This question is posed on behalf of Hadiza Gado, Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja, Nigeria.

We are planning to organize an NGO/CSO department at the Independent National Electoral Commission for the 2015 General Election in Nigeria. I am now looking for examples, references and recommendations for successfully setting up such a department.

Thank you very much in advance for sharing related experiences and information!

Summary of Responses

Practitioners’ Network members shared a diverse range of recommendations and examples for election commissions like INEC seeking to work more closely with civil society organizations by creating a NGO/CSO department.

While many members supported the decision to create a CSO/NGO department, several suggested that commissions often have departments focusing on building and maintaining positive relationships across a range of external stakeholders, and not solely CSOs and NGOs.

For instance, a member from Kenya suggested the Kenyan commission has a department that deals with all external stakeholder relations, called ‘Partnerships.’ This department deals with a range of stakeholder issues, from accrediting observers in elections to coordinating with a range of organizations partnering with the EMB on various activities. Echoing this, a member from South Africa added that the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) maintains all stakeholder relations through its Outreach Division’s sub-component called ‘Stakeholder Engagement.’ Furthermore, the member shared that the commission in 2013 specially created a CSO coordinating structure, governed by very specific terms of reference (TORs), called the National Coordinating Forum.

Member responses also suggest that positive stakeholder relations do not always require creating a new department, and commissions have found other ways to accommodate external partners. As one PN member noted in the case of Zambia, the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) has special committees that relevant CSOs and NGOs are members of, focusing on activities like voter education and conflict management (at local and district levels), while noting strict TORs and guidelines for membership CSOs and NGOs must follow. Furthermore, a member referring to Moldova suggested that stakeholder relations for the Moldovan Central Electoral Commission (CEC) are managed by the Communication, Public Relations, and Mass Media Department, which also provides assistance to stakeholders like international election observers.

In line with this, a member working at the Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) suggested that INEC consider keeping the staffing and supervision of the unit under the Chairman’s office, also adding that the commission has a gender desk that could be incorporated into a CSO unit.

Lastly, several members also expressed hesitation over directly involving NGOs and CSOs in EMB operations, cautioning that the independence of the EMB may be compromised.  In response to this concern, a few members suggested implementing mechanisms to monitor stakeholder activities, primarily those of CSOs. For instance, one member from Pakistan suggested that EMBs should monitor the activities of CSOs/NGOs to ensure political neutrality of these organizations in activities like voter education. Additionally, the member from ECZ suggested that election commissions be particularly sensitive to CSOs being impartial, and coordinate with them while maintaining the independence of the commission.  To address this the ECZ strictly controls the finances of the activities the CSOs participate in to avoid issues of accountability and conflicts of interest.

External Resources

‘Engaging Stakeholders’ (GEO 2011)

Contributing Members

• Tetteh Ankama Okyne
• Paul Graham
• Giovanni Buttigieg
• Praxedes Tororey
• Shahid Iqbal
• Liberata Irambona 
• Agnes Obutu Marete
• Mbeng Njang Emmanuel
• Josias Bukuru
• Priscilla Mulenga Isaac
• Dr. Nomsa Masuku
• Idiéma Véronique Kando
• Nchimunya Michelo Silenga
• Wondmu Gebru
• Aram Jamal
• Víctor Hugo employment
• Doina Bordeianu
• Olufunto Akinduro
• Richmond Boemo Mpolokeng
• Vincent de Paul Taty
• Francisco Barrera

Ghana's EMB have a disability desk as part of it's structure. All ngo/cso activities concerning the disable are reported directly to the chairman. If NGOs or cso are included in the emb directly, the independence of the emb may be compromised,. It's my opinion that they are not directly involved in the structure of the emb.

What excellent news - catalyzing and aligning civil society in support of elections is an important and specialised task. Differentiate it from INEC's services procurement process - which might also engage some NGOs as service providers and rather focus on the voluntary association of citizens and ways in which they will add value to the efficiency and integrity of elections. In this regard, trust is an important asset and so you will want staff who are capable of building that trust and who see their interaction with CSOs as a priority.

Attached is a short presentation on the subject to GEO 2011 which might be useful.

Dear Hadiza.  It all depends on what you want to achieve with the setting up of the department.  Can you be more specific?

Greetings, it is important to engage all stakeholders in elections. The Kenyan EMB has a department known as Partnerships. This department deals with all stakeholders including Civil Society. It also handles matters related to accreditation of observers during elections, specific relationship between an organization that wants to Partner with the EMB e.g. on voter education, coordinating the Donor Partners and engagement of other stakeholders in elections. Praxedes Tororey, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Kenya.

