Provide for non-partisan domestic groups to observe all aspects of the election process. Civil society should be given the right to actively participate in the monitoring of the registration of voters and polls.

The attribution of de facto normative and/or interpretative powers to the National Election Commission. The CNE should be provided with tools to be able to adapt and update technical electoral procedures, clarify omission in the law and streamline organisational management aspects.

Guinea Bissau should promptly ratify key international human rights instruments, especially the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

Provide the CNE with administrative and budgetary independence through the inclusion of a specific section and funds allocation in the national budget. In order to strengthen the CNE’s independence, the election management body should have direct access to an adequate fixed annual allocation of resources ascribed to the National General Budget (Orçamento Geral do Estado - OGE).

The voter registration process should be upgraded from manual to an Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS), already used in many countries in Africa, especially in post-conflict environments, to facilitate and speed up registration through a possible active and passive process, whereby citizens go to places of registration and brigades (brigadas de recenseamento) visit their places of residence. The voter registration process for the 2008 legislative election, however accepted by all political parties and stakeholders, showed a very low participation and motivation of citizens, especially youngsters (3.8 percent), in comparison to same exercises in other countries in the area. The same register was used for the 2009 presidential election.

The CNE Executive Secretariat would benefit from professional secretary services freeing the Executive members from minor but time consuming administrative duties. Moreover, the CNE plenary session also require proper secretarial support in producing session minutes to include all discussions, deliberations and decisions taken on crucial election issues. These documents should be produced and made available to national and international stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe thus enhancing the transparency of the CNE’s decision making process ,despite the efforts and actions already taken by the new CNE administration.

Civic and Voter Education campaigns should receive ample financial support allowing for the design and implementation of programmes promoting civil and political rights throughout the entire electoral cycle. Campaigns targeting youth and first time voters, especially those living in more remote areas of the country, should take precedence. Furthermore, involvement of traditional authorities, such as Régulos and local social structures, is vital for the access to tabancas where illiteracy rates are high and national TV and written media have little penetration or no expression at all. Civic education campaigns need to be extended to effectively cover all national territory, including remote areas in the Tomabali and Bijagós regions. As seen during the 2009 civic education programs, cascade training to local organizations and groups should be implemented well ahead of the pre-election period. Local think-tanks such as the “Cidadãos de Boa Vontade”, youth and women NGOs, the CNE and the School of Law should be called on to give input to the design of different campaigns targeting specific electorates. Activities should also include comprehensive programmes in schools and media pertaining to issues of civic and political rights and understanding of the democratic process.

Provisions in the law regarding public funding to candidates and political parties should be effectively implemented prior to the commencement of the campaign period. Small parties and a much needed new generation of politicians would have the chance to contest elections on a more levelled playing field. Public funding of parties and candidates is a fundamental tool to strengthen competitive democracy and allow a pluralistic participation.

Introduce efficient mechanisms regarding political party requirements verification. The law stipulates that parties are required, as part of their internal organization, to have the approval of their members, or of a representative assembly, of the party’s statutes and programs. Party’s presidents are elected by the membership and statutes are nondiscriminatory. Party identification, symbol and flag are unique and not phonetically or graphically similar to state entities or symbols. Contesting political parties inform the Supreme Court of Justice, 90 days prior to legislative elections, on their number of members. Dissolution of parties, due to lack of a minimum of 1,000 members, is mandatory by law although not verified. In order to avoid the proliferation of political parties, the Supreme Court of Justice (STJ) should have a stronger mandate and means to verify the compliance of legal requirements by the political parties. A STJ-designated task force could be formed in cooperation with the School of Law to analyse party requirements within the given timeframe of 90 days prior to polls, leaving the final decision to the Supreme Court plenary.

