A thorough operational plan should precede each future election. It should address the timely purchase, storage and delivery of election material, the training of electoral staff and voter education activities, and determine clearly which section of the ECZ is responsible for their implementation

Full-time provincial and district election officers should be recruited in order to improve coordination between the ECZ, its Directorate and the field. A permanent, decentralised presence in the field would enable the ECZ to conduct continuous voter registration and engage in training and capacity-building on a local level.

Coordination between the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Department of National Registration and the ECZ should be enhanced so that all eligible citizens are issued with a National Registration Card (NRC) before voter registration. To this end, the Department of National Registration could be supported to computerise its operations.

Voter registration and verification should end much closer to polling day in order to give the electorate maximum opportunity to participate. The quality control of the voter register should be strengthened to ensure that corrections made during the verification period are accurately incorporated into the register.

The nomination period for aspiring presidential, parliamentary and local government candidates should be at least several days to give sufficient time to potential candidates.

A public awareness campaign should be launched to inform the public about the safeguards that have been implemented to protect the integrity and security of the system for the electronic transmission of results.

Civil society organisations should be supported in their efforts to enhance the procedural knowledge of domestic monitors across all stages of the electoral process, from voter registration to candidate nomination, polling, counting and the aggregation of results. Civil society organisations should be offered technical assistance as soon as possible in order to strengthen their analytical capacities and their participation in the ongoing process of electoral reform.

The reform of the regulatory framework for the audiovisual sector that has been suspended should be implemented and completed as a matter of urgency. Independent bodies and appointment procedures should be established as a priority in order to finalise the reform package introduced in 2002. ZNBC also needs to demonstrate real and tangible improvements in its standards and levels of diversity if it is to be transformed into a public service broadcaster, as indicated in the legal reform of the sector.

In light of the failure to establish the Media Council of Zambia as a credible and operational body, the media community should revisit the role of such selfregulatory bodies and develop measures to ensure that a functional and effective self-regulatory body is established.

ZANIS agency’s status and mandate should be transformed to separate the news collection and provision, and government’s public relations arm. Failing this, the agency’s public relations activities should be suspended during campaign periods and its resources should be made available to candidates on a proportional basis.

Serious consideration should be given to a reform of the electoral system and the introduction of a mixed member system with quotas for women.

Essential election material should be delivered to presiding officers at least one day before election day in order to ensure everything is available for the opening of polls. A second verification of material, in addition to the one conducted by the returning officer, would help identify any missing material.

The organisation of voter streams could be improved with the introduction of clearly visible signs directing voters to the correct queue. Polling station management guidelines would also help election staff organise the various streams

The counting process should be made less complex. Results should be counted and recorded separately in different polling streams. It is recommended to replace the multiple forms with one comprehensive, clearly-designed reconciliation form, which includes a section for the results. It is essential that the reconciliation of ballots takes place before ballot boxes are opened.

It was mandatory for the optical-marked recognition (OMR) results forms to be filled in with pencil. However, it would be preferable to use an ink pen in order to further enhance confidence in the process. In addition, the filling in of OMR forms must be practised sufficiently prior to polling day in order to avoid problems with their transmission.

It also appears necessary to improve the operational plan for the collection of presiding officers and election materials upon the completion of counting. In some areas, observers reported that presiding officers had to wait for 24 hours. The ECZ’s operational plan should ensure that the provision of transport meets the specific needs of each constituency.

A clearly-defined floor plan at the premises of the returning officer would help improve the intake of election materials. The marking of separate areas for the different stages would facilitate the process.

In order to familiarise staff with equipment and procedures, practice exercises of the electronic transmission system should be conducted on a nationwide basis well in advance of election day. The aggregation and electronic transmission of results must always be conducted in full view of election officials, observers and monitors.

In recognition of the obvious complications of the Single Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV) System for parliamentary and local elections and concerns about its impact on Afghanistan’s democratic development and burdens on the election administration, the relevant authorities should give serious and urgent consideration to adopting a more suitable electoral system. If the SNTV system is retained, the IEC should undertake a process of consultation with relevant electoral stakeholders, including international donors, to assess all the political and financial implications. In recognition of the obvious complications of the Single Non-Transferable Vote (SNTV) system for parliamentary and local elections and concerns about its impact on Afghanistan’s democratic development and burdens on the election administration, the relevant authorities should give serious and urgent consideration to adopting a more suitable electoral system. If the SNTV system is retained, the IEC should undertake a process of consultation with relevant electoral stakeholders, including international donors, to assess all the political and financial implications.

The legal framework for elections will need to be reviewed and amended to: (i) specify the role of the judiciary in the electoral process, especially the status of the Supreme Court vis-à-vis the role of the IEC as the authority supervising and implementing elections; (ii) clarify the IEC’s responsibility for the election of provincial council representatives to the Meshrano Jirga;
(iii) specify the basis on which district council boundaries will be established as well as a formula for seat allocations to each council.
(iv) provide for ‘special needs voting’ by prisoners, military personnel, hospitalised and - possibly - homebound voters;
(v) establish rules for the use of state resources and the involvement of public officials in election campaigns, with clearly defined sanctions against the breach of such rules.

Regardless of the chosen model, no candidate should be deprived of his or her right to stand for office without due process.

The future electoral framework must contain provisions that compel candidates to produce documentation on their campaign income and expenditures at specified points in
the electoral timeframe. Failure to comply should be effectively penalised and, in these cases as well, thought should be given to the merits of a system of vote deduction, or
disqualification, for those who do not comply with their obligations.

The EU EOM strongly recommends that a census or civil registration be performed, possibly by an international agency, to be combined with a totally new voter registration.
This should be an absolute minimum requirement before the conduct of any future election.

The IEC should establish a credible mechanism for updating the register of voters to include newly eligible voters or previously unregistered eligible voters. The IEC should
identify the safeguards by which repeated registration of existing voters will be avoided.

A more effective procedure for the exhibition of the register of voters should be developed, based on the public display of voter lists for each polling centre at a district level. Efforts should be made to increase awareness amongst electoral stakeholders of their right to challenge the inclusion of names of ineligible voters. Greater steps should be
taken to prevent voting by minors.