It would be nice to develop a policy envisaging not only a working relationship with the ngo/cso but also giving an upper hand to the Nigerian EMB to closely monitor the activities of these organizations. For instance, the organizations partnering with the EMB may be asked to remain neutral while imparting voter or civic education to the masses. Further meaningful accountability measures should be put in place to guard against corrupt practices usually associated with NGOs in certain countries. Good luck.

Dear Hadiza,

Greetings,

It is a good idea, but first of all you should know what you want to resolve, haw to do it, when, who will be responsible on that and then set up mechanism and strategies for monitoring and evaluating the achievement of that department . In Rwanda, the main responsibility of our  Public Relation Officer is to promote the collaboration with all stakeholders not only during election but all time. So she prepare MOU with partners/donors/ CSO. etc.  We do not have a specific department for that.

Regards.

I suggest that can work under partnerships especially for voter education.

The NGO/CSO cannot be part of the EMB sa this may compromise the indipendent of the EMB.

Regards

Agnes

Je n'ai pas d'exemple. Cependant, chez nous au Burundi, l'OGE collabore avec les OSCs

dans le processus électoral.

All what has been written is quite true

Dear Hadiza

The our Commission does not have a specific department for CSO/NGOS but the Public Relations department is the focal point for all our interaction with external stakeholders. However, the Commission works closely with civil society in voter education and conflcit managment. Relevant CSOs are members of the National Voter Education Committee and the District Voter Education Committees and participate in the developing, impelementing and monitoring the voter education programmes and activities. These are committees that meet when required to do so and the Commission provides the secretariat. There are strict guidlines for membership and TORs. The Commission is particularly sensitive to the fact that CSOs may not always be impartial and thus compromise the independence of the Commission as has been observed in some of the earlier comments and INEC will have to be very mindful of this. CSOs are also represented in the conflict management committees both at national and district level.

The Commission strictly controls the finances of the activities that CSOs participate in and the CSOs undertaking Commission activities are under the strict supervision of the Commission. This adhoc arrangement is preferred by the Commission and the Commission does not provide direct funding to CSOs for their activities or even to undertake activities on behalf of the Commission to avoid issues of accountabitly, conflict of interest etc.

Dear Colleagues,

I respond on behalf of Advocate Pansy Tlakula, Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South Africa.

The Electoral Commission of South Africa maintains very close working relationships with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). These include “traditional NGOs, Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs), Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and Traditional Leadership. There are three main areas in which the Electoral Commission of South Africa regards CSOs as partners. These are:

a. Civic & Democracy Education (which includes voter and balloting education);

b. Domestic Election Observation; and

c. Conflict Management.

However, the Electoral Commission does not have a Department for NGOs/CSOs. The engagement with CSOs is managed under the Outreach Division under a sub-component known as “Stakeholder Engagement”.

It might be helpful to indicate that the Electoral Commission of South Africa formally established a CSO coordinating structure in 2013. The Commission approved Terms of Reference that govern this structure. The structure is called the National Coordinating Forum. Similar forums have been set up in most of South Africa’s 9 provinces and districts and metropolitan areas. In time, they will be established in all 243 local municipalities.

I trust this gives you a sense of one approach that has been tested in South Africa.

Should you require further information, please feel free to contact me.

Regards,

Mme Véronique KANDO, 

La CENI du Burkina Faso a, dans sons organisation, un département chargé de l'éducation citoyenne. C'est ce département qui est en contact avec les OSC, cette partie prenante très importante pour tout ce qui concerne l'information et l'éducation des électeurs. L’existence de ce département permet à la CENI d'accorder l'attention qu'il faut aux préoccupations et aux besoins des OSC. Il faut tenir compte du fait que ce partenaire est celui qui, en dehors de l'OGE, a un apport équitable qui renforce la transparence du processus électoral. La qualité de cet apport est tributaire de la qualité de la formation de ses membres en matière électorale,  des informations communiquées par la CENI, des supports mis à leur disposition, tout cela couronné par la qualité des relations entre elles(en tant qu'acteurs du processus électoral) et la CENI.

La réussite de ce département que vous allez créer reposera essentiellement sur la qualité des relations avec lesdits partenaires qui devra intégrer la prise en compte de leurs préoccupations, les recherches de financement, les questions de contenus surtout en ce qui concerne l'information électorale et les modes opératoires, le suivi sur le terrain de leurs activités. Les OSC sont des partenaires stratégiques des OGE et la création de ce département ne peut être que bénéfique. 

Dear Hadiza,

Having worked for an EMB for sometime, I think its important to maintain a good relationship with all stakeholders. However, creating a specific department for NGO/CSOs has to really be thought through and not just done because certain corners of society are calling for it. It would also be more helpful if you provided the forum with more information on what your new department plans to do.

All the best.

Dear Hadiza,

It is nice you raised the issue. I am also impressed by the responses made from different parts of the world. It is true CSOs are important in election process. however the importance is more in the areas of election observation and civic education. I don't think there is a need to establish department for CSOs alone. EMBs should focus on how to make elections  free and fair. involving all stakeholders is important and make the process transparent to the general public.

