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IntroductionThe past decade has seen an enormous increase in the use of Information and Communications Technology (ICTs) in election management, which has considerably changed election administration in many countries. The use of ICTs can positively impact election management, especially in making some processes quicker and more efficient. But ICTs solutions also carry risks, they often suffer from unrealistic expectations, and they may not be appropriate in some contexts. In his 2009 statement to the UN General Assembly, Secretary General Ban Ki Moon expressed his concern that “…some of the poorest countries in the world have chosen some of the most expensive electoral processes and technology…”. The global electoral assistance community is still in the early stages of developing and adopting best practices for ICTs in elections. This paper offers towards this process the following guiding principles, which are not exhaustive. ICTs solutions in electoral process should be:
The complexities and costs of ICTs solutions make it absolutely imperative that their procurement takes place effectively and transparently. This paper identifies key challenges in procuring electoral goods and services, with a specific focus on electoral ICTs. In relation to electoral procurement the paper emphasizes how it has a much larger scope and impact than is often acknowledged, being often one of the most expensive lines in an electoral budget. It cuts across a wide array of activities around the electoral cycle and should therefore be adopted as an integral part of electoral management and assistance – both in planning and implementation. Delays and shortfalls in procurement and distribution of materials can critically impact the execution and outcome of an election. Therefore, procurement planning is vital and should always be integrated into the programming phase of electoral management exercises and assistance. Planning should include: the development of a procurement strategy and risk management analysis; analysis of supply chain constraints; cost analysis; and assessment of implementing partners’ capacities. The “EC-UNDP Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of Electoral Assistance Projects” note that sensitive, highly specific or costly election materials should preferably be procured with the close collaboration and involvement of the UNDP Procurement Support Office (UNDP/PSO)7. For very expensive, highly technical materials UNDP procurement procedures would include additional risk mitigation mechanisms, such as pilot and validation tests to be conducted as part of the evaluation and before a vendor is selected. The paper focuses also on voter registration, arguably the area where the use of ICTs is expanding most rapidly. Voter registration is a crucial and considerably expensive undertaking in an electoral process, as an accurate voter register is a cornerstone of a credible election. This paper distinguishes three categories of voter registration methodologies according to the level of technology used: low-tech, medium-tech and high-tech. Current trends show how countries, including impoverished post-war countries, are introducing high-tech systems using biometric features, such as Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) or facial recognition scanning, for civil and voter registration. When such complex technological solutions are considered to be procured and adopted, it is fundamental to acquire a full understanding of needs and requirements, and an accurate procurement plan. Procurement for voter registration systems, particularly biometric systems, involves diverse complexities: procurement of biometric-experienced ICTs specialists; decisions regarding local versus international competitive processes; minimum standard requirements; security issues; cost-effectiveness; disaster recovery issues; total solution models (i.e. build operate transfer models) versus technology transfer models, and change management issues. This paper addresses these and other issues in the context of UNDP procurement. While focusing on UNDP’s recent experiences, it outlines potential lessons learnt and best practices in terms of planning and managing procurement of electoral goods and services which are relevant to a wide variety of stakeholders. Procurement at UNDP is in line with policies, regulations and best practices of International Public Procurement, and therefore it is a useful reference for any public institution or organisation involved in procurement for elections. To conclude, the paper’s main topics are summarized and considerations and best practices are mapped for future reference of practitioners in the introduction and use of ICTs in electoral processes. Procurement in Electoral ProcessesElectoral goods and services represent one of the most important and costly parts of an election. Any delay or shortfall in the procurement or distribution of electoral materials or timely receipt of required services can have serious implications for an election, potentially affecting its schedule or even outcome. Procurement does not, however, relate only to buying materials – ballot boxes, polling kits etc. It also involves the procurement of services or building infrastructure. In terms of services, contracting a CSO to conduct trainings or voter education, identifying and hiring specialists on short-term contracts, buying radio and TV spots – all these services must be contracted through a procurement process. In addition, many different types of infrastructure may be required, just a few examples are: furniture and refurbishment of buildings, hardware and software equipment, vehicles, communication tools and supplies. As an example, the following separate electoral activities often require a vast list of items to be procured (particularly if the election is a ‘first generation’ election following the establishment of the EMB after, for instance, a conflict):
Procurement is generally defined as “the overall process of acquiring goods, works or services, which covers all functions from the identification of needs, solicitation and selection, preparation and award of contract and administering the contract through all phases till the end of a service contract or the useful life of an asset”. This indicates that procurement is not an isolated action in time, but rather a continuous process of variable complexity which typically involves several stages, different stakeholders and parties, legal and contractual obligations and consequences. As electoral procurement often utilizes public or donor funds, Public Procurement principles apply and rules and procedures must be observed and followed to safeguard the use of such funds. Such rules will govern the complete process for procurement of goods and services as well as the resulting contracts. Procurement Challenges in Electoral AssistanceAn electoral procurement process aims at delivering all requested goods and services of the required quality, quantity and standards within the established timelines for the agreed price. An electoral procurement process may face number of different challenges:
Electoral Procurement Processes and Procedures at UNDPUNDP has, over the years, developed an extensive understanding and experience in providing technical assistance and support to the conduct of democratic elections, as part of the Democratic Governance practice area. A key support area is the procurement of electoral items, ranging from ballots and ballot boxes, to ink, stationery, and lately, biometric voter registration equipment as well as services. UNDP has recently increased its focus on the crucial pre-polling period of planning and budgeting, which also reflects an increasing concern over how public funds are managed in general; recognising that the procurement of electoral material and services is one of the most expensive parts of an electoral budget. Procurement in UNDP is guided and must be conducted in accordance to specific principles, processes, procedures and best practices applying at all levels from strategy to operation. For instance, in UNDP electoral assistance projects, a competitive tendering process must be undertaken unless detailed outlined in the ProDoc, including a separate budget line and supportive proposal, and then vetted by UNDPs LPAC.8 Such process will be in any case guided by specific procedures and rules. Similarly to other entities conducting public procurement, UNDP uses principles and procedures that help in streamlining the procurement processes, mitigating risks, ensuring optimal quality of the process and the result. Procurement Principles of UNDPThe main principles which guide UNDP procurement in general and for extension apply to any UNDP procurement project in relation to electoral processes are: Similar procurement principles, guidelines and practice are observed in other major International Organisations. For example, the EU procurement directives determine how contracts should be awarded for public works, supplies and services. They set rules for competitive tendering procedures, open up the EU’s public market to competition, prevent ‘buy national’ policies and promote the free movement of goods and services. They aim to foster quality, transparency and fairness. Member States have implemented the EU Procurement Directives in national law. The World Bank similarly focuses on nondiscrimination between bidders, transparency of procurement proceedings, economy of government contracting, effectiveness of procurement processes and accountability of both the private and public sectors. UNDP Procurement ProcessesIn general, public procurement differs from procurement amongst private entities in the formality and measures applied to guarantee the observance of the governing principles, as listed above in the case of UNDP. For an easy overview, the following chart outlines the major steps applicable to UNDP, but it also reflects generally for any public procurement. Strategic analysis and procurement plan: Identifying needs and developing a strategic approach to the procurement thereof through appropriate and timely planning are key elements to successful procurement, regardless of whether it is goods and/or services. Early and detailed planning should ideally address challenges in procurement and facilitate efficient, effective, and transparent procurement. Next chapter is dedicated to this fundamental step of strategic planning in procurement. In accordance with the procurement plan and strategy, the procurement action will initiate with a request being defined through Technical Specifications (for Goods and Equipment) or Statement of Works (SoW for Works) or Terms of Reference (ToR for Services). In practical terms, this is typically prepared and finalized with the involvement of procurement personnel and approved, including the allocation of dedicated funding being assured. Thereafter a method of procurement or a modality by which to solicit offers for the required goods, works and/or services must be selected depending on the nature and value/size of the project and its procurement elements. Methods of solicitation in UNDP, for example, are 1) Requests For Quotations; 2) Invitations To Bid; 3) Requests For Proposals; and 4) Local Shopping. Such methods involve different levels of formality, complexity and process. They can also target different scopes of supply markets, being the process based on either open international competition, limited international competition or local and/or national competition. The tender (bidding) period initiates with the issuance/ publication of the Solicitation documents, which will include among other sections, the corresponding instructions to bidders, terms and conditions, technical specifications or TORs/SOWs, price schedule, and evaluation criteria. Also essential aspects as technical, commercial and qualification documents to be provided; quantities, terms of delivery and conditions are detailed, contributing to minimizing risks and ensuring quality. Once the bidding period closes, bids received will be correspondingly opened and handed over to procurement staff for evaluation. UNDP defines Evaluation of Bids, as “The process of assessing offers in accordance with the established evaluation method and evaluation criteria, with a view to obtain best value for money for the organisation. The process needs to be conducted in a fair and transparent manner to ensure equal treatment of all bidders”. Evaluation results in the selection of supplier/s considering the specified evaluation criteria and based on procurement principles including best value for money. A Contract or Purchase Order can be awarded to the selected supplier/s only following internal approval from the corresponding contract committees. If necessary negotiations may be conducted with the selected supplier to finalise matters before a contract or purchase order is issued. Contract Administration or Management is often an ignored but important stage of the procurement process to ensure that the time, cost and quality criteria are met. This will involve monitoring and liaison as necessary with the supplier and end user to ensure that all parties in a contract fully understand and fulfil their respective obligations. Procurement Around the Electoral Cycle Strategy and PlanningProcurement should be understood and treated as a managerial discipline running through all parts of the project management rather than simply as an administrative undertaking. Procurement planning should include the development of a procurement strategy, plans and risk analysis from the early project formulation phase and address the identified challenges in electoral procurement. Electoral procurement strategyFor each procurement project a procurement strategy must be defined, intended to ensure that all relevant aspects are covered during the process to be conducted, starting with the selection of a procurement method to asset disposal considerations. In short, a procurement strategy should involve the following issues:
Electoral Procurement PlanningA full integration of procurement planning into the programme design phase is essential for an electoral assistance project. A joint planning process between programme and operational staff, allows for the necessary understanding of procurement requirements, the market and associated risks. During project formulation, procurement plans should be developed in line with and operationalizing the corresponding procurement strategy, including thorough discussion and accomplishment of the following: Procurement planning also means that key objectives, timeframes, roles and responsibilities are clearly identified and operationalized in the plan. Procurement plans, like operational plans and budgets, are dynamic documents that need continuous updating through the project, in order to reflect changes and address any new challenges that may arise. As shown in the figure, planning represents the highest savings potential of the procurement process, as the earlier we find ourselves in the process the more we can influence costs, quality and timelines. Therefore, appropriate planning at the start of the process contributes to timely procurement and a better allocation of resources, avoiding the risks of unjustified higher costs due to late action, and without compromising established regulations or quality levels. If procurement has not been planned well in advance – and all identified risks been mitigated - it often leads to rushed processes and eventually undesired procurement outcomes, delays or non-performances. Procurement should ensure that the solicitation of offers is timely, purchases are cost effective and materials are delivered on time as per required quality. In relation to this, procurement officers should be encouraged to develop the necessary understanding of supply markets through market research, and include such factors and their interrelations in the corresponding procurement plans. Time, Cost and Quality, the same pillars that define “best value for money”, are crucial factors to be carefully considered when planning procurement of electoral materials as well. Each of them interrelates and influences the other two, resulting in a matrix of relations which needs to be factored in from the start, at planning stage. First, timing is an essential factor in electoral procurement as it affects the complete project implementation, the pricing and total costs, the credibility of the electoral process, and ultimately the results. Here, timing is not only considered as delivery time but also the time needed for further inland distribution, especially when goods are consolidated from all over the world, as well as time needed for mobilization of staff and preparedness. Major system enhancements — e.g. new IT systems and/or voter registration systems — should aim to start as early as possible in the post-election period to maximise the time for testing, procedural development, training, cultural acceptance, as well as durable and institutionalized adoption of the solution. All these will have a great impact on the sustainability of the solution. Secondly, in relation to costs and pricing, it is worth to note that in the case of electoral processes a considerable part of the materials sourced for may be low-tech and relatively easy to produce, hence low cost “a priori”. However, the urgency and need for expedited response and extreme consolidation capacity make that for certain usual items in elections only a limited number of specialised suppliers that can respond under such circumstances exist. When timelines are tight, the buyer becomes highly dependent on suppliers, while suppliers must deploy more resources and effort to respond, all in all potentially resulting in dramatic increases in their prices. Later Part 2 provides a complete overview on budgeting and issues related to costs. Last but not least, quality requirements need to be factored in the procurement plan, as they determine major aspects including what is to be sourced, where it can be sourced, the appropriate methods, etc. The overall implementation of the project will highly depend on having procured the right items for the job, i.e. the right quality in broad meaning. In terms of quality issues then, procurement plans should consider for example the implications of the quality level/standards required on the range of available products/equipment and responsive suppliers; interrelations with cost and time, i.e. the higher the quality requirement the more that prices and timelines tend to increase; considerations in terms of necessary testing; considerations on alternative solutions; and quality specifications such as materials, sizes, performance, standards, in order to minimize involved risks. Technical Specifications and their Role in the Process: Solicitation, Evaluation and TestingTechnical Specifications, as the principal means to define the procurement requirement, deserves special attention for its important role in procurement, especially for complex equipment and new technologies. In short, the specification is the “heart” of the procurement transaction as it: Specifications in the case of goods should involve most importantly all technical/physical details, complemented as necessary by functional and performance specifications, defining the purpose and capacities of the item. It is important to not limit specifications for goods to only physical details, especially when procuring equipment, new technologies and complex systems. In addition, specifications should be stated in a generic manner, avoiding the use of brand or trade names as far as possible. In the case of services, requests are mainly defined based on functional and performance criteria, being the principal specifications to use for services. For example, requests for services should provide background and objectives, the terms of reference (ToR) or Statement of Works required (SoW); quality standards; the qualifications and experience of consultants required; time period; deliverables/output; milestones and reporting; provisions for monitoring and evaluation, etc. Specifications, wherever possible should use internationally accepted Standards to provide a recognized and measurable reference for compliance, remove uncertainty and provide a clear benchmark the suppliers should meet. A typical use of standards is in relation to quality. Quality refers to the perception of the degree to which the product or service meets the customer’s expectations. It actually has no specific meaning unless related to a specific function and/or object, as quality is a perceptual, conditional and somewhat subjective attribute. Therefore, using established and specific standards helps in clarifying what is the exact level of quality requested. In UNDP electoral procurement activities where typically there is an international basket fund electoral assistance project managed by UNDP, (UNDP conducting the procurement under UNDP procurement procedures, in support to an EMB), the technical specifications should be developed at the earliest stage possible within the project and jointly by UNDP and the EMB. It is absolutely necessary in this context that the final technical specifications are agreed and signed off by the EMB before the procurement request is issued to the suppliers. This approach ensures involvement, agreement and adoption of the solution by the beneficiary – the EMB, which is part of the process. The signed-off technical specifications form the backbone from which the evaluation criteria are established. Attempting to draw up such evaluation criteria in the absence of a pre-established, signed-off, technical specification can be troublesome. For example, evaluators might disagree on what criteria should be used and what is each one’s relative importance. Absence of clear and agreed specifications will prevent development of proper offers from suppliers and complicate evaluation, the supplier selection phase and after-delivery stages. The following points illustrate this: In addition, where no efforts have been made towards appropriate definition of specifications, standardisation of practices and early establishment of criteria in the process, procurement has faced risky situations of vendor lock, where the vendor may influence to define the specifications, limiting competition and eventually developing a monopoly type situation. There are additional advantages when a technical specifications document is drawn up and it forms an integral part of the procurement process and order placement. For example, ideally it should be possible to fully test a product’s conformance before sign-off and deployment. In practise however this is not always feasible. For example, the specifications for a biometric voter registration kit may include the criteria of registering at least 10,000 voters, as well as detecting, via fingerprints (or a fused algorithm of fingerprints and facial recognition) any attempt to register a person more than once on the same kit. Therefore, we should then register 10,000 different people as voters while occasionally testing the duplicate voter registration functionality. In reality, however, a more reduced number of mock voters are registered during the test sessions and based on that functionalities are tested. Following this example, in case that during implementation kits are discovered not to adhere to the specifications despite tests were considered passed, supplier selected and offered equipment is signed-off for conformity, then the purchaser has the recourse to request the supplier to meet the established specifications as per solicitation documents. Solicitation documents typically form an integral part of the contract, and therefore they become legally binding once signatures are stamped as contract being accepted by both parties. Stakeholder Interactions and CommunicationThroughout the project, but especially in the initial planning stages, good communication between the programme and operations components of the project is vital.10 All programme staff -- election operations, training, voter education etc – must be clear early on their requirements. Coordination between UNDP representatives should inform and agree with the EMBs and the donors on the procurement requirements that must be followed. Interaction occurs in electoral procurement processes typically as representatives from EMBs are encouraged to participate in evaluation processes conducted by UNDP, as observers. Participation seeks to ensure EMBs provide the necessary technical inputs and are familiar with the goods or services offered. Nevertheless, if any EMB requests participation as a full evaluation team member, i.e. with voting rights, the request must be authorised by UNDP, when UNDP is the responsible and accountable procuring entity. In such cases, the composition of the evaluation panel shall be in accordance to UNDP rules and regulations. International and local rules & legislationEMBs in developing countries are not always regulated by the rules that multinational organisations such as UNDP have developed and honed over decades. But many of UNDP’s procurement principles can ideally be transferred to the EMB for sustainability. National partners should be involved in, and familiar with, UNDP’s procurement process. First, this enhances transparency and shared ownership – national partners will also feel responsible for selected goods and services. Second, it assists the EMB’s staff in familiarizing themselves with UNDP procurement principles, which are usually also relevant to any national public procurement rules the EMB must follow once direct UNDP procurement support has ended. However, the compatibility of UNDP, EC and international procurement principles with any local procurement regulations that the EMB will have to comply with should also be kept in mind – especially when the EMB takes ownership of the procurement systems. Even if the principles are similar, discrepancies between the procedures required by national legislation and those required by UNDP and the EC can be significant. International and local marketsA commonly faced challenge in applying International Public Procurement principles, which also affects the interaction between stakeholders, lies in ensuring the most cost effective and efficient procurement process while at the same time fostering the development of local markets for electoral supplies/goods. Procurement has to be undertaken on the basis of above-mentioned principles, i.e. ensuring transparent competition, achieving value for money and mitigating procurement risks. UNDP procurement rules require international competition (for processes of volume above a certain threshold) and unfortunately this does not always support the development of the local market or the capacity of national partners. Yet, in some cases, overall development objectives can influence the procurement strategy. For example, occasionally a project may waive the requirement for international competition for some products so as to support the local economy/markets and build local capacities. However, a decision like this would be contingent to a number of internal approvals in the case of UNDP, and more in general should be based on a country-specific risk analysis, proper planning and a timely start to the procurement process. Risk and feasibility studies may reveal though that a certain item is not available from local sources. For example, digital mobile registration kits may not be available on the local market, or there may not be facilities to print ballots with sufficient security features. Even other materials, like stationary items, that are available locally are often required in such large quantities, or as part of polling kits with other items that cannot be bought locally, so that local procurement may not be feasible. In all cases the comparative importance of using the local market must be determined at the outset of the project and ideally included in the overall country program and in the procurement strategy. It must be noted that equipment internationally procured could be costly to maintain (purchase of spare parts, purchase of additional units, servicing, etc.) independently by an EMB, which needs to be taken into consideration for technologic equipment, for example, when defining the scope of the technical specifications, technical support, guarantee and after sales services. For instance, in Afghanistan, there were strong imperatives to use the local market to stimulate Afghan business as part of reconstruction and recovery efforts. As a result, the electoral assistance project’s procurement plan involved local contractors and service providers to the extent possible within the UNDP rules that require competitive international bidding. In Afghanistan this involved a partnership with an international NGO, who trained Afghan businesses on UNDP procurement rules and how to tender for UNDP contracts. Management Arrangements and Types of EngagementUNDP has different management arrangements, units and tools to help with the procurement process in support to EMBs. The following is a short introduction to these topics. The choice of implementation modality assigns the policies and procedures to be followed when implementing UNDP-supported programmes and projects. UNDP can arrange for its support to programmes/projects in one of the following four ways, using the following implementing partners (or institutions): UNDP will always continue to pursue national capacity development under DEX/DIM which is