GIS/GPS Mapping of Polling Stations in Sierra Leone

The Question

This question is posted by ACE on behalf of PN member Momoh Mohamed Kanneh.

The National Electoral Commission of Sierra Leone is about to engage in a GIS/GPS survey in mapping out polling stations in the entire Country for the ease of logistical and operational planning. 

We are therefore seeking inputs from Practitioners' Network members on the advantages and disadvantages of such an exercise, and its ability to lend credibility to the electoral process.

Summary of Responses

Practitioners' Network (PN) members addressed this question by referring to international examples in explaining the potential advantages and disadvantages of using GIS/GPS surveying. A summary of the responses follows:

Advantages

• Could guarantee traceability and transparency.
• Will create data visualization at the voting centers resulting in better understandings of the electoral process.
• Will provide better distribution of voting centers that take into account the geographical factor and the distance to urban centers.
• Will implement better coordination of observation efforts in all polling stations. Rural areas are often deprived of observers from civil society and even political parties.
• Assists in better facilitating the distribution and allocation of election workers at polling centers, as well as logistics.
• Helps identify the exact locations of polling stations and key relevant information such as:

• Road network and terrain
• Distances from police stations
• Number of registered voters
• Distances between polling stations
• The availability of amenities such as electricity supply and GSM communication
• Ownership of polling station premises
• Nearest electoral office
• Capacity of premises 
• Accessibility of disabled voters
• Overnight storage facilities
• Previous security and fraud incidents

• GIS helps in visual representation for convenient sharing of information to staff and stakeholders, including the generation of electoral maps for various electoral units.
• Helps in logistical planning and tracking of movements (monitoring) of election materials, personnel and vehicles.
• During the mapping exercise EMBs can also collect additional information for future planning and operation purposes, which will enhance their decision making processes.

Disadvantages

• Lack of political will in this project.
• Communication problems between the different actors involved.
• Organizational problems: there must be real and ongoing synergy of operational tasks.
• Requires human resources/experts, material and financial resources to carry out.
• Additional training costs and high investment costs in GPS/GIS technologies.
• The software’s used need annual licenses that can be expensive and hard to justify to parliament or the national treasury when defending EMB budgets.
• Effective GPS/GIS integration is dependent on internal synergies between various departments within the EMB itself (e.g. Voter registration, electoral operation, ICT etc.) and collaboration with national government departments (e.g. the department of land survey and other surveyor institutions).
• This requires clear policy by the EMB.
• They should be used in addition to local information. It is always important to consider the point of view and suggestions coming from local authorities of each area / village. This is in order to include the local know how and experience in terms of real possibilities to move for voters.

 

International examples

Mexico

• Mexico has applied GIS/GPS mapping of polling stations and it has been very convenient because it allows the INE (Mexico's EMB) to create effective plans for delivering the electoral materials. Additionally, it allows the electors to know exactly where the polling stations are located. This permits voters to know how close the polling station is to their home and how long it will take to get there. This information can be used as a tool to encourage electors to cast their votes.
• INE has a cooperation program based on the exchange of information and practices through workshops. The electoral officials from each country who are in charge of certain topics like electoral administration, receive information on how it functions and its technical aspects.
  

Tunisia

• In 2011, an association which specializes in elections and accompanying the electoral process, initiated a project mapping of polling centres. This was to ensure that Tunisia could be better prepared for the future. This project ended in 2014 and was able to map 4833 voting centres. The team used tablets with a smartphone application that was equipped with a GPS system.
• Implementation in Tunisia created a platform which contains a real database. This platform is centralized with all information on elections (turnout, voter registration, outreach of political parties etc.).
  

Democratic Republic of Congo

• For 2013-2014, the Electoral Division and the GIS/Section of MONUSCO supported INEC to work with GIS/ mapping, countrywide.
• INEC bought approximately 1000 Garmin GPS’.
• This operation needed a GIS centre, a GIS specialist, and training.
  

Kenya

• The GIS/GPS has been employed in boundary delimitation for the 1450 County Assembly Wards and mapping of the polling/Registration centres in Kenya.
• They assisted with resolutions on conflicts pertaining to electoral boundaries, election petitions and other electoral administration issues.
• Electoral courts directed some changes in the location of certain polling stations or wards in Kenya during the 2011 boundaries dispute resolution and the GPS/GIS was effective in enabling convenient remapping and effecting changes as per the court orders.

 

External Resources 

• ‘International Center for Electoral Training and Research’ (INE) http://www.ine.mx/archivos3/portal/historico/contenido/interiores/Detalle_Proyectos_de_Cooperacion_Internacional-id-9e73d56f9b73e310VgnVCM1000000c68000aRCRD/

 

Contributing Members

• Deyanira Galindo
• Tigossou
• Nysret Bytyqi
• Gabriella Bernasconi Walker
• Evelyne Ogandaga
• Alamine Simon Addih
• Abdiwahidi Hussein
• Saeed M Osman

In Mexico we have applied the GIS/GPS mapping of polling stations and it has been very convenient because for the INE (Mexico's EMB) allows a good planning for delivery the electoral material and for the electors in order to know exactly where the polling station is located; to locate polling stations near to the electors houses and or to know the distance and time to get there. All this information are tools to promote electors attending to vote.

MY EXPERTISE

BEST REGARDS

and we in kosovo we have do this program with instaling coordinate for poling center in all maps in gogle maps and every voters can see and find the poling center with clicing in maps

my name is Nysret bytyqi and i am municipal elections officer for Prizren area in kosovo

Nysret Bytyqi

MEC 

++37744393735

My comment is that such technical supports are absolutely useful, however I think those should be used in addition to local information. It is always important to consider the point of view and suggestions coming from local authorities of each area / village; this is in order to include the local know how and experience in term of real possibilities to move for voters.

