Dear Reader,

The September 2014 edition of the ACE Newsletter highlights:

• Feature: Electoral System Changes in Egypt Spark Dialogue on Post-Revolution Future
• Practitioners' Network Updates

• Ongoing Discussions Inside the PN
• New publications by ACE Partner organizations and members of the ACE Practitioners' Network 
• New poll on ACE: Electoral law reform processes present EMBs with a series of dilemmas. When should they and when should they not engage in such processes? Let us know what you think in the poll on the role of EMBs in electoral law reform.

Best regards,

The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network

Feature: Electoral System Changes in Egypt Spark Dialogue on Post-Revolution Future

Moeed Sufi, Fida Nasrallah and Eric Hodachok*

Egypt is on the cusp of its third and final milestone on the roadmap to a return to elected authorities outlined in July 2013 by then Defense Minister General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. The first two milestones were the constitutional referendum and the presidential elections, both of which took place in 2014. Parliamentary elections – the third milestone – have yet to be called.

On June 5, just a few days prior to the swearing in of the new President-elect, former interim President Adly Mansour ratified Egypt’s new parliamentary elections law, significantly altering the voting system established in 2011. In the former mixed system, two-thirds of representatives were elected through lists on the basis of proportional representation and one-third as individual candidates using the majoritarian system. The new law establishes what can be described as a dual-majoritarian system where 74 percent of representatives will be elected through the majoritarian system, 21 percent elected from closed, winner-take-all party lists, and 5 percent appointed by the president. 

Additionally, the new law creates quotas – applicable only to the upcoming parliamentary elections – for the closed lists. It mandates that lists running for the two electoral districts having 15 seats each should include at least three Coptic candidates, seven female candidates, two farmers and/or laborers, two youth candidates, one candidate with a disability, and one expatriate. For the two larger districts comprised of 45 seats each, the quotas increase to nine Coptic candidates, 21 female candidates, six farmers and/or laborers, six youth candidates, three candidates with disabilities, and three expatriates. A closed list or individual candidate wins if more than 50 percent of valid votes are cast in that individual or list's favor – hence the description ‘dual majoritarian’.

Observers believe the size of the four constituencies allocated for the closed lists may be too large to foster links between the candidate/party and the constituency. And although the law redrawing the electoral districts for the majoritarian ‘individual’ system, with the concomitant number of seats per population size and geography, has not yet been issued, the current system which allocates the lion’s share of seats to individual candidates weakens the development of political parties. It encourages reliance on traditional alliances and wealthy individuals, thereby increasing the possibility of the election of old-guard leaders reluctant to check executive power. The new electoral system has alienated some political parties, at least in their public discourse, for what is perceived to be the backing of a system that – in Egypt – has historically reinforced networks of political patronage and politically connected candidates at the expense of lesser-known candidates and parties. Supporters of the law, however, argue that voters prefer to elect known candidates and are more familiar with the majoritarian system traditionally used in Egypt under former President Hosni Mubarak. 

In a bid to restore stability, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has continued the crackdown on dissent initiated by the interim government preceding him. After two popular movements that resulted in the ouster of two Presidents only two years apart from each other, a sizeable segment of Egyptian society appears to back the new President’s goal of fostering stability by dulling formal political contestation, and support actions often criticized by the international community as inhibiting democratic discourse.

While some are now questioning the delay in the call for elections, others are actively calling for their postponement by up to a year, based on security concerns. There have been lawsuits filed against the electoral law questioning its constitutionality, which has raised hopes in some quarters that the law might actually be amended as a result, though the government has reportedly refuted such possibilities. 

