EMBs increasingly use post-election reviews to assess the adequacy of the legal and management structures for elections, and of their performance in delivering credible elections. These reviews are complementary to financial and performance audits. Countries that require the submission of performance reports after every major electoral event include Botswana and Georgia. The Botswana EMB engaged a team of electoral experts to conduct a review of its performance during the country’s 2004 general elections. This review produced several key recommendations with far-reaching implications, including requirements for constitutional and legal amendments. In 2006–07, the certification team appointed by the UN for the 2007 elections in Timor-Leste produced a series of reports on the processes that, while not designated as performance reviews, served a similar purpose by highlighting and documenting in detail a range of issues it had identified.
A post-election review report analyses what worked well, what did not and why. It may cover every aspect of the electoral system, processes, and management structures and capabilities, and is better if it is based on the analysts’ direct experiences of the electoral event, not just an examination of the records. Polling and vote-counting activities, voters’ attitudes and stakeholders’ responses to EMB actions can be matters for detailed examination in a post-election review. Such a review could also address how the EMB’s funding processes help or hinder its sustainability. The review report can examine the strengths and weaknesses of the EMB and the electoral framework, and make suitable recommendations for remedial action. The results of the review need to feed into discussions about electoral reform and the procedural development of the EMB throughout the electoral cycle.
The twin approach of needs assessment studies prior to a general election and a post-election review of EMB performance during an electoral period can help identify the level of sustainability of free, fair and credible elections that can be achieved over the longer term.
