An EMB responsible for national elections would normally issue an overall report after those elections. An informative and comprehensive report covers
- every step from the election program,
- the details of the political parties and constituencies,
- voter turnout and
- a mass of statistical information about all aspects of the elections.
An election report can give extensive statistical information and describe the processes followed in some detail including the electoral system, how votes are counted, how results are assembled nationally, voter education/information activity by the commission, party funding information, the results of litigation arising from the elections, and the costs of the overall process.
Reports of this nature given on a national basis demonstrate to the public at large precisely what is happening in terms of the electoral process, how much it cost, what problems occurred, and what improvements are proposed. Reports are a valuable and cost effective a way to foster awareness among stakeholders of the EMB’s activities and to build their loyalty through a sustained effort of promoting open communication and dialogue.
The national EMBs are in a far better position to prepare this type of report than are local commissions or electoral officials because the information on overall activity is more relevant if given at a national level, although equally relevant at local level if local taxpayers are meeting the costs.
Reports are not just prepared at the end of the electoral process. The report of Uganda’s Interim Electoral Commission from 1996 sets out clearly the background to the electoral process, what duties and powers the Electoral Commission has and who its members and key staff are. This document would be of less interest to the average citizen but would be extremely useful to any participant in the electoral process whether a candidate, party member, or electoral official. Information of this type is always of assistance in demonstrating the transparency and integrity of the electoral process, and its publication is particularly important where public concerns are expressed or there is limited knowledge about the electoral process responsibilities.
Different ways of producing the information should be considered - the Australian Electoral Commission also produce their overall electoral statistics on CD-ROM - this is useful where a report containing very large quantities of information is prepared and where potential users have the necessary equipment. The Internet is an increasingly effective means of disseminating key information about an electoral process to the many widely dispersed audiences who are interested in the process.