The armed forces have historically interfered in the political life of the country since its independence. All presidents, with the exception of those named for transition governments, were deposed by military coups. It is essential for the consolidation of democracy in the country the submission of the military to the civil power. In this context, domestic and international institutions should strongly support the efforts of the EU Security Sector Reform mission, which has the de-politicization and ethnic balance of the armed forces among its objectives. Although the military have since the presidential election in 2005 adopted an off-politics attitude and contributed for the peaceful and orderly environment of the past electoral cycle, its ethnic composition is still a concern for many political analysts and politicians.

As public service with a crucial role in the Guinean society, the state-media need to have the proper conditions to carry out their job in a professional manner. The Guinean Government should establish a section on the national budget to guarantee that TGB, RDN and Nô Pintcha receive the required funds not only to cover payments of salaries and per diems, but also to create the technical, logistical and financial conditions that allow the public media to satisfy the right of Guineans to be properly informed.

Both public and private media could make a stronger effort, especially during electoral campaign period, to avoid accepting monetary support by political parties in order to get their activities covered. Although the financial and logistical limitations on the Guinean media sector are huge, these are bad practices that clearly jeopardize the independence and neutrality of the journalists. The publication and airing of political ads might be considered and discussed in detail by all actors involved in the electoral process since it is a common practice in other countries.

A revision on the Electoral Law in order to establish clearer provisions on access of political parties to free airtime in the media would be advisable. Although in practice the access to free airtime programs (Tempo de Antena) is only applied to the public electronic media (RDN and TGB), article 37 of the Electoral Law does not specify that distinction, referring only that political parties have access to airtime “on radio and TV.”

More visibility and exposure should be given to the recommendations and deliberations of the press regulatory agency, the Conselho Nacional de Comunicação Social – CNCS. CNCS has shown a great level of professionalism, competence and sense of opportunity during the presidential election, contributing to the freedom, independence and pluralism of the media by issuing directives and recommendations to the media outlets reminding them of the equal access and treatment to all candidates and a balanced reporting. These recommendations were broadcasted on radio but not published in the newspapers. Public and private media might consider offering free airtime and space to the organizations promoting media freedom, independence and pluralism, especially the CNCS and the journalists’ union SINJOTECS.

All future electoral reforms should take the opportunity to consider the Constitutional aim of a non-confessional electoral system. Without imposing a fixed timeframe, the appropriateness of gradually reducing the emphasis on confessionalism in the electoral system should be maintained as a consideration, so long as it is achieved through complete consensus and maintains protection for all Lebanese communities.

As a matter of priority, the necessary reforms should be made to introduce the use of officially printed ballots. This will be an essential element of voter’s right to a secret vote and will abolish practices associated with vote-buying and increase confidence in the process.

The capacity of any independent Election Management Body (EMB) to monitor candidates’ spending during the campaign period should be enhanced. The EMB should have access to full financial disclosure from candidates in carrying out the verification of statements of campaign expenditures and revenues.

In line with international best practices, the minimum voting age should be the age of majority. The Council of Ministers and Parliament should pursue the recent adoption of a project of law aimed at amending the Constitution to reduce suffrage to 18 years.

The provision for out-of-country voting in the 2008 Election Law should be implemented in time for the next parliamentary electoral process.

The law should clearly ensure that pre-trial detainees do not lose their right to vote.

It would be useful for the election law to stipulate a limited campaign period prior to election day. Currently, candidates may begin campaigning as soon as they are registered and in practice campaigning often starts before this. A prescribed time limit for campaigns would contribute to a level-playing field and would help to maintain voter’s interest and motivation to participate.

Financial resources play a disproportionate role in election campaigning in Lebanon and current regulations and enforcement are inadequate. Campaign spending regulations should be further detailed and practices which could be viewed as conducive to vote-buying shouldn be limited, including the private sponsorship of travel to Lebanon for expatriate citizens.

Lebanon has a long tradition of electoral processes and several generations of the electorate have repeated experience of elections. However, public education programmes regarding the right to a secret vote may be constructive and could be linked to public support and understanding of official pre-printed ballots.

In the absence of a legally-stipulated campaign period, the media should be informed of exactly when campaign-related media regulations come into force.