As it stands, the electoral law, coupled with the formal banning of the Freedom and Justice Party, effectively rule out one important portion of society, the Muslim Brotherhood from parliamentary representation. So the extent to which Egypt’s political divisions over fundamental questions – such as political freedoms, the role of religion in statecraft, and even the legitimacy of the recent elections – will dissipate before or after parliamentary elections remains unclear. Moreover, declining rates of voter participation raise questions on whether the successive transitional administrations have irrevocably alienated huge constituencies of the voting public, including the youth and liberals. Furthermore, although al-Sisi’s long-term outlook on Egypt’s democracy goals appear to enjoy the support of his backers, with the current polarization of Egyptian society, an arguably exclusionist electoral system risks prolonging Egypt’s political instability. Though oppositional voices appear to be at a disadvantage in the present period, there can be hope for a more even playing ground in the long-term as Egypt’s deep divisions continue to play out in what is hoped to be a shifting, expanding, and ultimately more inclusive political arena.  

Consolidated replies are published summaries of the discussions on the Practitioners' Network. Among the consolidated replies published during the past quarter were the following:  

• Barriers to women’s voter registration, 
• Electoral observation regulations,  
• Country experiences with electronic voting, 
• Electronic election observation, 
• Information about regional EMB networks, 
• Manuals for election commission spokespersons, 
• Promoting youth in elected positions, 
• Citizens’ groups participating in national or local elections, 
• NGO/CSO department in an EMB, 
• Developing an EMB voter education training plan, 
• Restrictions on political campaigning in Myanmar and beyond, 
• Recommendations or best practices for writing materials provided at polling stations for voters, and 
• Checking the candidate supporter lists. 

Barriers to women's voter registration 

I am in the process of conducting research regarding barriers to women's voter registration. While it is widely recognized that voter registration procedures can present challenges to citizen participation in elections, in many parts of the world, women can face particular obstacles. 

• What examples are there of particular obstacles that women face around the world when it comes to voter registration?

Country examples as well as specific types of barriers that women face when registering to vote are much appreciated.

Read replies ...

 

Electoral Observation Regulations 

We are engaging with the Union Election Commission (UEC) of Myanmar to explore a variety of issues related to electoral observation (domestic, international and party agent) throughout the electoral cycle.  

The emphasis will be to highlight the potential benefits of observation in terms of increased confidence in the electoral process, enhanced citizen engagement, acceptance of results, improved electoral management, more effective complaints processes and strengthened electoral frameworks.  

Through facilitating a process of experience-sharing among ASEAN countries, we will build a comparative set of regulations governing electoral observation that promote openness and access to the electoral process, adherence to standards, cost-effectiveness, and ease of administration among other things.  This information will be shared with the UEC and domestic stakeholders with an interest in observation ahead of a dialogue and consultation with the UEC on drafting observation regulations that draw on international and regional good practices.  

For this purpose, we are looking for:

1. Examples of regulations that govern various aspects of electoral observation including accreditation, access to observe the various aspects of electoral cycle, specific regulations on observing polling, counting, tabulation, results and appeals processes.  
2. In particular on accreditation, we are looking for information about centralized or decentralized accreditation, whether organizations are accredited, or individual observers. The primary focus of our efforts will be domestic observation, but we are also interested in examining regulations governing international observation and political party agent observation.
3. We would also be interested in learning from the experiences of others in facilitating or assisting the drafting of regulations regarding observation with EMBs.

Any and all input will be much appreciated.

 

Read replies ...

 

Promoting youth in elected positions

I am working for local organization in Cambodia promoting youth political participation.

I wonder if there is any country that has the policy or mechanism or legal framework to promote/motivate/guarantee youth in elected positions, for example a quota system for youth.

Thank you very much in advance for any examples or references you can provide me with!

Read replies ... 

 

 

Country experiences with electronic voting

 

- Which countries currently use electronic voting in voting booths during national elections? Which percentage of the population votes electronically?

- What kind of machine do people use to cast their vote, a DRE, a DRE with a voter verified paper trail, a voting printer and a voting counter, or are paper ballots with a scanner used or a combination of these?
- Is the use of electronic voting still in a testing phase, or has it been implemented widely?
- Are there any recent reports or evaluations publicly available regarding this issue?
Thank you very much for any information you can provide.

 

Read replies ... 