the default modality in electoral assistance. However, UNDP can, if it deems it necessary, engage with other implementation partners under DEX/DIM. The use of ‘implementing partners’ is initially identified during the formulation of the project. Upon the appropriate implementation modality, the implementing partner to undertake the programme/project arranges for the procurement of inputs and is fully responsible for further implementation in compliance with international practices. Regardless of whether management arrangements are fully DEX/DIM or partly NEX/NIM, UNDP can engage NGOs/CSOs for specific sub-components in three possible ways: In short, if a UNDP project is identifying an NGO/CSO as an implementing partner, this is a programming decision made on the basis of a vetting process/recommendations of UNDP’s LPAC (Local Project Appraisal Committee) at the project formulation stage. Whilst, if the NGO/ CSO is a contractor of a UNDP project, this is a procurement decision made later on the basis of a competitive bidding exercise. Finally, UNDP can fund, through grants, proposals prepared and submitted by CSOs. This modality is different from contracts as it provides an opportunity to CSOs to design proposals themselves, in the form of micro-capital grants up to $150,000. Centralized Procurement Support within UNDPOrganisations, especially if highly decentralized as it is UNDP in terms of programming and operations, may largely benefit from maintaining specific support functions at central level. In the case of UNDP procurement, this is achieved through UNDP/PSO (Procurement Support Office) Global Procurement Unit (GPU), which provides support and conducts procurement on behalf of UNDP COs for strategic or capacity-related reasons. PSO GPU focuses only on UNDP Practice Areas, being Electoral Procurement and Assistance a major one. Advantages experienced from such set up are visible in terms of results: streamlined and quality-assured procurement of complex items and equipment or in high risk situations. For that, there are a number of factors that directly contribute to GPU’s capacity to provide so, including: Regarding the type of support functions proving suitable to perform at a central office, in the case of GPU in support to electoral processes are:
Functions above and benefits from a central support office become more value adding and useful as the more experiences are achieved. Accumulated experience and knowledge from a wide range of projects including various Country Office different election systems, different technical solutions, and different political, institutional and security landscapes, becomes a key asset to effectively provide quality and expert services to UNDP. Another aspect facilitated by the existence of a central support office is the production of statistics and cross-organisational analysis of demand factors and markets’ responses, such as product trends and procurement volumes, among others. In terms of volumes and products, how does electoral procurement look currently from a central support office? As per data from PSO GPU procurement, the below illustration shows which items represented during the period the main expenditures overall. Among them, it is remarkable the volume that biometric registration equipment and technology represents, being by large the product group that concentrates most of the cost. This confirms a trend towards an increasing use of biometric/digital registration technology, and of overall budget expenditure around this highly costly technology investment. Should a similar overview be established today, the commodity expenditure volumes would confirm even further such trend, with approximately 10 African countries currently introducing biometric civil/voter registration technology, including Zambia, Kenya, Benin, Togo, DRC, Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, etc. (The graphic below includes only 2 countries at that time). Finally, support from central office shall include at the top of the priorities longer term focus and activities, as continued resources development and coordination at institutional level. With regards to this fundamental aspect, UNDP PSO GPU is part of the Joint ECUNDP Task Force on Electoral Assistance collaborating and participating regularly in joint EC-UNDP formulation missions with an operational focus, workshops and other initiatives within the field of electoral assistance. CASE STUDY: The Cross-Institutional Strategists Process in ZambiaThe recent example of Zambia illustrates a case of a cross-institutional joint strategizing process. This included an early analysis of technical specifications, market research, testing and validation of various kinds of biometric registration kits, and an analysis of associated risks to the process. All this took place even before the procurement planning phase. The process was facilitated by the Joint EC-UNDP Task Force which undertook a number of missions in Zambia during 2008 and 2009. The missions, aimed at electoral assistance project formulation and identification covering the 2009-2012 electoral cycle in Zambia, included the following activities: The procurement process was conducted by UNDP PSO GPU, in support to the UNDP Zambia office. Specifications development and bidding period took place during the last quarter of 2009, arriving the last kits to Lusaka in May 2010. Zambia is thus among one of the most promising case studies both in terms of the potential integration of the civil register and the voter register in a seamless manner, and also for the related programme/operational/procurement planning. A Tool for Efficiency in UNDP Procurement: Long Term AgreementsLong Term Agreements (LTAs) are framework agreements maintained with one or more suppliers for a certain commodity, service, or group of them for a period of up to 3 years typically. The purpose of establishing Long Term Agreements (LTAs) includes among others: UNDP/GPU maintains LTAs with several expert suppliers for a vast range of strategic and essential electoral materials typically required. The main focus of LTAs in the past has been to cover commonly procured items for manual registration, following past trends. Materials requested are in most cases highly diverse, requiring consolidation and special packing/integration for later distribution. This typically involves complex logistics. Electoral related materials covered by LTAs include items such as ballot boxes and seals, voting booths, indelible ink, registration/polling kits, IT equipment, power supplies and freight forwarding services. Most of these goods are not normally available locally and therefore covered through global LTAs. Recent needs assessments, mapping exercises, analysis on conducted procurement and feedback from field missions, show a trend towards higher technological solutions, e.g. using Optical Mark Reader (OMR) methodology or introducing comprehensive digital biometric voter registration solutions. The strategic focus for the immediate future is thus to increase the scope of procurement tools, such as LTAs/prequalification lists, etc. to include items of higher level of technology, higher production complexity and higher security requirements. Another potential area of expansion for procurement tools and agreements is consultancy services in the field of elections, for example provision of support and training for domestic observers; training of political parties on voter registration and polling procedures, etc.; media support and monitoring services; and support to civic and voter education services. Nonetheless, tendering processes will continue to be routinely launched due to the different needs and individual character of each project complexity, volume, promoting local involvement, etc. Costs and Budgeting for Electoral ProcurementCosts of elections include costs incurred in undertaking activities in support of the functions of the electoral cycle – including among others voter registration, boundary delimitation, civic and voter education, professional development and training, voting operations, result tabulation and transmission of results, audits etc. Substantial sums are spent on the procurement of goods and services in support of these activities. The most expensive type of elections are ‘first generation’ elections carr ied out in post-conflict countries or in newly formed States. The most expensive activities typically relate to the setting up of the election administration and its territorial structure (the so called “securitisation” of the elections), the first voter registration exercise of eligible voters from new, the procurement and distribution of election materials, the recruitment and training of inexperienced staff, the development of an initial stakeholders’ capacity, extensive voter information and education campaigns. Other relevant costs that might have a big impact on the budget are transportation (including vehicles, boats, helicopters, charter planes) and security, especially in relation to the specific electoral event. In some extreme cases like Afghanistan and Iraq, these costs might reach almost 50% of the budget. Second or third generation elections might still incur high implementation costs related to, for example, higher voter registration costs and systematic improvements to existing technology but in general terms, cost reductions should arise over time due to improvements in planning and training, and the re-use of equipment (polling station kits and the like). Ideally, a country should aim to bring its electoral costs down from one electoral cycle to the subsequent one. The reduction might be expressed as a percentage of the total costs of the previous election, such that cumulative reductions will enable national appropriation of the total costs. However, there are many relevant logistical (e.g. security concerns, geographical extension of the country, weather conditions) and technical/political factors (e.g. electoral systems and voter registration systems) that might keep costs high. Other key operational decisions to be taken by the EMB can considerably affect the electoral budget, such as the decision to increase security features to be applied to ballot papers (increasing design and printing costs), or to increase the level of technology to be introduced from new. Procurement costs constitute a bulk of electoral budgets. Tracking the costs of procurement and establishing a well-functioning budget, however, are complex tasks. While the price of the goods and services to be bought can be well-known, procurement officers need to take into account less visible costs related to, for example, acquisition, installation, maintenance, storage and disposal. These costs also include training of electoral staff using technology, and consequences that can occur if training has been poor. Hidden costs equally include supervision (operational and technical). Consecutive electoral cycles need to be taken into consideration when estimating the following distinctive costs in the budget:
These are all costs which impact sustainability and constitute the so called ‘Total Cost of Ownership’ (TCO). Erroneously, often only purchase price is taken into account in assessing value for money. Cost effectiveness, involving direct and indirect costs as mentioned above, need to be well understood. At the same time TCO may be difficult to quantify, where “Creative” TCO calculations are also a possible source of tender manipulation and inflation of prices. Applying common sense – especially in cases of big discrepancies – can help. Risk ManagementRisk assessment is carried out in order to predict possible problems and to identify their likely sources with the primary objective of preventing such problems from arising in the first place. Risks need to be identified, analyzed, quantified and prioritized. Risks can be grouped in two categories - both of which need to be taken into account in the procurement plan. Endogenous risks are risks that are largely within the control of the organisation. Examples are poor procurement planning, poor contract management, inadequate forecasting procedures etc. Exogenous risks, on the other hand, are risks that are largely outside the control of the organisation such as the risks of weather, military activities, political activities etc. These risks require contingency planning. Risk assessment requires careful and systematic analysis of endogenous and exogenous factors that may influence the smooth implementation of a well-defined procurement plan. It provides an important basis for risk management at the subsequent stage. Based on the reasons above, and the fluid nature of election budgets, it is thus immensely important to include, as possible, contingency line items in the budget. The most commonly experienced challenges in electoral procurement preparations, which increase the risks of the process relate to: decisions on implementation methodologies; development of technical specifications and terms of reference; time constraints; insufficient budgets for procurement needs; and national ownership and capacities. Here are some examples: Contingency planning is to have a reserve for when something not under our control goes wrong. Some examples of risks requiring contingency planning in the ICTs area include:
Appropriate Technologies and ICTs for DevelopmentAppropriate technology refers to technology applications designed with special attention towards environmental, ethical, cultural, social and economic aspects of the community it is intended for. With these goals in mind, appropriate technology usually requires fewer resources, is easier to maintain, has a lower overall cost and a decreased impact on the environment. The term is also often utilized to describe suitable simpler technologies in developing countries and emerging democracies that can most effectively achieve the intended purpose in a specific location. Thus, taking the level of development into account, the term therefore is usually used in two ways:
Information and Communication Technologies for Development (ICT4D) refers to the application of ICTs within the field of international socioeconomic development. In this case, ICT4D aims to apply information technologies to alleviate poverty, and ICTs can be applied to directly benefit the disadvantaged population, or in an indirect sense where the ICTs assist governments (supported by non-governmental organisations) in order to improve the socio-economic conditions in a given country. Therefore, examples of appropriate technologies in ICTs are, for instance, mobile phones, which reach a wide geographical coverage. In a similar vein, e-mail and web-access provides rather inexpensive services through the utilization of cooperative computer networks that can run wireless ad hoc networks. For remote areas, satellite internet access is more expensive but has the advantage of operating on a higher speed and increases connectivity. Types of initiatives in relation to ICT4Dev are:
