 2009. It will hold meetings with election stakeholders including the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa, political parties, CSOs and academics, ahead of Election Day. It will remain in the country until 25 April 2009, after observing the voting and counting processes, as well as post polling activities. Selected rural and urban areas in South Africa will be covered. About EISA EISA is a regional non governmental organisation established in 1996, based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Its mission is to strive for excellence in the promotion of credible elections, participatory democracy, human rights culture, and the strengthening of governance institutions for the consolidation of democracy in Africa through research, capacity building, advocacy and other targeted interventions. EISA services governments, electoral commissions, political parties, civil society organisations and other institutions operating in the democracy and governance fields in Africa and beyond. Contact For more information please contact Elections and Political Processes at EISA on epp@eisa.org.za or Tel +27 11 482 54 95 http://www.eisa.org.za tel +27 11 482 54 95 fax +27 11 482 61 63 EISA - Promoting credible elections and democratic governance in Africa -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/eisa/attachments/20090414/79ae2d3e/attachment.htm From eisa at lists.sn.apc.org Tue Apr 21 17:02:34 2009 From: eisa at lists.sn.apc.org (eisa@lists.sn.apc.org) Date: Tue Apr 21 17:06:35 2009 Subject: [Eisa] Election Update South Africa #2 Message-ID: <984C0E7445FEA14886A140D1DD957EAED97311@xena.eisamail.eisa.org.za> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/png Size: 202500 bytes Desc: image001.png Url : http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/eisa/attachments/20090421/92335914/attachment-0001.png -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 3829 bytes Desc: image003.jpg Url : http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/eisa/attachments/20090421/92335914/attachment-0001.jpe From eisa at lists.sn.apc.org Thu Apr 23 17:04:46 2009 From: eisa at lists.sn.apc.org (eisa@lists.sn.apc.org) Date: Thu Apr 23 21:51:37 2009 Subject: [Eisa] Election Update #3 Message-ID: <984C0E7445FEA14886A140D1DD957EAEDD44DA@xena.eisamail.eisa.org.za> South Africa 2009 #3 Download in PDF from http://www.eisa.org.za/PDF/eusa200903.pdf Table of Contents Analytic coverage Party Political Contestation and Configuration of Power: Likely Scenarios of the Election outcomes Gender in the 2009 South African Elections Provincial coverage Eastern Cape Free State Limpopo KwaZulu-Natal Western Cape Gauteng http://www.eisa.org.za/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/eisa/attachments/20090423/b37d7026/attachment.htm From eisa at lists.sn.apc.org Fri Apr 24 17:17:16 2009 From: eisa at lists.sn.apc.org (eisa@lists.sn.apc.org) Date: Fri Apr 24 17:26:10 2009 Subject: [Eisa] Observer Mission to the SA 2009 Elections: Interim Statement Message-ID: <984C0E7445FEA14886A140D1DD957EAEDD45F5@xena.eisamail.eisa.org.za> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 15540 bytes Desc: image001.jpg Url : http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/eisa/attachments/20090424/c0b40158/attachment-0001.jpe From eisa at lists.sn.apc.org Mon May 11 15:02:20 2009 From: eisa at lists.sn.apc.org (eisa@lists.sn.apc.org) Date: Mon May 11 15:16:26 2009 Subject: [Eisa] Observer Mission to the 2009 Malawi Elections Message-ID: <984C0E7445FEA14886A140D1DD957EAEDD52BE@xena.eisamail.eisa.org.za> EISA Observer Mission to the 2009 Malawi Presidential & National Assembly Elections EISA is pleased to announce the launch of its election observer mission to the forthcoming Presidential and National Assembly Elections in Malawi. The elections will be held on 19 May 2009. The mission leaders are Mr Denis Kadima, EISA Executive Director and Dr Khabele Matlosa, EISA Programmes Director. The mission will consist of 11 members drawn from civil society organisations (CSOs) and election management bodies (EMBs) across all African regions. The mission's assessment will be based on international standards for credible elections, including the * African Union Declaration on Principles Governing Democratic Elections and * Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC Region (PEMMO) . The mission is expected to arrive in Blantyre on 12 May 2009. It will hold meetings with stakeholders including the Malawi Electoral Commission, political parties, CSOs and academics, ahead of Election Day. It will remain in the country until 22 May 2009 after observing the voting and counting processes as well as post polling activities. Selected rural and urban areas in Malawi will be covered by the mission. More information about Malawi, including an archive of previous elections, is available at http://www.eisa.org.za/WEP/malawi.htm Contact information Johannesburg Belinda Musanhu +27 11 482 54 95 or +27 72 306 4558 and Blantyre Rev. Anastacio Chembeze +26 588 457 87 52 Email enquiries epp@eisa.org.za -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/eisa/attachments/20090511/4201051a/attachment.htm From eisa at lists.sn.apc.org Fri May 15 16:10:29 2009 From: eisa at lists.sn.apc.org (eisa@lists.sn.apc.org) Date: Fri May 15 16:28:16 2009 Subject: [Eisa] EOM Malawi 2009 - Arrival Statement Message-ID: <984C0E7445FEA14886A140D1DD957EAEE13A54@xena.eisamail.eisa.org.za> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: image/jpeg Size: 15540 bytes Desc: image001.jpg Url : http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/eisa/attachments/20090515/11304100/attachment-0001.jpe From eisa at lists.sn.apc.org Thu May 21 12:26:38 2009 From: eisa at lists.sn.apc.org (eisa@lists.sn.apc.org) Date: Thu May 21 12:45:05 2009 Subject: [Eisa] EOM to the 2009 Malawi Elections Message-ID: <984C0E7445FEA14886A140D1DD957EAEE13F68@xena.eisamail.eisa.org.za> EISA Observer Mission to the Malawi Presidential & National Assembly Elections 2009 Interim Statement Blantyre, 21 May 2009 Introduction EISA, at the invitation of the Malawi Electoral Commission (MEC), deployed a mission to observe the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections held on 19 May 2009. This interim statement contains an assessment of the pre election phase, polling day and tabulation of the results at the time of this press release. The Mission will continue to follow the process, including the announcement of final results, in order to evaluate the post election phase. EISA will produce a more comprehensive and detailed account of the entire election process in a final report. It will include recommendations for the consolidation of democracy and good governance in Malawi, as elections are not an end but a process. The EISA Observer Mission extends its deepest gratitude and appreciation to the people of Malawi for the warm welcome and hospitality accorded to the Mission. Mission Composition The Mission was led by Mr Denis Kadima (Executive Director, EISA) and was composed of ten experienced individuals drawn from civil society organisations from the following countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan and Zimbabwe. Members of the Mission began arriving in Blantyre on 10 May and observed the last phase of electoral campaigning, the voting and early tabulation of results. Methodology During the period preceding the polls, members of the Mission consulted with various electoral stakeholders including members from the MEC, civil society organisations, the media, political parties, domestic election observer groups and other international observer missions. A total of four teams were deployed in the three regions of Malawi: one team each in the Northern and Central regions and two teams in the Southern region. Teams based in Mzuzu, Lilongwe and Blantyre also covered surrounding rural areas. Furthermore, teams attended rallies of various political parties and candidates in the three regions. On polling day the Mission was able to visit several polling stations throughout the country, covering randomly selected rural and urban areas. In its assessment, the mission was guided by the Principles for Election Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC region (PEMMO). Findings of the Mission The 2009 Presidential and Parliamentary elections were the fourth democratic elections in Malawi after the restoration of multiparty democracy in 1994. Previous elections were held in 1994, 1999 and 2004. It is the expectation of the mission that recommendations in regard to these findings will be followed by reforms to improve future electoral processes and enhance democracy in the country. Some of the observations made during the 2009 elections were already highlighted in the previous elections by EISA and other election observer missions particularly in 2004. Based on the principles entrenched in PEMMO, the following are the findings of the Mission: The Constitutional and Legal Framework The main instruments regulating the conduct of elections in Malawi include the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi; the Parliamentary and Presidential Elections Act, 1993; and the Malawi Electoral Commission Act, 1998. The Mission is of the opinion that the legal framework for elections in Malawi is generally conducive to the holding of credible elections. Malawi Electoral Commission The Mission noted that according to the legal provisions on the appointment of members of the commission "The President shall, subject to the Constitution and in consultation with the leaders of the political parties represented in the National Assembly, appoint suitably qualified persons to be members of the Commission on such terms and conditions as the Public Appointments Committee of Parliament shall determine". As a result of this provision, the appointment of additional members to the MEC was challenged in court by leaders of some opposition parties claiming that they were not consulted in line with the Malawi Electoral Commission Act (1998). Notwithstanding these claims, the Mission observed that the MEC displayed a degree of transparency in the