 

Ongoing Discussions Inside the PN

Practitioners' Network (PN) members continued to critically engage on aspects of the electoral process, from measuring the quality of elections to legal advice for EMBs.  

ACE posed a question requesting PN members to suggest various methodologies for assessing electoral quality.

Measuring the quality of elections

The ACE Electoral Knowledge Network is interested in drafting a comprehensive review of instruments (qualitative and quantitative) used to measure election quality.

• Currently we are using the term ‘election quality’ in the broad sense, which can range from assessments an EMBs’ management of a single election or the electoral cycle, to measurements on the quality of political processes beyond elections. For example, the latter may include attempts to measure aspects of democracy.  

• We are interested in instruments aiming to measure electoral quality by capturing the perceptions of a range of political stakeholders, which may include electoral experts, academics, civil society, and the public.

• Variables for comparison we are interested in comparing include: whether the assessment is qualitative v. quantitative, examining processes v. institutions, self-assessed v. externally assessed, and whether the assessment is explicitly based on international obligations or not.

We therefore encourage PN members to:

1. List instruments they are familiar with that aim to assess all or specific aspects of the above;
2. Share views on the variables we have proposed to compare measurements;
3. Suggest other possible analytical approaches, thoughts on specific instruments, the merits of one instrument over another, or share any other thoughts on measuring electoral quality;
4. Suggest relevant case studies of countries/regions where different measurements have been used and if/how/why they were useful or not.

Read replies ...

Additionally, an ACE PN member asked other members to weigh in on the advantages and disadvantages of EMBs hiring their own legal advisers versus using advisers supplied by the government.

EMBs: Should they hire their own legal advisers, or use government supplied legal counsel?

What are the advantages for an independent EMB to hire and use their own legal advisers (lawyers) as opposed to using government supplied legal counsel? 

Is it necessarily a conflict of interest to have legal counsel provided by government or are there some advantages to using government lawyers, other than cost?

Read replies ...

Another PN member asked how municipal EMBs can increase accessibility for voters with disabilities, requesting best practices and lessons learned from other members.  

Municipal EMBs increasing accessibility for voters with disabilities

This question is posted by ACE on behalf of Ian Smith.

As part of my city's accessibility policy and legislative requirements, our municipal electoral management body is committed to finding ways of increasing accessibility for voters with disabilities. 

One approach being considered is offering a free taxi service for voters with disabilities to polling locations that are specially equipped with fully accessible Voter Assist Terminals. 

Does anyone know of any other large municipalities which have provided such a service? 

Any lessons learned or recommendations? 

Thanks.

Women candidates across the world face violence and intimidation during the campaigning period. 

In countries where  significant numbers of women compete as candidates in elections,  what mechanisms -- policy and legal --  exist to safeguard them from being politically marginalized by acts or threats of violence ?

Practitioners' Network members are encouraged to provide country-specific examples.

Recent Publications by ACE Partners and Members of the Practitioners' Network

Elections Worth Dying For? A Selection of Case Studies from Africa  

Recently released by IFES, this series of case studies explores the challenges of electoral programming in conflict-prone environments, such as several countries in Africa. More specifically it examines the roots of violence in the electoral cycle in Africa from a range of perspectives, and asks how stakeholders like electoral management bodies, women, youth, and political parties experience and affect how violence occurs in elections across Africa. 

Political Parties in Africa through a Gender Lens

This publication explores political party commitments to gender equality across 33 African countries. Based on a two-year IDEA project, the findings suggest that political parties often commit to gender equality in their manifestos, but there is a lack of concrete enforcement mechanisms for these measures.  

Monitoring and Mitigating Election Violence Through Nonpartisan Citizen Election Observation 

Nonpartisan citizen election observation groups have made significant advances in monitoring and mitigating election violence. In this manual developed by the National Democratic Institute (NDI), the authors share key insights from several groups who have participated in NDI-facilitated electoral violence monitoring and mitigation events and workshops.