Introduction of ICTs in Electoral ProcessesAny effort to make electoral assistance more effective must also tackle the issue of the increasing use of technology in electoral processes. The accelerating development of ICTs applications available for electoral purposes and the appeal that such applications have for partner countries’ EMB are factors to be considered by all EMBs, development agencies, electoral assistance providers and practitioners. ICTs have already dramatically changed the way elections are conducted in many developed countries. This process is likely to continue and affect more and more emerging democracies, regardless of their level of preparedness to introduce such applications, and despite the fact that the cost implications can be enormous. It seems that post-conflict and emerging democracies, in particular, are making, with donor funds, the biggest leaps in technology, with sometimes serious deficiencies in sustainability. There is a great demand from partner countries, in which suppliers of ICTs solutions often play a role, to development agencies to invest in ICTs applications for electoral processes, which should consider the level of capacity already attained by the respective EMB. Among others, recent examples are Benin, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Togo, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, DRC and Nigeria. The biggest challenge is how to ensure a sustainable, appropriate, cost effective and transparent use of technology, particularly in postconflict elections, and in fragile and emerging democracies. There is no fixed solution that can be applicable everywhere: different situations require different solutions. As a general rule, the level of technological upgrades suitable for a given partner country should always be directly related not only to the capacity, but also to the trust and independence enjoyed by its EMB. These elements – trust and independence – are decisive to the acceptance of the use of ICTs by the public and, as a consequence, influence the level of trust in the electoral process. Provided that technologies are legally supported, operationally appropriate, accurate, cost-effective, timely implemented, transparent and sustainable, they can build credibility by improving the speed and efficiency of the electoral process. However, too much attention to technology applications may divert the EMBs from other important matters and may drain development agencies’ or EMB budgets. Costs associated with purchasing and distribution, system defects, poor design or testing may leave development agencies captive to increasing costs in order to save what they have already invested in. There is a need to “skill up” staff to implement sustainable systems, and this may not be easy given the short timetables that are often involved. Finally, undue influence in favour of one solution or another may be exerted by interested vendors or even by development agencies who wish to introduce a technology similar to the one in use in their own country. Also, it might be so that political groups in power view the use of technology as the ultimate and the most effective method to control the electoral process. Within this framework of possibly conflicting interests, EMBs, development agencies, practitioners, academics and electoral assistance providers have an important role to play in influencing the technological choices to be adopted in a given electoral process, so that it meets the appropriate needs of the country. Added conflicting interests appear when developing technical specifications, validation testing, allocating budgets and deciding on available timelines for appropriate implementation. Guiding Principles for Procurement of ICTs Applications for Electoral ProcessesBest practices in the use of ICTs in elections are still developing. However, drawing on recent experience of election practitioners, the ACE project identifies several guiding principles for the adoption and use of ICTs in an electoral context.21 When an EMB considers introducing and procuring technology, these principles provide a useful starting point. They can help to establish and maintain public confidence in the electoral process. These guiding principles are: 1. Take a holistic view of the new technologyTechnology is just a tool and therefore it is not an end in itself. When technology is applied to any activity related to electoral administration and elections, it is important to consider carefully the electoral context in which the technology is used. For example, if technology is being considered for vote counting, the guiding principles that apply to vote counting also apply to the technology. It is also good to keep in mind that electoral processes involve more than just operations and technology. They include relevant laws, regulations and guidelines, social and political contexts, the organisational culture of the body implementing the technological solution, the procedures developed to complement the technology and the training of technicians and users. 2. Consider the impact of introducing new technologiesWhen a new system is being considered to replace another, an evaluation is needed to assess the impact of the change on all stakeholders. Once the system is adopted, the transition phase needs to be carefully managed to ensure that problems do not occur and that all functions can continue to be effectively carried out. Some strategies that can be used by electoral administrators to minimize the impact of new systems, new technology and changes on electoral processes are: 3. Maintain transparency and ensure ethical behaviour while adopting new technologyTransparency – meaning openness and accountability – is a key feature for the credibility of democratic elections. An indicator of transparency can be the access afforded to electoral observers, both domestic and international, to all procedures at every stage of the electoral process. With manual processes, transparency is relatively straightforward, as the processes are usually visible and it is not difficult to provide meaningful access to observers. By contrast, with the use of some technologies it may be more difficult or even impossible for observers to testify that the outcome is correct. Electronic voting systems are one example where in some cases it can be very difficult to ensure that the vote that is registered is indeed the vote cast by the voter and, therefore, that the resulting vote count is accurate. On the other hand, the use of technology may enhance transparency once the data entry into the respective system is proved to be accurate and large quantities of data can produce meaningful reports with very few errors. It is useful to compare “micro” and “macro” perspectives when analysing the transparency of manual and electronic systems. With manual processes, transparency is relatively straightforward at a micro level. For example, observers or party agents can easily observe operations in a paper-based voting station, and compare results in that station to those published centrally. However, a macro-level perspective is more difficult. Results are not immediately available and there are no assurances that unobserved voting stations that haven’t been observed directly are presenting accurate results. In contrast, electronic systems can facilitate transparency at the macro-level. For example, electronic systems can allow for results to be easily generated almost immediately after polling stations close, with results for the entire country tabulated and presented at different regional levels all the way down to individual stations. But one downside of electronic systems is that an observer may not always be confident that the vote cast by the voter is indeed the resultant vote counted at the end of the process. If a random sample of the equipment is tested and found to be accurate, however, then an observer can reasonably assume that the rest should behave similarly. Whether an electronic system is observed or not it will behave the same way. By contrast some argue that a manual process may be affected by whether or not it is observed. For example, voting station staff may pay more attention to adhering to rules and regulations and accurately counting the votes while they are being observed, and less so if left to their own devices. Knowing that a small percentage of voting stations observed operated correctly does not necessarily extrapolate to the remaining percentage of unobserved stations. With the use of technologies, transparency may be achieved in different ways depending on the technology. This may involve the use of techniques, such as the creation of audit trails, creation of log files, code verifications, digital signatures and compilation checks, among others. As a result, the skills needed by observers of electoral processes using various technologies, may be completely different than those needed to observe manual processes. To ensure transparency, the election management body may seek the assistance of specialized experts or auditors able to verify the accuracy of their systems and to provide special training to observers. In addition, auditing the implementation of technology is required. External audits are recommended. Regarding issues of transparency and trust, EMBs are expected to follow appropriate ethics when implementing new technology. For instance, when choosing technology suppliers, EMBs should ensure that the tendering process is fair and open, without favouritism or corruption, and that all government purchasing procedures applicable to the selection of technology are followed. When buying hardware and software, EMBs should ensure that proper licenses are obtained. Apart from the legal and ethical issues with using unlicensed or unregistered software, users also run the risk of not being notified of known bugs, software fixes or upgrades. Antivirus software should be used for laptops and desktop computers. A complication is that most antivirus software programmes will not update their virus definition files without an internet connection. This poses a serious problem for laptopbased kits deployed to remote regions without internet access. 4. Consider the security issues related to the new technologyComputer systems used for elections must include high levels of security. Unauthorised persons must be prevented from accessing, altering or downloading sensitive electoral data. Demonstrable security levels are another way of ensuring that election IT systems are transparent and trustworthy. Various mechanisms exist to provide for computer security. These include password protection, encryption, verification programmes and physical isolation. 5. Test the accuracy of results produced by the use of technologyAccuracy is vital to the credibility of an election, particularly for voters’ lists, vote recording, vote counting and the reporting of election results. To ensure that technological systems are trustworthy, there must be ways to test and verify that data is recorded properly and that the manipulation of this data produces accurate outputs. System accuracy may be tested by randomly entering known data into the system and verifying that the resulting outputs are correct. In addition, for voting systems, a test should be performed to verify that the same set of data processed through several randomly chosen, similar but independent systems produces the same results. On the whole, it should be expected that accuracy increases as new and improved technologies are adopted. 6. Ensure privacyElectoral computer systems often contain sensitive personal data for large numbers of individuals, which can include names, addresses and other personal details. Many countries have privacy laws and policies that place restrictions on access to personal information, under the general principle that every person has the right to personal privacy. If a person’s privacy is invaded by improper use of electoral data, both the person and the respect accorded to the electoral process may suffer. Accordingly, security features in electoral computer systems should take account of the need to protect the privacy of personal data. Audit trails can be built into systems containing personal data to track and monitor which individuals have accessed or modified personal data and to prevent any unauthorised invasion of privacy. 7. Voter privacy in electronic voting/internet votingConflicts arise when an electoral IT system needs to ensure that a person that voted is a citizen, has the right to vote, and did not vote more than once. To ensure this security, the system should know the identity of the voter. But the system should not, however, know how the voter voted. There are solutions for these issues, but EMB’s and voters need to be educated on these solutions. EMBs need proof that the electoral IT system ensures a valid voting process, and the voter needs to be ensured of his voting privacy. 8. What services are to be provided by the technology?Elections are largely about providing a service for its clients, the voters. When choosing a new technology, the level of client service, including the ”ease of use and voters’ satisfaction”, as well as how the technology is perceived by its users’, needs to be a priority consideration for the EMB in order to ensure that the credibility of the electoral process is not jeopardized. There are a number of strategies that can be adopted to reduce users’ unrealistic expectations or suspicion, and in order to ensure trust. There should be: 9. Ensure inclusivenessWhere a technology with impact on internal and/or external users is being adopted, it is advisable to organize a consultation process with those users or their representatives to ensure that their needs are met and that they are satisfied that the new system is acceptable and reliable. It is important to provide sufficient information to users to enable them to feel included in the process and therefore increase the likelihood that the new technology will be successfully implemented. Since election technology has the potential to directly affect the political process, it is important to engender a sense of ownership in its users, much more so than might be considered for other government systems. In addition, access and equity considerations should be taken into account when adopting new technology to ensure that people with special needs are included. 