management of the electoral process thus winning the confidence of the majority of the electoral stakeholders the Mission came into contact with. The Campaign Process and Access to Media The Mission observed that the governing Democratic Progressive Party had significantly more campaign material than other political parties. The Mission received several reports of allegations of the use of state resources for campaign purposes by the incumbent party. The EISA observer mission was not in a position to verify these allegations although it views them most seriously. EISA teams also observed and learnt that the election campaign was generally peaceful in all the three regions of the country. A few isolated cases of violence were reported but these did not seem to have affected the overall peacefulness of the process and voter's freedom of choice. The Mission deplored the use of hate speech between political parties which was evident during the campaign. It observed that Malawi Television (TVM) and the Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) failed to provide equitable access to all parties. Their coverage excessively favoured the DPP who, according to the Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA), received on average over 90% coverage. While several private radio stations also gave coverage to opposition candidates, it is important that state owned media give fair coverage to all contesting parties and candidates in order to provide a level playing field. Voter Registration and Voter's Register The Mission gathered that MEC had conducted a massive voter's register overhaul in 2008, an exercise which aimed to produce an accurate, comprehensive and inclusive voter's register. The Mission learnt that 5 930 949 voters were registered to vote. At an EISA election observer mission briefing meeting, the MEC acknowledged that during the exercise they were faced with a number of logistical and technical challenges that included faulty equipment and irregularities in the voter's register such as missing names, duplicated names, incorrect placement of pictures and transfer of names that was not effected. To address these problems MEC provided a reference voter's register to complement the one used on polling day. The Voting Process and Counting The Mission observed polling day operations from the opening at 06h00 until the close of polling at 18h00. The teams observed long, meandering queues at most polling stations especially in the morning. Voters were calm and expressed much enthusiasm to cast their ballot. The teams did not witness or hear of any interruptions caused by acts of violence or intimidation at any of the polling stations they visited. An attempt was made by the MEC to provide special ballots for the blind. However electoral staff appeared not to have received sufficient training on the use of this special ballot. Security forces were present at all polling stations visited and were professional in their conduct. Counting started shortly after closing of voting at most polling stations. The teams did not observe any incidents of disruptions during counting. The MEC provided each polling station with generators to ensure a smooth counting process. With regard to the voter's register the teams observed a few cases of omissions and inaccuracies. Although a sizeable number of voters were affected by these problems, most of these technical problems regarding the register were ultimately resolved by the electoral staff, though inconsistently. Conflict Management Mechanisms The Mission commends the MEC for establishing multiparty liaison committees (MPLCs) at district level throughout the country. These committees enabled the electoral commission and the contesting political parties to consult each other on an ongoing basis and address any problems that arose. Election Observation The EISA observer mission came across many international observers whose presence contributed to the transparency of the electoral process. However the Mission noted the limited number of domestic observers in the areas visited by the teams on polling day. Recommendations Noting the observations above, the mission proposes the following recommendations: MEC * The provision on the appointment of members of the commission should be reviewed to guarantee its independence, transparency and professionalism. Regional trends and standards have been to appoint an independent electoral commission whose members are selected based on their expertise, integrity and political independence. * The Mission recommends that the electoral commission builds on its achievements during the just ended elections and uses an electoral cycle approach to election management in future which entails an ongoing programme for the professionalization of the commission. Areas of focus would include the rectification of irregularities identified in the voters' register and continuous updating of this register. * In addition to the MPLCs, the MEC is advised to introduce community based conflict management mechanisms at national, regional and local levels