Recommandation relative à la sensibilisation et à la formation des agents de partis. Ceux-ci doivent davantage être impliqués à tous les stades du processus électoral (y compris la confection des listes électorales et la distribution des cartes électorales). Ils doivent être mieux formés et informés sur la législation et les procédures électorales, sur la façon d'observer une élection, sur la manière de formuler et de déposer une plainte ou un recours.

Recommandation relative à la participation des citoyens et à l'éducation civique. Nos observations ont fait apparaître une quasi-absence d'activités dans le domaine de l'information sur les enjeux de l'élection et sur les modalités pratiques du vote. Ceci constitue une lacune importante qui doit être comblée à l'avenir. Par ailleurs, la faible participation des femmes à la vie politique en général et le nombre fort réduit de femmes élues lors du scrutin du 15 décembre (seulement 7 femmes parmi les 160 députés élus) indiquent la nécessité de conduire en ce domaine des activités particulièrement ciblées sur cette partie de la population. Des activités pourront s’effectué concernant les élections a venir (municipales et provinciales), mais aussi concernant le travail des députés élus avec la population en général et les élus en particulier.

Recommandation relative au cadre institutionnel. Des discussions devront s’effectuéer sur le cadre institutionnel que les acteurs nationaux pensent est le meilleur pour Madagascar. Une telle discussion doit faire l'objet d'une réflexion approfondie et d'une large concertation préalable impliquant les instances gouvernementales, les partis politiques et la société civile. (...) Une possibilité entre autres est la mise en place d'une Commission électorale nationale véritablement indépendante et disposant de larges pouvoirs pour organiser et superviser les opérations électorales doit se faire sans précipitation. Il est impératif de poursuivre la recherche d'un consensus non seulement sur les structures en question, mais aussi sur leur composition (partisane ou non partisane), leurs attributions, leurs ressources, leur financement, leur permanence et les procédures de nomination de ses membres.

Recommandation relative à la confection des listes électorales. Cette question doit faire l'objet d'une étude et d'une réforme en profondeur. Il conviendrait notamment d'introduire des moyens informatiques plus importants, de centraliser le contrôle des listes et d'envisager la possibilité d'établir un lien entre cette problématique et les projets existant en matière de réforme de l'état civil.

Compte tenu de l’importance du travail des partis et organisations politiques dans la vie démocratique d’un pays, des programmes pourront être développés pour la formation des membres des groupes et partis politiques dans l’organisation et le travail professionnel des partis politiques (programmation, campagne électorale, medias, financement, législation, etc.).

Many problems that occurred throughout the electoral process could have been avoided had there have been a more adequate training programme in a number of areas.

Returning Officers and Election Tribunals perform crucial tasks as they are accepting candidates’ nomination papers as well as being responsible for consolidating the results. Most of them are experienced judges and have performed this task before. However, there are almost always changes to the process, and this was particularly true this year. In spite of this, no training of the ROs and Election Tribunal staff was conducted, which contributed to a non-uniform implementation of the rules and procedures, which could cast doubt on the election results. It is therefore recommended that the ECP also develop a training program for the ROs and Election Tribunal staff.

Political parties have not as yet fully realised how party agents can enhance the democratic process. They must place greater emphasis on comprehensive training for
party agents in all parts of the electoral process including the count.

The introduction of new qualification criteria for the nomination of candidates particularly the graduation requirement, discriminates against some 96% of the population.
Furthermore, the university degree requirement particularly penalises female candidates, whose access to education is even more limited. Another controversial decision related to the provision that candidates would be disqualified if they, family members or business associates had defaulted on utility bills for rather small amounts (approximately 155 euro). This is most unusual and should be dealt with by other legal remedies (e.g. fines) rather than being used as a pretext for disqualification. Both qualification criteria should be brought in line with internationally accepted standards.