10. Consider the technology cost-effectivenessTherefore, before making a commitment to implement new technology, it is important to determine whether it is financially viable, by getting a complete account of all likely costs and savings, namely: In addition, carrying out the following studies might also prove useful: These considerations and the results of these studies can help to identify additional functions, benefits and user satisfaction to be provided by the technology under consideration. These considerations can also help to provide a realistic estimate of the expected costs or savings needed for a thorough evaluation of the proposed technology’s cost/efficiency ratio. This, in turn, can help determine whether the technology is worthwhile, viable and affordable. Relatively minor improvements may not justify the extra cost and by the same token, if a low-cost, low-tech solution is available and it is acceptable for the specific task, there may not be a need to implement a proposed high-cost, high-tech solution. Whenever possible, the expected life-span of the technology should also be determined. In principle, a technology that can be re-used for more than one purpose or for more than one election is more cost-effective than one that can only be used once before it needs to be replaced. 11. Evaluate efficiencyAlthough it is often expected that a new technology is more efficient than the old one, it might not be the case in practice. It is possible to replace an efficient manual process with an inefficient automated one if the new process is not carefully thought through. When deciding to implement a new technology, it is important to ensure that the new system is more efficient than the one it replaces. One of the anticipated benefits of technology is the ability to perform accurately large complex tasks in a relatively short time compared to the time needed to undertake the tasks manually. While this may enable EMBs to reduce costs by deploying fewer staff, it may also lead to additional pressure on staff as productivity rises and more is expected of them. 12. Evaluate sustainabilityEvaluating sustainability is one of the most important criteria in the adoption of new technologies. In his 2009 report on elections, the Secretary General expressed his concern that some of the world’s poorest countries are adopting some of the most expensive technology for elections. Technology is generally expensive to acquire, but if it is sustainable, and able to be used for more than one purpose or more than one election, it can be more cost-effective in the long term. New technology may also require the use or availability of other technologies or specific infrastructures, such as communications and electrical energy networks. For example, if a country has an intermittent power supply, implementing a network of personal computers may not be the best choice. High humidity or high levels of dust or sand may also restrict the choice of appropriate technology. In general, local infrastructure must be capable of supporting a chosen technology. If it is not, it could mean that the technology being considered is not appropriate or that there is a need to upgrade the infrastructure, in which case additional costs and benefits should be carefully assessed. There is also a need to evaluate the technical and financial capacity of the electoral management body (EMB) to maintain a new system during an agreed upon or required time span. Usually, it is desirable for an adopted technology to be used for several years; therefore funds will need to be secured, not only for the initial implementation, but also for the foreseeable lifespan of the technology. These funds need to be budgeted for and guaranteed before committing to a new technology. Another aspect related to the sustainability of a new system is the availability of appropriately skilled staff to run and maintain it, either by the EMB or by outside service providers. The costs associated with keeping staff skills up-to-date and the capacity of both EMB and service providers to retain trained staff needs to also be considered. Another potential pitfall is attempting to do too much too quickly. Instead of implementing a radically new technology (compared to the existing local technology) in one step, it may be more appropriate to gradually implement change over a series of electoral events. 13. Evaluate the flexibility of the technology to adapt to new election regulationsA technology that is flexible is also more likely to be cost-effective and sustainable. It may be desirable to adopt a technology that has the potential for more than one use if this does not compromise the primary need for the technology. In cases of transitional environments, where the future of election management methods is uncertain, it is desirable to avoid purchasing technology that is highly specialised and inflexible, and to purchase instead more generic products that can facilitate the use of a wide range of applications. Another of the perceived advantages of using technology for elections is its ability to provide users with greater flexibility and more options. Therefore, procedures should be implemented to ensure that the new technology does not reduce flexibility by limiting the number of options available. 14. Ensure the legal ownership of the output of the system as well as the system itselfEMBs, Government agencies, donors and UNDP need to ensure that the product of implementation of high-tech IT systems – the databases that contain the registration details of potentially millions of citizens, remain under the control of the EMB and/or Government bodies at all times, and are accessible indefinitely regardless of the interfaces, software platforms, encryption methods or other hosting systems put in place by the vendors/suppliers of the system. EMBs and their partners should never remain permanently tied to one supplier. Scope and opportunity should always exist for the EMBs/Government agencies to “move” supplier in the future, if there is a day to day management component built into the supply contract, should the management and day to day operation of the system lead to implementation difficulties that may lead the national authorities to consider switching the managers of the system. In any case, high-tech solutions, no matter how “cutting edge” today, will eventually require upgrading, and possible re-tendering, at some point in the future. Legal advice should be employed at the outset, including at all stages of the procurement process and particularly upon contract signing, to ensure that the national authorities have the right to eventually consider “taking” the file databases in the future to a new system manager, without having to request of citizens to return to register all over again, under the system of a new supplier. ICTs and electoral integrityProcurement of electoral services and goods constitutes a major part of the organisation of elections in terms of planning, costs and implementation (purchasing and distribution). Integrity and transparency is thus essential - lack of integrity in the purchasing system may put the legitimacy of the whole electoral exercise at risk. Integrity-related risk factors: There are several measures available in order to lesson the possibility for integrity problems to arise: Voter RegistrationVoter registration is an important, and often very expensive, part of an election. Also, it is one of the areas of the electoral cycle where the influence and the application of ICTs are growing the most. Voter registration establishes the eligibility of individuals to cast a ballot. As one of the more costly, time-consuming and complex aspects of the electoral process, it often accounts for a considerable portion of the budget, staff time and resources of an election authority. If conducted well, voter registration can confer legitimacy on the process. A flawed voter registry, on the other hand, complicates electoral planning and removes an important safeguard against fraud. A voters list makes it possible to separate two of the most important functions of the election authority: verifying voter eligibility and controlling the legitimacy of the balloting process. The list may also be used in voter education, and may be provided to political parties and candidates to aid them in their campaigns. While elections may proceed without it, a voters list offers advantages that readily justify its use. By confirming that voters have met all eligibility requirements, the voters list helps confer legitimacy on the electoral process. Conversely, the legitimacy of the process will immediately be called into question if there are problems with voter registration, and particularly with the integrity of the voters list. Voter registration therefore is one of the most important tasks of election administration and there are three options to implement it:
Periodic ListA periodic register of voters, or a “periodic list,” is established for a specific electoral event, and electoral administrators do not necessarily intend to maintain or update the list for future use (although it may be used for by-elections in the period of time after its compilation and before the next occasion a periodic list is compiled). Normally the list is drawn up immediately before the election, although this need not be the case. This system is relatively expensive and time-consuming since it requires direct contact with all eligible voters before the election. It may be particularly useful where the infrastructure is lacking to maintain a continuous list, where population mobility is high or where there is opposition to the maintenance of lists of citizens by the government. The periodic list may also be preferred by quasi-governmental agencies, such as electoral management bodies or commissions, particularly as a periodic list is often “owned” by the EMB as the agency that compiles it. Continuous ListA continuous list of voters is a list that is maintained and regularly updated by the electoral administration. This system depends on an appropriate infrastructure to maintain the list. Maintenance typically involves adding the names and other relevant information of new people that satisfy the eligibility requirements (e.g. those reaching the voting age, naturalised citizens, etc.), deleting the names of those who no longer meet the requirements (e.g. through death), and altering the details of those voters whose recorded data in the voters list requires updating (e.g. through name change form marriage or change of residence). Since the continuous list is updated on a regular basis there is no need for a full or final registration drive immediately before an election (although a period is often designated for revising the list during the election campaign). A continuous list may be maintained either locally or nationally. To facilitate list updates, many election authorities form data-sharing partnerships with other government bodies. For example, when citizens change their place of residence, they may inform the tax bureau, the post office, the housing authority or the health system. In many countries with a continuous register, partnerships allow the election authority to receive regular updates of changes to these bodies’ files. This makes it possible to update the electoral register without any direct contact between the voter and the election authority. In some cases, on learning about a change of address, the election authority may send the voter a new voter registration card with a request to update and confirm the information that appears on it. Voter List drawn from the Civil RegistryA third option for registering voters is to generate the voter list from the civil registry. Civil registries are maintained, to various degrees, in many countries. Civil registries may contain a variety of information on all citizens, such as name, address, citizenship, age, marital status and identification number. In certain countries, particularly in Europe and Latin America, the voters list is produced from information contained in the national civil registry. In countries with a civil registry, a central question, as it pertains to elections, is whether the body responsible for maintaining the civil registry (often the interior ministry) should be responsible for the voters list. Some countries give the same institution responsibility for both registries; others choose two agencies, each with responsibility for one of the lists. If a civil registry is in place, producing a voters list from it is relatively efficient and costeffective. This is because the major costs are borne in the first place by the civil registry authorities. And while it is relatively expensive to maintain a civil registry, the information recorded may be used for multiple purposes, reducing the government’s overall data management costs. The major drawback of the system is its major strength. Even though the high cost may be justified, data sharing among government institutions may give rise to controversy. Concerns may be expressed about the loss, or potential loss, of privacy, particularly if the government decides to add additional data fields, or merge the registry with, for example, the tax authority’s database. If the concerns are widespread, a civil registry may be simply unacceptable despite its usefulness. Voter Registration MethodologiesThe type and sequence of registration activities vary considerably according to the specific system and methods chosen for gathering voters’ data. These methods can be divided into three broad categories based on the levels of technology currently applied to the process: Biometric systems are used to measure physical characteristics and behaviours (fingerprints, speech, face, iris and the like) with the objective of recognizing patterns to distinguish those that match closely enough to be considered identical from those that are different enough to be considered non-identical. Biometric systems have proven particularly useful in two specific segments of the electoral cycle, namely voter registration and voting operations. If Automatic Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS) technology is used during voter registration, duplicate registrations can be detected. AFIS technology refers to software applications capable of establishing the identity of an individual through fingerprints by the use of biometric functions. AFIS technology has been included in many voter registration processes in the last years, and in some cases it has been included in the legal provisions governing voter registration. Biometric systems are in fact increasingly considered to be the definitive solution to voter impersonation and multiple voting practices. They are especially popular in post-conflict countries and emerging democracies with either very limited or non-existent forms of civil registry identification, such as DRC, Togo, Guinea, Angola, Nigeria, Mozambique and Pakistan, and are under consideration in a large number of developing countries. The