Upholding Electoral Integrity in Southern Africa within the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

National elections are scheduled to take place in Malawi, Seychelles and Tanzania later this year, whilst Namibia will be holding regional council and local authorities elections. The Southern Africa region, like other parts of the continent, has seen a gradual increase in the spread of the Corona virus. The Africa Centre for Disease Control (ACDC) updates as at 22 May, showed that there are over 99,000 confirmed cases and over 3,000 deaths across the continent. Governments have, in response to the pandemic, put in place emergency response measures that have implications for the conduct of credible democratic elections.

The measures put in place will impact on fundamental freedoms and key pre-election operations in various ways. While countries, such as South Africa and Zimbabwe have postponed by-elections and delayed some pre-election activities in compliance with the emergency measures put in place, other countries are proceeding with caution to prepare for elections as scheduled.

Beyond the health and safety risks posed by the pandemic, countries such as Lesotho and Malawi have been experiencing political tension. Both countries presently do not have full electoral commissions in place. At the time of compiling this concept note, developments in relation to the status of the Commission and the date of elections in Malawi are still unfolding. 

In view of the challenging context in the region, the Electoral Commission Forum of SADC Countries (ECF-SADC), in partnership with International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), is convening a virtual meeting on upholding the electoral integrity in the Southern Africa region in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Purpose of meeting

• To receive an update from member commissions on the state of preparedness for elections in their respective countries. To identify areas of support/collaboration required from regional international institutions such as AU, ECF, IDEA and SADC.
• To learn lessons and strengthen peer review amongst EMBs in the SADC region.

Participants: Senior representatives of ECF –SADC member commissions and SADC Electoral Advisory Council (SEAC)

Date: 3 June 2020

Time: 14:00 (Central African Time -CAT)

Connect via bluejeans: Confirmed participants will receive a link

Agenda

14:00-14:10      Welcome remarks:

• Professor Adebayo Olukoshi, Director Africa and West Asia, International IDEA
• Adv. Notemba Tjipueja, ECF-SADC Executive Committee Chairperson 

14:10-14:20      Overview of the programme

• Ms Hilda Modisane, Executive Secretary , ECF-SADC

14:20-15:00      Presentations:

• Malawi Electoral Commission
• Electoral Commission, Seychelles
• National Electoral Commission, Tanzania
• Zanzibar Electoral Commission

15:00-15:20      Discussions

15:20-15:30      Wrap up and next steps

15:30- 15:40     Closing remarks

Meeting Facilitator:  Olufunto Akinduro, Senior Programme Officer, International IDEA

Key issues for discussion:  

• State of preparedness for scheduled elections;
• Impact of the emergency measures on fundamental rights;
• Impact of the pandemic on pre-election operations (voter registration, procurement, candidate nomination and staff training);
• Planned procedural and legal changes to ensure that credible and safe elections are held;
• Other risks and challenges ahead of scheduled elections in the region; and
• Scope of support required by EMBs in the region for conduct of credible elections in the context of the pandemic