that will address not only problems relating to parties and candidates but also those affecting the electorate as a whole throughout the electoral process. Media * Successive incumbent governments have tended to monopolise the state owned media to their advantage. Malawian authorities need to align the country to the best regional electoral practices by allowing all the contesting parties and candidates to have equitable access to this taxpayer funded media and to allow the electorate to make informed choices. Political Parties * Political parties in Malawi have demonstrated a lack of commitment to internal democracy within their organisations. This lack of intra party democracy has been most visible in the choice of office bearers and the selection of party candidates. This has affected the institutionalisation of parties, leading to an unstable party system characterised by frequent fragmentation. The democratisation of political parties will go a long way towards consolidating democratic development in the entire country. Development partners and election stakeholders * The Mission calls upon development partners and national election stakeholders to support domestic election observation as an integral part of the electoral cycle so as to add value to the electoral process through professional domestic election observation. Conclusion Overall the elections up to the time of the release of this statement were held in conformity with the PEMMO. Accordingly, the Malawi electoral stakeholders generally enjoyed all the freedoms associated with participation in elections, such as freedoms of association, movement and assembly. On the other hand, the Mission noted the unlevel playing field in terms of access to campaign finance and state media. In spite of this, the EISA Observer Mission believes that Malawians were generally able to express their will. As the electoral process moves to its conclusion, the Mission encourages the MEC to continue to demonstrate transparency in the tabulation and announcement of results and to address any complaints brought by candidates timeously. On the other hand, such complaints should be substantiated and not aimed at causing unnecessary delays in the announcement of the final results. Denis Kadima Mission Leader Contact information The mission secretariat is based at the Sunbird Mount Soche Hotel in Blantyre. Johannesburg Belinda Musanhu +27 11 482 54 95 or +27 72 306 4558 and Blantyre Rev. Anastacio Chembeze +26 588 457 87 52 Email enquiries epp@eisa.org.za Web http://www.eisa.org.za -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/eisa/attachments/20090521/1708e296/attachment.htm From eisa at lists.sn.apc.org Thu May 28 12:39:36 2009 From: eisa at lists.sn.apc.org (eisa@lists.sn.apc.org) Date: Fri May 29 09:47:15 2009 Subject: [Eisa] Presentation and debate on the Mozambique Parliament Message-ID: <984C0E7445FEA14886A140D1DD957EAEE5B3DD@xena.eisamail.eisa.org.za> EISA Maputo hosts a presentation & debate on the Mozambique Parliament The Mozambican office of EISA hosted a presentation by Dr Elisabete Azevedo, followed by public debate, on The Profile of the Mozambican Parliament and the Mozambican MP: From enemies to political adversaries? in Maputo on 26 May 2009. Around 70 people attended the presentation, including ten senior MPs. Two MPs, the rapporteur of the majority Frelimo bench and a former Renamo minority whip, were discussants. The presentation received wide media interest and coverage. She was interviewed by a number of TV channels, radio stations, and print media, as this was one of the first studies of this nature on the Mozambican parliament. Her study of the Mozambican Parliament began in 2005 as part of her PhD dissertation research, and was concluded in 2008. She conducted qualitative interviews with MPs, staff, journalists, academics and civil society representatives, in addition to the review of parliamentary documents and studies, and direct observation of the functioning of the Parliament. She also conducted an in-depth quantitative survey of 50 MPs, through a random, stratified sample. Elisabete Azevedo, a Portuguese national with considerable Africa experience, has a PhD in Political Science from the University of Cape Town, and is a researcher for UCT and the Catholic University of Lisbon. Dr Azevedo's paper is available on the EISA web site at http://www.eisa.org.za/events/mz20090526.htm For more information please email Mr Miguel de Brito EISA Mozambique Country Director miguel@eisa.org.za . -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: http://lists.sn.apc.org/pipermail/eisa/attachments/20090528/3e4d62d3/attachment.html From eisa at lists.sn.apc.org Thu Jun 25 08:58:02 2009 From: eisa at lists.sn.apc.org (eisa@lists.sn.apc.org) Date: Thu Jun 25 09:09:03 2009 Subject: [Eisa] Call for experts - elections Message-ID: <984C0E7445FEA14886A140D1DD957EAEEA5C8E@xena.eisamail.eisa.org.za> Skipped content of type multipart/alternative-------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... 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