It is good idea for creating or involving CSOs into the EMB's structure. in Iraqi High Election Commission IHEC there is not suchrelationship between both of NGOs/CSOs with IHEC.
the IHEC has a lack contact with NGOs and it Does not take into consideration their efforts in their electoral monitoring reports or electoral awareness.

anyhow, I will suggest this idea to the stakeholders in election fields as an attempt to approve it.

Also I was helpful at the comments of the Dr Nomsa Masuku concerning the Electoral Commission of South Africa, hope to stay with each others and good luck.

Aram Jamal Sabir
Excutive Director
Kurdish Institute for Elections KIE
Iraq- Kurdistan Region
[email protected]

Considero que la relación de los organismos electorales con las organizaciones d ela sociedad civil y las ONGs es muy importante, pero no es lo mismo, se debe diferenciar los roles y ámbitos de acción para garantizar la imparcialidad y neutralidad del organismo electoral frente a quienes posiblemente quieran usar estos medios para influir en las decisiones del organismo.

Para evitar aquello es importante que el área encargada tenga claramente definida las funciones y competencias, establecer normas de funcionamiento, llevar un registro de las actividades y los compromisos que asumen las partes; establecer mecanismos de seguimiento y evaluación.

Se sugiere no dejarse condicional por los actores externos sino desarrollar estrategias de cooperación para fortalecer el proceso electoral, la participación de la población y el respeto a los derechos fundamentales.

Es importante establecer mecanismos de transparencia y rendición de cuentas y que el departamento informe periódicamente al nivel superior del organismo electoral.

Saludos cordiales

Víctor Hugo Ajila

[email protected]

Dear Hadiza Gado,

I recall that a CSO liaison was established by INEC before the 2007 elections. I also recall that this initiative was managed by the office of the Chairperson of the Commission, it was later moved to the Electoral Institute. The purpose for establishing such a unit at the time was to provide an interface for INEC's interaction with civil society. During the 2007 elections, this desk was responsible for organising INEC-CSO dialogues, conferences and events. 

The challenge encountered at the time was the Commission at some point regarded this platform as a means of 'controlling' CSO activities around elections. SHould the current commission be considering a similar initiative, it is important the tasks and responsibilities of such a unit should be clearly stated from the start. It should not be a means of funding NGOs that are favoured by the Commission. Rather, it should provide a platform for partnership in areas such as civic and voter education, promoting electoral integrity and transparency. This Unit should also be involved in developing the terms and procedures for accreditation of citizen observers as this has been a challenging for INEC over the years. 

In terms of staffing and reporting structures, in my opinion,  could remain under the supervision of the Chairman's office. Furthermore, the Commission currently has a gender desk which stands alone. The gender and CSO desks could be combined under one unit, as it may not be necessary to set up a unit just for CSO interactions. The Commission should also consider recruiting an independent CSO representative to be part of the Unit. 

I hope you find this useful and we can discuss further. 

Regards,

Olufunto Akinduro

[email protected] 

It is of paramount importance to involve NGOs/CSOs on electoral matters because it enhances public participation. IEC Botswana does not have an NGO/CSO department.However, we have party liaison committees (PLCs) where NGOs, Faith-based Organisations and Traditional Leaders are represented. It is through PLCs that we engage and collaborate with NGOs/CSOs on electoral matters such as electoral reform, civic and voter education and democracy in general.What will be the mandate of an NGO /CSO department in your EMB?

Dans mon pays le Congo, les OSC prennent une part active dans le processus électorale et dans la loi électorale de mon pays, les organisation de la société civile dont l'objet à trait aux élections prennent une part active dans le processus électoral, ils ont des représentants de haut en bas des les organes de gestions des élections. l'OSC contribue alors directement a la sensibilisation des population et autres....

Como varios de los comentarios anteriores, se necesita precisar que es lo que se pretende hacer, fijar con claridad los objeticos, las tareas y lo principal, que procesos o partes de ellos van a criticar u observar.

Lo otro es que capacidad de accion tendria, por que es bueno saber a quien se contrata, sus nexos con los patrocinadores o aportantes, recuerde que algunas de estas organizaciones son de partidos politicos, las funciones no se deben cruzar con las de observadores locales, observadores internacionales, o con las funciones que tienen los partidos politicos en la observacion y criticas de los procesos electorales y sus actividades.

Ademas de lo anterior, que tiene que ver con estrictamente la critica y la vigilancia, tendria que ver que la organización electoral no tenga las funciones en departamentos o partes de la estructura administrativa en areas como, el de capacitacion, el relaciones públicas o internacionales, area de prensa o comunicaciones.