importance of the centralised matching function – It is imperative, for a biometric registration system to be successful, that the data for all voters is matched against all other voters to allow the system to identify all potential double registrants. Many biometric registration kits, for an additional cost, can be fitted with an inbuilt “Micro AFIS” that allows a suspected double registrant to be immediately detected by the software on the laptop computer where he or she registers more than once, i.e. in the same registration centre. As most voters that attempt to double register will do so in different registration centres, however, there is a requirement for the data on all kits to be matched against the data of all other kits in a centralised location. If there is a live (e.g. by satellite) link-up between all kits at all times during the registration process, it may be possible to “catch” a double registrant that is attempting to double register in two different registration centres when he registers at the second centre. This would be an extremely expensive method of detecting double registrants, however. If the data from all the kits is only recorded on compact disc or external memory cards and periodically delivered to the centralised data centre at various times during the voter registration process (e.g. once every week), then all data from all the biometric registrations kits will need to be merged in order to allow the technology to throw up all the suspected double registrations when the data for each voter is matched against every other voter, and therefore potential double registrants may only definitely be caught at the end of the process.23 Electoral management bodies should not underestimate the amount of time and resources that need to be allocated to the matching task, depending, particularly, on how they address the following issue. Prior to commencing the data matching, the electoral management body that decides to employ AFIS or other biometric technology will be faced with the issue of whether or not to allow the technology to definitely determine what is a double registrant, or whether such a decision, which may, in some cases, result in sanctions such as the forfeiture of the right to vote (as in Kenya), should be taken by an EMB official on presentation of a suspected double registration by the technology. Conducting a “naked eye” inspection of a suspected double registration from two digital fingerprints, however, is not an accurate way to decide on a suspected double registrant. In order to improve the accuracy of the decision, therefore, the biometric software can sometimes employ fused algorithms to match both the digital fingerprints with the facial features from the digital photos to arrive at more definitive possible duplicates. EMB staff will then be able to take a decision on what is a double registrant from the photos. Implementation of such a system, however, needs to be well planned. If, for example, 2 million voters are registered using biometric technology, then the central matching exercise will need to conduct up to 2 trillion matches. An enormous ampount of computing power is necessary for that number of matches to identify a possible, lets say, 0.001% double registrants. EMBs need to plan the manpower, the computing power and the time necessary to conduct the central matching exercise , particularly in cases where the EMB officials make the final decision on each suspected double registrant case thrown up by the system. Dealing with double registrants – Different countries and EMBs deal with confirmed double registrants in different ways. In some countries, the EMB will simply make a decision as to which of the voter’s registrations (usually the first) is considered the legitimate one, and the second and subsequent registrations will be removed from the voter lists database. In other countries such as Kenya, however, double registration is a criminal offence. The double registrant not only will lose his or her right to vote, but the details of the double registrants may be handed over to the police authorities for prosecution. The issuance of voters cards at the time of registration may complicate matters further. If the registrant has been issued with his or her voters card at the time of registration (a common practice) then the electoral management body will be faced with the challenge of either trying to recover the voters cards from the double registrants, or, which is the more usual practice, of notifying each polling centre on polling day, of the voters that registered in both that centre and other centres. This list may be required if the double registrant attempts to vote with the voter card issued by that centre. If the voter is not on the real voter list for that centre,24 and has a legitimate voter card for that centre issued during the voter registration period, then the polling staff should be instructed to check the list of double registrants to see whether the voter is a confirmed double registrant. An exhibition period, where a provisional voter register is displayed some time before the elections in order to allow voters to confirm that their details were entered correctly and lodge objections against voters who they claim are not entitled to vote at that centre (or at all), can be an excellent opportunity for the EMB to address the double registrants issue prior to polling day. Four potential intervention points to support registration are:
Case Study: AFIS in PracticeNigeria is one country in which AFIS has been used for election purposes. The EMB identified and removed millions of duplicates from the voters register based on decentralized datasets (using a number of local government areas rather than the whole country as one dataset) using AFIS. AFIS has also been used in the voter registration process in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Venezuela and electoral rolls have in previous elections been produced by Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (which has database systems including fingerprint biometrics) on behalf of the Elections Commission of Pakistan. It was also considered for the 2003 elections in Yemen to address problems with the voters register. In Yemen, the issue was not to develop a new AFIS system, but rather to explore the possibility of merging the voter register with the existing AFIS-based civil registry system. ACE Consolidated Reply: "EMBs using Automatic Finger Identification Systems (AFIS)" Voter Registration Technologies and MaterialsWhile technology could be an important tool to reduce costs and improve sustainability, the danger for EMBs, electoral assistance providers and donors is that they become hostages to vendors, who have been known to opt for technological solutions which might not be standard compliant, suitable, cost effective and/or sustainable for the partner country in the long run. An important issue is also whether the system proposed by the vendors is a proprietary system, where the security encryption algorithms or other methods used by the vendor to maintain a commercially competitive advantage are protected by the suppliers contract and thus render it impossible for the EMB or any other relevant Government body to “move” suppliers once the system has been established. In such cases, complex matters of intellectual property rights can arise, resulting in issues as to who “owns” and controls the databases that are created by the use of the technology. It is important to remember also that the “depreciation costs” are high in terms of the equipment procured and are aggravated by a failure to properly store and look after the equipment. In this context, it is convenient to study, at the identification/formulation stage, the institutional context of a given country, its capacities and the potential and synergies ICTs can offer. Another risk is the failure of the whole system due to the low quality of the collected voters’ data, failure of equipment before data has been retrieved, or mistakes in its processing during the registration updating, which can jeopardise the significant investments made in the technology. Thus, a careful feasibility and sustainability analysis covering the whole electoral cycle should be made before embarking on large scale support to “medium or high-tech” solutions. Currently UNDP is experiencing a strong interest from African countries such as Benin, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Togo, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, DRC and Nigeria in the procurement of ‘high-tech biometric voter registration kits’. The systems need to gather data via so called “mobile biometric or ID registration kits”. In general terms these kits have all of the hardware and software needed to identify eligible voters and issue them with either the voters’ cards or a proof of registration on the spot. All the components of the kits are contained in an ergonomic robust case and are: UNDP and the EC have, in last the five years, acquired a lot of experience in support of biometric voter registration processes via the different projects implemented or in the process of being implemented, such as in the Portuguese-speaking African and Asian Countries, DRC, Togo, Guinea, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Zambia, Benin, Cote d’Ivoire and Cambodia, etc. From a technical point of view, experience demonstrates that it may be sound to separate the supply of the biometric registration kits from the supply of the AFIS system, for the specific reason to have the fingerprint images and the templates meet standards that are industry-wide compliant, therefore not making one country hostage to a specific vendor and at the same time, ensuring long term sustainability. If a single vendor has provided both the biometric kits and the AFIS system, nobody can check the quality of the biometric data captured. Afghanistan example time line to establish a 15 millions fingerprint Biometric solution from the Vendor after contract with UNDP was signed Voter Registration – Project LifecycleBased on literature review and experiences in the field, the EC Study on the Use of Information and Communication Technologies in Electoral Processes (forthcoming) identifies five steps in the voter registration project lifecycle: Phase I: Project initiation and requirement gathering – During this phase, the formal request indicating the type of the project is formulated, e.g. whether it entails the creation of a new voter register or the updating of the previous one. Afterwards, the main stakeholders are identified who meet and discuss the project objectives, the expected challenges, and the main expectations in terms of deliverables and targets. A working group is established within the EMB (which may include also external actors). The working group first ensures the compliance of the project with the legal framework and the mandate of the EMB. Second, it defines and validates the operational concepts, which are presented to the stakeholders who then decide on the fate of the project. Phase II: Detailed planning – At this stage the operational plan and the preliminary budget are developed thus providing an overview over resources, timing, deliverables and milestones of the voter registration project. Elements to be included in the operational plan and the budget are, for example, training, logistics and procurement, implementation and post-implementation activities, communications, sensitization and cross-cutting issues (e.g. gender balance). The results are integrated into a single plan and budget which should be approved by the stakeholders. Phase III: Implementation – This phase involves the execution of the plans developed in Phase II. Sometimes simulations are used in order to better understand the expectations of the targeted actors. When technologies are involved in the project, it is at this stage that hardware and software are acquired on the basis of well defined technical specifications. Phase IV: Rollout and evaluation – During the rollout, the voter register is finalized. At this stage, it is critical that not only the project performance and quality indicators are fulfilled, but also that stakeholders (political parties and candidates etc.) accept the outcome. In order to evaluate the level of acceptance, metrics based on the main guiding principles are developed. The below figure provides an overview of the principles, how they can be measured as well as the degree to which they are possible to measure. Phase V: Post-implementation – At this stage the project reaches the end. Contracts and outsourced activities are terminated and the voters register is maintained between elections. Auditing of the Voter ListAuditing of voter registration is of prime interest to stakeholders of the electoral process. It provides the opportunity to understand the processes for establishing/updating voter registers as well as assessing the resulting voters register. Given the role played by voters registers in elections, several attempts have been made to standardize their auditing procedure. However, u to now, there is no systematic approach to their verification. This is in part due to the complex process leading to establishing or updating voters registers. The approach suggested to auditing voter registration is based on first assessing the process itself and later using statistical testing as a tool to collect auditing metrics (i.e. evidence) to enable interpretation of facts discovered when evaluating the registration process. The electoral cycle approach provides three entry points for the audit of voter registration processes: The Control Objectives for Information and related Technology (COBIT) represents a set of rules that facilitate the audit of an organisation’s – such as an EMB in charge of the voter registration process – internal processes. The stages of an independent COBIT-based audit process are as follows: Audit of voter registration processes entails the audit of two elements, namely the registry itself but also the procedures for its creation and/or update. Three techniques are used to this end: Case Study: Voter Registration Audit in YemenThe National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI), in collaboration with the Yemen Electoral Monitoring Network (YEMN), carried out an audit of the voter registration process in Yemen in 2008. The audit was undertaken partly as a result of distrust among the local political parties regarding the impartiality of the electoral commission and partly because of the widespread protests that occurred during the registration process. NDI and YEMN selected 13 governorates to monitor. The governorates chosen were particular in two respects: they either had disproportionately low levels of female representation in the registry and/or the number of registered voters exceeded the actual population. A 5% random sampling method was used to further select the registration centres to be monitored. In total, YEMN monitored 330 of 5620 centres (5.8%) in the 13 selected governorates. Examples of the findings of the monitors include:
Procurement of ICTs SpecialistsICTs is a highly technical and specialised field with normally high costs involved. IT Advisors, Specialists and/or Consultants should have at least a degree in an ICTs related field with adequate experience. This person(s) should have the knowledge and confidence to make decisions or advise on large ICTs investments. Experienced ICTs experts are in high demand and therefore cost more. Adequate budget and procurement and recruitment time should be allocated for ICTs person(s). In most cases, the EMB needs to approve the UNDP personnel to be recruited. In a few other cases it is the responsibility of UNDP Country Office. In both cases special attention should be given to the UNDP IT Advisors / Specialists / Consultants. Evaluation of ICTs person(s) is a demanding task and non-ICTs staff do not always recognise the qualities needed for the ToR at hand. Almost in all the cases CV’s of ICTs persons is littered with ICTs jargon and buzz words. Therefore it is recommended to make use of rosters such as the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division (UN-EAD) and the Joint EC-UNDP Task Force rosters for ICTs persons. Local vs. International CompetitionIn IT, as in many other areas, local vendors may be competitively disadvantaged against international companies that might have more experience in composing tender documents. Local vendors may be competitive, but companies who have dealt successfully with UNDP before often know how to refine their tender documents and handle the process of bidding better. Language may also be a entry barrier for local companies if the tender documents are in for example English, or not in the local language, as for example is the case of Cambodia where the language was Khmer, Afghanistan where the language was Dari or Pashto and Moldova where the language was Russian or Romanian. Most of these local markets are very small and to afford a translator is for them already a considerable investment for one process. To avoid this issue, in many cases the tender are specified “local only.” Yet in many cases the local market is very small and many vendors fail the minimum requirements of the tender. In such situations, in order not to compromise competitive requirements while still aiming at including as possible local vendors, a potential strategy is to encourage international companies to partner up with local companies. Another solution would be to host a pre-bid conference/training explaining the different required documents to the prospective vendors. The conference can for example clarify on issues related to: Minimum Standard Requirements and the Procurement ProcessAlthough a large number of ICTs standards define the minimum requirements of (for example) biometric systems exist, attention should be drawn to the fact that – in the context of electoral processes – EMBs and other national institutions, UNDP and other international development partners believe that these standards are not mandatory and therefore do not assert compliance with standards. This creates an environment which is not conducive to convergence of the procured solutions with other needs within the country, e.g. public administration. Furthermore, many EMBs, UNDP offices and other actors do not perform acceptance testing of provided solutions beforehand. These issues, which impact upon sustainability, should ideally be carefully revised in the specifications phase. As an example of how using standards can simplify long term planning, standards specified in 1984 by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Document 9303 can be used to specify the layout of the civic ID or voter card. The same standard can be used to specify photo sizes to be used on these cards. This ICAO 9303 document also specifies how the photo should look like with regards to lighting, distance, coverage, etc. This standard will ensure that future electoral cycles will have the same look and feel, same standard layout, no matter which vendor is used. This will reduce costs (same graphics design, same printing facilities, etc.) and reduce confusion with election officials on Election Day. ICAO 9303 also specifies the electronic information standards to be used on e-voter or e-citizen ID’s. ICAO also recommends that the fingerprints image should be stored in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) developed compression format called Wavelet Scalar Quantization (WSQ). This ensures that the captured fingerprints could be re-used when a new biometric vendor is selected in following electoral cycles. The WSQ standard is also the most effective compression format for fingerprints. The same goes for the photos, recommended to be stored in the JPEG 2000 (J2K) format. This will reduce storage size (and therefore costs) and ensure sustainability. The technical specifications sections of the ICAO 9303 document, Parts 1, 2 and 3, have received the endorsement of the International Organisation for Standardization as ISO Standards 7501-1, 7501-2 and 7501-3, respectively. Such endorsement is made possible by means of a liaison mechanism through which manufacturers of travel documents, readers and other technologies provide technical and engineering advice to the Technical Advisory Group/Machine Readable Travel Document (TAG/MRTD) under the auspices of ISO. Through this working relationship, the ICAO specifications have achieved the status of worldwide standards by means of a simplified procedure within ISO. The liaison mechanism with ISO has been successfully applied not only to the endorsement of new specifications for travel documents as ISO Standards but also to the approval of amendments to the specifications. Subsequent revisions to Doc 9303, Parts 1, 2 and 3, will therefore be processed for ISO endorsement in the same manner as previously. Risks involved increase even further if, in addition to not requesting compliance with practises and/or standards, EMBs choose not to perform acceptance testing of provided solutions. Because of the importance of the software component of the biometric solution, EMBs (and national authorities in charge of civil registration) should adapt common standards in procurement of software products and services as described in IEEE 12207. This standard presents the commonly accepted practices for ensuring a well-defined and persistent assurance process for acquired software. The 12207 framework describes a complete set of practices for software, which range all the way from conceptualization through retirement. This translates into the following activities: Formal acceptance of the solution includes preparation and performance of test cases, test data, test procedures, and a test environment. Inspections and audits are rigorous but they require resources and have concomitant costs. It means that when drafting the Request for Proposal (RFP) for procuring a biometric voter solution, the RFP has to be both feasible and cost justifiable. In this way, EMBs and Procurement Officers will have the adequate decision-making tools when it comes to ICTs, especially for biometric voter registration projects. Security Issues Related to New TechnologiesComputer systems used for elections need to include high levels of security. Unauthorised persons must be prevented from accessing, altering or downloading sensitive electoral data. Demonstrable security levels are another way of ensuring that electoral processes are transparent and trustworthy. Various mechanisms exist to provide for computer security. These include password protection, encryption, verification programs and physical isolation. Disaster RecoveryA voter registration process, being not only expensive but also potentially very political, may be subject to malicious attacks in some circumstances. Being that this paper mainly targets post conflict and emerging democracies, attacks on EMBs are a viable risk. This section deals with the process, policies and procedures related to preparing for ICTs continuation of normal operation after a natural or human-induced disaster. Disaster Recovery Site (DRS) is a duplication of the main IT items on the primary site for use in case of fire, sabotage or disaster. It could be in another building or on a separate premise. The operation will be able to continue using the DRS (secondary site). A thorough and well-equipped DRS could almost duplicate both the size and the cost of hardware of the primary site. It would also almost double the set-up time. Careful planning should be conducted as to what the purpose of the DRS would be. For example, is it to protect the process, the data or both? If the objective is to protect the process and the data, then enough space should be allocated to the processing workstations too. This should be budgeted from the beginning of the project. Total Solution vs. Technology TransferWith respect to services with a high ICTs content, there is a tendency to adopt methodological approaches that set the roles and responsibilities in two distinct ways: “total solutions” versus “technology transfer to the EMB.” In short, total solutions mean the provider controls the process end to end. Technology transfer to EMB means at the end of the process, the EMB is capable of repeating the process itself without external assistance. While technology transfer is indeed often desirable this is not always necessarily the case. Deliberately choosing to outsource certain systems may sometimes be more efficient than having everything run directly by the EMB. It is however important that any such outsourcing is a conscious decision based on an efficiency analysis and not the by-product of a failed technology transfer. Of course avoiding “vendor lock” must be part of such an analysis too. The EMB should also always have an in-depth understanding of and insight into and ultimate control over the outsourced services provided to them. The issue of appropriate transfer requires further study since it impacts on the project’s management, costing and sustainability. The level of the possible transfer should be factored into the specifications writing, before the solicitation documents are prepared. It is important to ensure that any technology transfer in place is directed at key employees of the EMB that form part of their permanent staffing structure. Staff temporarily employed and released on a cyclical nature (in line with electoral cycle demands) should possibly be excluded from consideration in this regard as they may not be available for employment during a future electoral cycle. Adequate budget must be provided to not only attract the required talent for these key posts but also to keep them. From a procurement perspective, these key role players (i.e., posts) should be identified and included in the knowledge transfer responsibilities in the supplier’s contract. There is also the need to be aware of approaches that advertise the use of a public-private partnership known as Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT). This is a kind of form of project financing, wherein a private company receives a concession from the Government to finance, design, construct, and operate, for instance, the production and issuance of ID cards (with a fee to be paid by end users) in the context of a civil registration. This enables the project proponent to recover its investment, operating and maintenance expenses in the project. Due to the long-term nature of the arrangement, the fees are usually raised during the concession period allowing the proponent to reach a satisfactory internal rate of return for its investment. Traditionally, such projects provide for the infrastructure (in this case biometric voter registration kits and servers) to be transferred to the government at the end of the concession period.31 (BOT) can be controversial and is not necessarily recommended when it comes to the electoral process because of the dangers of vendor lock. There may also be issues that the technology that was built and operated by the vendor becomes obsolete and requires large upgrading a shortly after the transfer. The Impact of Introducing New TechnologiesWhen a new system is being considered to replace another, an evaluation is needed to assess the impact of the change on all stakeholders. Once the system is adopted, the transition phase needs to be carefully managed to ensure that problems do not occur and that all functions can continue to be effectively carried out. These are some strategies that can be used by electoral administrators to minimize the negative impact of new systems, new technology and changes on electoral processes: A system implementation schedule can be influenced by whether there is fixed term or variable term election systems. With fixed term elections, implementation schedules can be set around a known election date while with variable term elections, new systems should ideally be in place and ready to go before the earliest likely date for the election. However, election calendars are not always set in stone and due to unforeseen activities elections could suddenly be called for in the middle of an on-going voter registration process, and EMBs may have to prepare for the use of both new and old voters cards simultaneously for casting the ballots. Change ManagementICTs projects in many countries fail not because the solution is not apt but because the aspect of change is often neglected. Implementation of new systems and procedures means that staff will find changes in their roles and in ways of conducting their business. If the issue of change is not dealt with in a sensitive and professional manner then one is likely to encounter failure in implementing new systems. It is, therefore, important that advisors to EMBs also have the skills that are required to be agents of change. Managing change refers to the making of changes in a planned and managed or systematic fashion. The aim is to more effectively implement new methods and systems in an ongoing organisation. The changes to be managed lie within and are controlled by the organisation. The purpose is to avoid knee-jerk or reactive responses and to demonstrate anticipative or proactive responses. The content or subject matter of change management is drawn from psychology, sociology, business administration, economics, industrial engineering, systems engineering, and the study of human and organisational behaviour. Creating a Voter Registry on the Basis of the Civil RegistryIn the context of voter registration processes, convergence between civil