Support to Electoral Processes in Southern Africa
BRIDGE Electoral Administrator’s training
The need for capacity-building training and materials for election administrators is evidenced by the many requests received from regional Electoral Management Bodies. IDEA, in partnership with regional organisations, is making available its BRIDGE (Building Resources in Democracy Governance and Elections) material and methodology to contribute to the professionalisation of election management in the region. This includes BRIDGE capacity building training courses and Training of trainers, knows as Train the facilitators courses.
Since 2004 IDEA has organized a series of BRIDGE Electoral Administrators Training Courses in the region.
BRIDGE Train the Facilitators Course, Pretoria, South Africa 2004:The BRIDGE electoral administrators training curriculum Project held a 10-day international BRIDGE Train the Facilitators' Course where 30 prospective BRIDGE trainers from around the world are taught how to run BRIDGE courses. In September 2004 it will be held in Pretoria, South Africa. In order to enhance Southern African regional ability to deliver capacity-building training to election administrators 14 participants were selected from the SADC region to attend the course. The project was conducted in partnership with the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa (EISA) and the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). Funding for this project was provided by a grant from Australia (AusAID)
BRIDGE Train the Facilitators Course, Pretoria, South Africa 2004
For more information about IDEA’s BRIDGE Training in Africa click here
BRIDGE Train the Facilitators Course, Maputo, Mozambique 2004: IDEA in partnership with Mozambique’s Technical Secretariat for the Administration of Elections (STAE), the first BRIDGE Train the Facilitators course was held 17-26 May 2004, in Portuguese. Twenty-nine STAE staff members from all provinces in the country participated. The course was part of IDEA’s ongoing project in Mozambique to support the electoral process, which is funded by Ireland and member states Finland and Norway. For more information about IDEA’s work in Mozambique click here.
Support to Political Parties in Southern Africa
IDEA is involved in an extensive project in Africa for supporting political parties in the region. The project is part of a global programme that IDEA is engaged in conducting a survey of both the internal functioning of political parties (addressing issues such as how is the leader elected, what is the women’s representation, how are candidates selected) and the external environment (regulatory framework) governing political parties.
In southern Africa IDEA in partnership with the Electoral Institute for Southern Africa hasconduct a comprehensive survey of the external (regulatory framework) and internal environments (internal organization, funding and women's representation) of political parties in Southern Africa. The survey covers 13 of the 14 SADC countries (excluding the Seychelles). The findings of the data collection and the analysis of trends have been used to stimulate dialogue at national and sub-regional level.
The first dialogue workshop in the SADC region was held on 11-12 December 2004 in Pretoria, South Africa co-hosted by IDEA and EISA The workshop on political parties and democratic governance in the SADC region included political party representatives from ruling and opposition parties in Lesotho, Malawi, and Mauritius, and members of parliament and banned political parties in Swaziland. For Zimbabwe, participants relied on a detailed report that based its analysis on close contact with parties. Click here for more information.
The second dialogue workshop in the SADC region was held on 14-15 April 2005 in Johannesburg, South Africa. This second dialogue workshop presented the findings of eight country researches on electoral regulatory environments and the internal functioning of parties in Angola, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania and Zambia. Click here for more information.
Women in Politics in Southern Africa
IDEA has produced a report that examines women’s political representation on the African continent, and shows how quotas have contributed to increasing women’s access to political power. Gender quotas are now increasingly viewed as an important policy measure for boosting women’s access to decision-making bodies throughout the world. Experience from Africa is very encouraging: over 20 countries on the continent either have legislated quotas or political parties that have adopted them voluntarily. This report illustrates the different quota types that are being implemented in different political contexts.
The report "The Implementation of Quotas:African Experiences" includes 17 regional and country case studies. The country case studies include Egypt, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Uganda.
Support to Democracy at the Local Level in Southern Africa
Democracy at local level- In Southern AfricaIDEA’s work on Democracy at the Local level has been in a project designed to build the capacity for leadership at the local level. The project, in partnership with the African Union of Local Authorities and the Electoral Institute of Southern Africa, focuses on developing tools to enhance citizens’ participation at the local level including:
Development of a local democracy assessment instrument to evaluate conditions of local democracy in the region.
A pilot democracy assessment in was conducted in 4 cities in Gaborone (Botswana), Lusaka (Zambia), Mwanza (Tanzania) and Nairobi (Kenya). A report "Democracy at the Local Level in East and Southern Africa: Profiles in Governance" was produced summarising the findings of the assessments.
Development of two training curriculum modules to provide training materials for those directly involved in promoting democracy at the local level. The two modules cover: Conducting Local Democracy Assessments for Enhancing Development; and Community Participation: From Design to Evaluation.
Mozambique
In Mozambique IDEA has been involved in a project since 2002 working to strengthen the Mozambican Election Management Bodies capacity. The project is part of an ongoing partnership between Mozambique’s Electoral Administration Technical Secretariat (STAE) and IDEA, which aims to provide support to democratic elections in Mozambique through capacity building for its election management bodies. The BRIDGE Election Administrators' Training Course has been the central tool in the IDEA-STAE capacity building collaboration. With general elections scheduled for December 2004 the IDEA project thus year will focus on 3 interventions;
- Capacity-Building Training with the Election Administration. A 10-day BRIDGE Train the Facilitators’ Course will be held for the Electoral Administration’s training personnel
- Development of Training Materials and Information Manuals
- Capacity-Building Training for the Provincial and District Election Commissions covering their tasks and function in the 2004 general elections
Click here for more information.
