Dear Reader,
The July 2013 edition of the ACE Newsletter highlights:
- six completed Encyclopaedia Topic Area updates in 2013
- new printable PDF versions of all the updated topic areas
-
the latest questions and discussions on the Practitioners' Network
- electoral events at which ACE was presented in recent months
- new publications by ACE Partner organizations and members of the ACE Practitioners' Network
Best regards,
The ACE Secretariat
Six Encyclopaedia Topic Areas Now Updated
In June we published the updated versions of the following Encyclopaedia Topic Areas: Parties and Candidates, Civic and Voter Education and Voter Registration. Together with the previously released updates of Boundary Delimitation, Legal Framework and Media and Elections, half of the content of the English language version of the ACE Encyclopaedia is now up to date.
We would like to thank all authors as well as the members of the Practitioners' Network who provided their input and participated in the review process. All together 1236 pages of content were reviewed!
New Topic Areas now also in PDF format
For those readers who prefer to print or to browse an entire topic off-line, we have now made PDF versions of each updated topic area available.
You can find the PDF versions here:
The Practitioners' Network
Over the last three months 620 members logged on to the Practitioners' Network and shared their knowledge and expertise in 180 contributions to questions asked by their peers. Topics ranged from voter registration to electoral systems, gender (reserved seats and separate polling stations for women), minorities (procedures considering customary law) and civic education.
Consolidated Replies are summaries of the discussions on the Practitioners' Network. Among the consolidated replies published during the past quarter were the following:
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Examples of criminal sanctions imposed against political parties
I am interested in examples of both fraudulent behaviour during elections and/or enforcement of political finance laws, where criminal sanctions were imposed against a political party. My main questions are therefore:
- Are there any examples around the world of cases where criminal sanctions were imposed against a political party?
- What are the legal regulations in this field, and are there any examples of countries where political parties would be explicitly excluded from the application of criminal responsibility?
Read replies ...
International experiences of supporting electoral law enforcement
I am researching international experiences of supporting electoral law enforcement and entities that impose related sanctions, particularly in "post-conflict", or "fragile" states. Therefore I am looking for examples of best practice, both regarding support to departments within Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs), as well as electoral compliance units outside EMB organizations. In short, my questions are:
- What examples are there of support to EMB and non-EMB actors for enforcing the electoral law and imposing sanctions, particularly in post-conflict/fragile states?
- What examples are there of literature and best practice available on this topic?
Read replies...
An internationally agreed normative base for free, fair and credible elections
The recent Practitioners' Network discussion "Less talk about ”free and fair” elections?" concluded that a shift has taken place in the discourse of terms used to characterize the conduct of elections, and that there is a rising awareness among analysts that election observation should increasingly be an effort to monitor and evaluate the process of an election, against international and regional obligations and commitments voluntarily undertaken by countries. The following is a complementary question to the recent discussion:
Is there a way to shortly describe the most solid internationally agreed normative base for free, fair and credible elections?
Read replies...
Examples of election-time caretaker governments in parliamentary democracies
I am looking for examples and studies on election-time caretaker governments that regularly oversee elections and hand over power to newly elected governments.
- What examples such as that of Bangladesh are there of election-time governments in practicing parliamentary democracies?
- What useful studies or links are available on this topic?
Read replies...
Professional platforms/initiatives and international standards/principles for boundary delimitation
I have two questions related to the coordination and development of electoral boundary delimitation:
- What examples are there of international standards/guiding principles for delimiting electoral boundaries?
- Are there are any examples of attempts for specific regional or international coordination or networking platforms/initiatives among individual professionals involved in electoral boundary delimitation, beyond activities such as the development of standards?
Read replies...
ACE at Electoral Events
The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network was showcased to electoral administrators at several events where participants were invited to join the Practitioners' Network. These events included:
- a training event for electoral administrators from Namibia, Nigeria, Bermuda and Palestine at organized by the International Centre for Parliamentary Studies in London on July 2nd.
- the 10th European Conference of Electoral Management Bodies in Chisinau, Moldova on June 26-27.
- the Political Party Assistance peer meeting in Sigtuna, Sweden June 10-12.
- BRIDGE workshops implemented by International IDEA on April 15-19 in Accra, Ghana and April 22-26 and June 17-21 in Pretoria, South Africa.
- a specialized course on voting from abroad organized by the Instituto Federal Electoral of Mexico from May 27-31 for officials from 11 Latin American countries.
Recent Publications by ACE Partners and Members of the Practitioners' Network
UNDP/UN Women Report on The Sub-Regional Forum on Women’s Participation in Post-Revolution Parliamentary Elections
The Report aims at documenting the proceedings of the Sub-Regional Forum on Women’s Participation in Parliamentary Elections in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya; the three Arab countries which are going through a transition period to build democracy, since 2011, following the Arab Spring revolutions. It presents comparative experiences, regional and international perspectives, as well as the discussions and debates that revolved around them.
Political Party Dialogue - A Facilitator's Guide
Building on case studies from different countries - from Nepal to Uganda and on to Ecuador - this Guide focuses on the need for more and stronger dialogues between political parties. It enables actors to: assess the conditions for political party dialogues; build trust and consensus; convene dialogues; set their goals and prepare their agenda; design their various stages; explore the relation between inter-party dialogue, elections and Electoral Management Bodies; encourage dialogues that include women and minorities; and; last but not least, foster concrete dialogue agreements that can lead to reforms.
Transnational Politics and the State: The External Voting Rights of Diasporas
Why do an increasing number of states grant their emigrants the right to vote in home country elections from abroad? How does external voting affect emigrants’ relations with sending and receiving societies? And, how do transnational electoral campaigns modify relations between states? These are the questions that this books aims to answer looking at different European and Latin American case studies. This book sheds light on the changing nature of political connections between emigrants and their home and host countries in the era of globalization. With a multi-disciplinary approach, it will appeal to scholars and students of political science, sociology, international relations, migration and transnationalism.