and voters’ registers is the approach toward a common processing of population and voter information in order to achieve cost effectiveness, completeness and accuracy in voters registers. It involves replacing the costly electors enumeration process by abstracting from a population register a sub-file to be used as a matrix for generating voters lists. When the properties of the population registers enable such an abstraction, both the population and voters registers are said to be “convergent”. Convergence in this instance is defined as the interlinking of population registers and voters registers. In order for the population register to be enabled to exchange information with the voters lists format, completeness and integrity must be assessed. For obvious reasons, using a population register to identify individuals eligible to vote is only as reliable as the civil register itself. If the register is outdated or full of errors, many eligible voters will not be identified, and names that should be removed from the voters list will remain. In addition, computer errors are possible when names are moved from the population register to the voters list. This problem is likely to be more pronounced when multiple databases (health, driver licenses, taxation, passports etc.) maintained by different government agencies are merged to create the voters list. Lack of reliable data in the population register will compromise the reliability of the voter registry. If the voter register after abstraction cannot be trusted, not only will there be a lack of public confidence in the register, but the register may also cause more political worries than if no data were available at all. The Overall Responsibility of the EMBNot with standing the approach of abstracting the voter registry from the civil registry, it is important that the election administration should remain responsible for generating the voters lists. There are several arrangements throughout the world where the public administration (e.g. Ministry of Interior) produces voters’ lists which are then used by the election administration. However, such arrangements are problematic. The difficulty lies in the following question: who is responsible for the quality of voters lists and their impact on the outcome of an election event? To avoid such issues, it is advisable to have a single entity in charge of both producing and using voters lists, therefore being responsible for all outcomes related to their use. Creating a civil registry on the basis of the voter registryWhilst still in an experimental phase, it is possible to build a civil register on the basis of a voters’ register. The figure below exemplifies a structured way of transforming the electoral register into a civil register over consecutive electoral cycles. A periodic voters register cannot serve as the basis for building a civil registration system since it lacks the structure enabling continuous registration of events. However, when it has been transformed into a fully-fledged permanent voters register the opportunities are open. Voter registration ought to be compulsory as voluntary registration is not conducive to complete, current and accurate vital statistics. It should be noted that the approach is not uniform throughout the country. Compulsory registration can be coupled with incentives - such as linking the possession of the voters’ card to obtain basic public administration services such as for example health, attendance to school for ones’ dependants, banking, etc.- to further enhance the reliability of the civil registry to be constructed. Once continuous voter registration activities are optimally performed, it is possible to extend the data collection component with recorded vital statistics. Challenges to the implementation of this process are many and the process needs to be carried out in a systematic manner to be in the forefront of possible setbacks. First, a wellfunctioning public administration that supports the continuous voter registration activities needs to be in place. Moreover, legislation could further support the integrity of the data by encouraging compulsory registration. Finally, the absence of good coordination between the different agencies involved (e.g. the EMB and the Ministry of Interior etc.) may result in the production of different series of vital statistics which are inconsistent. Coordination needs to take place at two levels: the data-collection level and the data processing level. Case Study: From voter registration to civil register in DRCRecently, in the DRC, as mandated by law, voter registration was successfully conducted in 2005-2006. It has resulted in a single comprehensive file containing demographic and biometric data (portrait and two index fingers) of about 25 million inhabitants from a population estimated to be 65 million inhabitants. Given a relative young population in the country, it is assumed that 38.46% of the population captured by the electoral register represents above 80% of the adult population. Therefore, the electoral register is currently used as the national identification file. In order to obtain a passport, the single document to be presented is the electoral card, making the electoral card not only a de facto national identification document but enabling the electoral register to play the role of a civil registration system. However, this approach has its limits and disadvantages. For instance:
ConclusionThe overall objective of this paper is to shed light on the main issues related to procurement of goods and services for electoral processes, with particular attention towards the procurement of goods and services related to the introduction or upgrading of ICTs in these processes (especially in relation to voter registration). The initial argument highlighted the importance of procurement planning as well as the integration of procurement plans and strategies in the programme formulation stage as an integral part of the wider electoral cycle approach. Notwithstanding the importance of these activities, the procurement planning phase has thus far arguably not received enough attention. The unawareness of procurement planning stands in stark contrast to the actual importance of and costs related to procurement issues including pilot and validation testing. As mentioned throughout the paper, any delay or shortfall in the procurement or distribution of materials could have serious implications for the rest of the voter registration or electoral schedule, thus potentially affecting the outcome of the voter registration or election, or even be the reason that the voter registration or election is not implemented at all. With a well-defined procurement plan at hand, the electoral assistance project/ programme is more likely to achieve appropriate identification of needs and strategies, analysis of associated risks and supply chain management constraints, and assessment of implementing partners’ capacity facilitating proper management arrangements and appropriate types of engagement. The footprints of the ICTs revolution are particularly strong in the electoral field: ICTs have dramatically changed the way elections are conducted not only in democratic states, but also in post-conflict states and emerging democracies. Consequently, when it comes to decide how to tackle the increasing use of ICTs in electoral processes, all stakeholders in a given electoral process, including development partners in the context of electoral assistance projects, has an important role to play in influencing the technological choices to be adopted. Being among the most crucial and expensive undertakings, as well as within area where the influence of ICTs applications is growing the most, requests of electoral assistance for voter registration processes is particularly important. More and more countries are requesting assistance to introduce and use biometric features in voter registration processes, especially using Automated Fingerprint Identification Systems (AFIS) in the hope of enhancing the sustainability and credibility of their voter registers. For successful support to technological upgrade to voter registration processes, electoral assistance providers need to acquire a better understanding of procurement planning and strategy for the purchase of goods and services for the implementation of, in particular, biometric voter registration systems. This relates essentially to procurement requirements and selection of the adequate level of technology, development of comprehensive technical specifications, appreciation of associated risks, timely procurement and an appropriate allocation of resources. When it comes to specific issues related to procurement for biometric voter registration, there are several issues that need to be confronted: Finally, there is a need to look into the total solution, build-operate-transfer methodologies versus technology transfer to the EMB. “Total solutions” mean the provider controls the process from end to end. “Technology transfer,” on the other hand, means that at the end of the process, the EMB is capable itself of repeating the process without (too much) external assistance. While technology transfer is often desirable, it is not always so because outsourcing of certain functions and services may be under some circumstances more efficient. When transfer prevails, factors related to project management, costing and sustainability need to be carefully analyzed. More generally, as the election process and the electoral assistance project proceeds, the procurement plan needs to be adjusted according to current developments, thus emphasizing the procurement plan as a living and flexible document available for updates and modifications. As with procurement processes for elections in general, the delay or shortfall of procurement of goods and materials related to voter registration processes may affect the outcome of the voter registration process itself and also impede on the overall electoral schedule and process. Through its daily project/programmatic work, UNDP is heavily involved in electoral procurement and key issues identified throughout the paper rely primarily on experiences and lessons learned drawn from UNDP-managed basket funds with important contributions of the European Commission and/or EU Member States. Through the Global Procurement Unit (GPU) as part of UNDP PSO advisory services and direct procurement support are made available to UNDP Country Offices and EMBs. GPU is part of the Joint EC-UNDP Task Force providing continuous assistance to UNDP Country Offices and EMBs in procurement planning and budgeting, on-site training and, in many cases, targeted exploratory, formulation and assessment missions relating to procurement and operations for each step of the electoral cycle. Moreover, UNDP Long Term Agreements (LTAs) have been established to ensure efficiency in the procurement process, including turn-around times that comply with UNDP rules and regulations and quality of procured goods and services. Given the current role of ICTs in electoral processes in both emerging democracies and post-conflict states, the strategic focus of GPU for the immediate future is to increase the scope of LTAs and other procurement tools to address systems including items of higher level of technology, higher production complexity and higher security requirements. Over the last decade, electoral assistance practitioners and the donor community have experienced great opportunities, but also coped with substantial challenges in formulating and implementing projects and programmes seeking to introduce or upgrade ICTs usage in electoral processes. Some best practices have thus already been identified: AcknowledgmentsThis is the first paper in the Operational Paper Series published by the Joint EC-UNDP Task Force on Electoral Assistance, prepared in collaboration with the International IDEA and the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network. This paper would have not been possible without the key contributions of a number of individuals who provided and shared their expertise, insights, comments and thoughts for the original concept and various draft versions that brought to the final product. Those individuals, include, in alphabetical order: Anne-Sofie Holm Gerhard, Chris Kyriakides, Domenico Tuccinardi, Dunia Ramazani, Fabio Bargiacchi, Francesco Torcoli, Frick Olivier, Linda Maguire, Mette Bakken, Niall McCann, Richard Atwood and Victor Margall von Hegyeshalmy. Useful insights and additional contributions have also been provided by Angela Bargellini, Benjamin Clarholm-Anton, Lee Kironget, Ola Petterson, Peter Wolf, Ricardo Godinho Gomez, Sara Staino, Teresa Polara and Tomas Matraia. The graphic concept and design of this paper was created by Adelaida Contreras and Tomas Matraia. ACE Focus On...ProcurementThis is the first paper in the “Operational Paper Series” published by the Joint EC UNDP Task Force on Electoral Assistance (JTF). It was prepared in collaboration with the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) and the ACE Electoral Knowledge Network (ACE). It is therefore also published as ACE Focus On.1 This paper is the result of operational lessons and best practices learned since 2004 through the partnership between the European Commission (EC) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The collaboration between the JTF and International IDEA since 2004 has enabled continual support to the ACE Project using materials and tools derived from: EC–UNDP projects, UNDP and IDEA Guides on Electoral Assistance/Electoral Administration and Joint EC-UNDP-IDEA face-to-face Training and eLearning Course on Effective Electoral Assistance. The paper aims to provide a resource for stakeholders contributing to or benefiting from electoral assistance. While focusing primarily on UNDP rules, its major aspects involved in the procurement and the application of ICTs solutions in voter registration, of interest to: electoral management bodies (EMB) local civil society organisations (CSO) involved in elections; political parties; media actors; EU Delegations and headquarters; UNDP Country Offices and headquarters; the wider community of development partners and donors; as well as service providers and vendors. The issues outlined in this paper, will be elaborated further in a handbook on “ICTs civil/ voter registration and data transmission” and an “eLearning Course on ICTs in Electoral Processes and Electoral Procurement” currently being finalised by the Joint Task Force and IDEA in the context of the ACE activities. In addition, these aspects are regularly addressed in UNDP electoral assistance projects as part of the work of the Joint EC-UNDP Task Force and the support of the UNDP Global Programme for Electoral Cycle Support (GPECS). |