 

En Tunisie, une association spécialisée dans les élections et qui accompagne le processus électoral a entamé en 2011 un projet de Mapping des centres de vote pour mieux préparer les échéances avenirs. ce projet a pris fin en 2014 et ils ont pu cartographié 4833 centres de vote. l'équipe a utilisé des tablettes dotées d'une application smartphone munie d'un système GPS.

Les avantages du Mapping des centres de votes sont nombreux:

 - meilleure répartition des centres de vote en prenant en compte le facteur géographique et la distance par rapport aux agglomérations;

 - visualisation des données au niveau des centres de vote entraînant une transparence et une compréhension du processus électoral;

 - meilleure coordination des efforts d'observation dans tous les bureaux de vote (les zones rurales sont souvent privées d'observateurs de la société civile et même des partis politiques);

 - facilitation de la répartition et de l'affectation du personnel électoral dans les centres de vote;

 - facilitation de l'organisation logistique;

 - mise en place comme en Tunisie d'une plate forme qui constitue une véritable base de données. cette plate forme va centraliser toutes les informations relatives aux élections (taux de participation, enregistrement des électeurs, vulgarisation des résultats des partis politiques...).

Les inconvénients peuvent se traduire en tremes d'obstacles:

 - le manque de volonté politique dans la réalisation de ce projet;

 - problème de communication entre les différents acteurs impliqués dans le projet;

problème d'organisation: il s'agit de créer une véritable synergie des tâches opérationnelles  à réaliser tout au long du projet;

 - trouver un des ressources humaines (experts dans le domaine), matérielles et financières suffisantes pour mener à bien ce projet.

 

The GiS/mapping is very important for the credibility of the elections. Before starting the registration of the electors the National Commission need to Know the number of the voters registration and the polling station. So, always you collect the GPS data of the électoral infrastructures and to localize its. In fine, the exercise coule help the INEC to deal with logistic and operations matters.

 

For instance in DRC, in 2013-2014, the Electoral Division and the GIS/Section of MONUSCO supported the INEC to deal with the GIS/ mapping in countrywilde. The INEC bougth  approximatly 1000 Garmin GPS.

This operation needed training, GIS center and specialist.

 

In the CAR the National Authority of the Elections (NEA) project to carry out the GIS/mapping before the registration of the electors. The NEA need approximatly 100 Garmin GPS, 42 vehicles 4x4, motocycles, fuel, and equipments of GIS (computers, printers, software logiciel etc.). Please, the NEA Will appréciâtes a  lot if the national and international institutions coule help it. 

Best regards.

The GIS/GPS has been employed in Boundaries delimitation for the 1450 County Assembly Wards and mapping of the polling/Registration centres in Kenya. The advantages of GIS/GPS are numerous. They help in identifying the exact locations of polling stations and key relevant information such as the road network, terrain,distances from police stations,number of registered voters,distances between polling stations,the availability of amenities such as electricity supply and GSM communication among others. The GIS helps in visual representation for convenient sharing of information to staff and stakeholders including generation of electoral maps for various electoral units. Another advantage is that GPS/GIS can help in access to polling station especially where voters,election officials,Observers and stakeholders can be conveniently directed to the registration or polling centres using voter information technologies that can conveniently be searched through internet or the EMBs website among others applications. The GPS and GIS obviously help in logistical planning and tracking of movements (Monitoring) of election materials,personnel and vehicles. Last but not least they help in dispute resolution on electoral boundaries and election petitions and other electoral administration conflicts. For example, where electoral courts directed some changes in the location of certain polling stations or wards in Kenya during the 2011 boundaries dispute resolution,the GPS/GIS has been handy in enabling convenient remapping and effecting changes as per the court orders. The major disadvantages of GPS/GIS are training costs and high investment costs in GPS/GIS technologies. For example, the softwares used need annual licenses that can be expensive and hard to justify to parliament or national treasury when defending EMB budgets. This is more so given boundaries delimitation is not an every day activity but mostly happens every 8-12 years according to Kenya's electoral laws. Again, how well the GPS/GIS is integrated depends on internal sysnergies between various departments with the EMB itself (e.g. Voter registration and electoral operation and ICT among others) and collaboration with national governemnt departments such as the department of land survey and other surveyor institutions.This calls for clear policy by the EMB on the same. Last but not least introduction of GPS/GIS technology can upset the power balances within an EMB secretariat and therefore strong leadership and effective mechanism for successful implementation of the GPS/GIS project/programme is needed. Thank you.

Polling station/registration center mapping is key for electoral planning and operations in number of ways, EMBs can map polling stations using GIS cameras or Smartphones with pre-developed mobile applications to record exact location of each polling station, EMBs can access number of open source applications for GIS/GPS mapping.  During the mapping exercise EMBs can also collect additional information for future planning and operation purpose,  such as the Ownership of polling station premises, Road networks, Distance,  GSM coverage, Internet coverage, Type of roads, Nearest electoral office, Number of registrants, Number of voters (for the last elections), Capacity of premises,  Availability of the Electricity, Water, Toilets, Waiting areas, Accessibility of disabled voters, if there is Entry and Exit doors, Overnight storage facilities, Previous security and fraud incidents and so on. All the above information will enhance EMBs decision making process.

 

In addition of that EMBs can use GIS/GPS information for tracking during deployment of election materials  to confirm if election materials reached the exact locations using small GPS tracking chips attached the bottom of each ballot box.