The provision that the set aside seats for women and minorities are indirectly elected using a proportional system based on the number of general seats won by the each political party in combination with a 5 % of the seats threshold further increases the effect of the majority vote because in practice it excludes regional parties and independent candidates. It is therefore recommended that the 5 % threshold be abolished and a proportional system be used, based on the number of votes instead of the number of seats.

In parallel with this the computerised NIC should be systematically used for any future elections. All eligible persons should receive one in time.

The relocation of polling stations in the few hours preceding the opening of polls contributed to confusion and consequently lower turnout. Polling stations should only
be relocated when absolutely necessary and in sufficient time for voters to be informed of the change.

When the voting papers have been completed, they should be returned to the box and it should be sealed in the presence of party agents. Ballot boxes should be transported in a manner, which guarantees that there will be no tampering. The period of time between the preliminary results and the official results should be reduced to avoid any allegation of manipulations. Furthermore, transparency could be considerably enhanced if results were displayed immediately on the ECP website once they have been received by the Returning Officer, thus reflecting the progress of the aggregation process.

It is also recommended that ballot papers arriving after the close of poll on Election Day at the Returning Officer’s office should not be allowed. By doing so, the Returning Officer can include the postal ballots in the preliminary results. By authorising Presiding Officers to count doubtful ballots in polling stations and allow Returning Officers to count postal ballots at the close of the poll the ECP can do away with the consolidation of the results by ROs.

(...)There should be more female enumerators to increase the number of females registered to vote in the area in which they live. Greater effort must be made to ensure that they are provided with NIC's, especially in rural area. There should be a general political awareness campaign not only to inform women of their rights but also to educate men so that they will acknowledge and respect women's rights as well. The EU should consider providing funds for initiatives in this field not only to facilitate co-ordination between NGOs who specialise in this area but also to encourage exchange of experiences between group both inside and outside Pakistan.

The NEC needs to improve its communication with the political parties and the general public, in order to enhance transparency and to diffuse information to the electorate faster and more effectively. It could do this by appointing a Public Relations Officer, who is easily accessible. On the district level, the DECs need to improve the transfer of information to the political parties. This could be done by replicating at the district level the National Consultative Committee, a body where party representatives liaise with the election administration. The international community and the EU in particular should assist by helping to rebuild the communication infrastructure in Sierra Leone, including the establishment of a telephone and electricity network.

District Electoral Officers and District Returning Officers need to be appointed earlier and should receive more means and training to achieve an effective electoral organisation at the district level.

The register of voters should be maintained and regularly updated. The production of such a voter register could also take advantage of the upcoming national census.

The procedures for special voting and the transfer of vote should be better communicated and handled, as to avoid confusion and thus suspicion of manipulation, and assure a uniformity of polling procedures.

special votes should not be announced separately, as to avoid stigmatisation of certain groups.

The NEC should be responsible to ensure that the political parties are allocated equal airtime on state radio and television, as required by the Electoral Laws Act. A media watch dog should be established within the NEC to this purpose.

Finally, the NEC should establish rules as to access to polling stations by the press during the counting and the announcement of results.

The political parties need to be supported, both in terms of material (computer, photocopy machine) and human resources (training, communication, information gathering). The EU should organise training programmes for the newly elected MPs, including helping them to get access to the Internet and to attend parliamentary debates in countries like Ghana, which has a vibrant Parliament.

The development of a complete election system must start now, which includes the establishment of the appropriate election management bodies. Whereas the outgoing
Independent Election Commission prepared a large cadre of election officials and staff spread throughout the country, tested in three national polls and established sound
independent and sound election practices, these should be preserved and built on for the future. We recommend that an Independent Electoral Body comparable to the IEC be
directly appointed by the President of the East Timor Supreme Court and accountable to the Court.

Whereas illiteracy is high, the education system weak and the channels of social communication incipient, to overcome this there is need of effective and sustainable civic
education projects through local and international organisations. We recommend that donor should continue to support these projects with more substantial funding to ensure that the democratic process is reinforced.