Donor support for elections
Editorial
As argued in our Monday editorial the timetable for elections, due in just over a year, is already tight. The amendment to the current electoral system, which has been agreed in principle, is still to be discussed by the parliamentary oversight committee and decided upon, presumably with the help of advisers, and then drafted. This amendment will change the pure system of proportional representation we now have and introduce an element of the old consistuency system. This is permitted by the present constitution but will require careful drafting and may have some effect on the way the results are announced. The Elections Commission has to be set up and an acceptable chairman found under the Carter formula. Then, voters have to be registered, either those who have qualified since the cut off date for the previous elections in l997 or, if the commission so decides, all voters afresh. Presumably in the interest of saving time the commission will opt for the former. A decision has to be made on whether voter ID cards will be issued again in which case photographs will have to be taken and cards prepared and issued. And all the other prescribed procedures prior to an election have to be followed. The holding of free, fair and efficiently run elections should be an absolute priority this year for donor support. Traditionally, much help has been received by way of training, equipment and personnel from a number of organisations including the United Nations Development Programme, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems, the National Democratic Institute and the donor countries. It would be useful on this occasion if the help they will give for the coming elections could be put on the agenda at the earliest opportunity. How much will running the elections efficiently cost, what equipment is needed (from cameras to ballot boxes), what steps must be taken to retain personnel of adequate competence to perform the tasks required before and on voting day (the evidence led in the elections petition has shown what happens if this is not done), how will one ensure that results are announced in a timely manner (perhaps the main single flaw in l997), will observers be invited, will enough vehicles be on hand, are there adequate training facilities? The various agencies have had a fairly detailed experience of the two democratic elections in l992 and l997. They have a good idea of the problems involved, the bottlenecks, the kind of support that is needed. It would be ideal if they could work together towards the general objective of having efficient elections, or if this is not feasible for internal bureaucratic or other reasons, they could coordinate their respective efforts to ensure that all the relevant areas are being dealt with and that the necessary support will be put in place in a timely manner. Running general elections is not a highly complex task. What it does require, however, is careful and businesslike planning for the various steps that have to be taken, the allowance of adequate time for each step, enough funds, the necessary equipment, competent personnel, a detailed plan for voting day and for the announcement of the results as soon as possible after the polls have closed. It might be useful for the donors to form a special committee to focus and coordinate their efforts and, with the approval of the government, to meet the political parties and civic groups to ascertain any specific areas of concern on the electoral process. The time is already short and action is needed.
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