Status of Independent EMBs

An interesting question arose in my mind at a recent training in Brussels. International agencies that sign technical assistance agreements with EMBs, strive to gain an invitation from these EMBs. These agreements are separate (though may be the same) as may be signed with the host government. Does this agreement with the EMB elevate the institution to another sphere of governance, similar to the Executive, Legislature or Judiciary? Although these agreements may serve simply to have a formal endorsement from the inviting EMB, it does raise the question of the exact status of independent EMBs. Are we creating separate governance structures through these actions. What do you think?

Changes to BRIDGE Facilitation Categories

BRIDGE, the world's foremost elections curriculum, has undergone some changes. For one, it is no more known as BRIDGE Project, but simply as BRIDGE. Other changes are more fundamental than this. At the last meeting of the BRIDGE Partners (UNEAD, IDEA, IFES, UNDP and AEC)in November 2008 in Sydney, it was decided to streamline the facilitator categories. No longer is there a reference to Level 1 to 5 for facilitators, but the names are more reflective of the reality on the ground. One major change is that the person who accredits a facilitator is called an Accrediting Facilitator. This person is no longer the highest rank of facilitator that you can find. Clearer guidelines on the facilitator structure has emerged. The picture above spells it out more clearly. Distribute it to fellow BRIDGE Facilitators. Spread the word.

The Predatory State: Is this the future?

Larry Diamond analyses an interesting phenomenon he calls the predatory state, which is emerging in the modern day. In his article, he emphasises some important challenges democracies face. Do you agree with his analysis? What role do you play in improving governance and the upholding of citizen's rights and access to structures of governance?

The article can be found at here.

Look back and walking forward

Its been a busy year. Including doing work in South Africa, I've been in 12 countries this year (Jordan twice) conducting trainings and attending meetings. Amazing experiences I had this year involve:
• Watching the Zimbabwean dollar in free-fall and people making a living despite this.
• Building great friendships during a BRIDGE Train-the-Facilitator workshops in South Africa.
• Meeting Dr Afari-Gyan, one of the great elders of African elections, in Ghana.
• Preparing a nerve-wrecking BRIDGE course in Botswana (all preparations were done in 2.5 days flat! Please let's not do that again!).
• Visiting Petra, Wadi Rum and dancing on a boat on the Red Sea in Jordan (first visit).
• Enlightening statisticians on elections and democracy assessment in Namibia.
• Seeing the Door of No Return on Goree Island and meeting Breyten Breytenbach in Dakar.
• Freezing in the highlands of Lesotho (no central heating!).
• Visiting the Pyramids of Giza and floating on the Nile in Cairo.
• Floating (without a boat this time) on the Dead Sea in Jordan (my second visit) whilst engaging in strategic planning with local election professionals.
• Linking with some of the most passionate minds on elections capacity development from around the world in idyllic Sydney.
• Coming down to earth in the dusty boom-town of Juba in South Sudan working with the UNDP and UNMIS and of course seeing the Nile from another point further south.
• Meeting awesome people from around the world and thrilling in how more people are starting to take elections training seriously world-wide.
Of course there were some setbacks on my part, but these fade in comparison to the wealth of experiences. My gratitude goes to all those who contributed to a wonderful year.

On the elections front, Kenya, Zimbabwe and Nigeria reminded us all of the fragility of elections on the continent. Kenya had successful power-sharing talks, whilst in Zimbabwe it has failed. Ghana, with its two-round system of presidential elections, is restoring some faith in elections as a peaceful means of democratic transition in Africa. Taiwan, Russia, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada and Georgia had new presidents or prime ministers elected/appointed or existing ones reconfirmed. Kosovo declared independence and Georgia was invaded by Russia. Nepal held historic first elections, whilst the Bolivian president survived a recall-referendum. Ukraine saw their parliament dissolved and coup d'etats were carried out in Mauritania and Guinea. We saw the US elect its first black president in a campaign that had the entire world glued to their televisions for months. On other related fronts,we saw the free market system get a reality check that could see some important shifts in economic practices around global financial systems. Terror attacks saw many die in India, Pakistan, and other countries in the world, grim reminders of the destabilised world, where basic freedoms are limited through violent means.

To top off 2008 I was invited to take on a portfolio with International IDEA on capacity development and participation. As of 1 Dec 2008 I ceased working as an independent consultant and joined IDEA, working out of their Africa and Middle East Office in Pretoria, but reporting to Stockholm (Sweden), working on global projects under Ross Attrill, who is standing in for Paul Guerin (away on paternity leave). As I head for Stockholm later this month I am keen to hear from all of you what are burning issues that require tackling in my new portfolio. Capacity development will obviously involve BRIDGE, but also other areas such as e-learning and leadership development amongst EMBs. The participation area will obviously focus on citizen participation in democracies, focussing strongly on elections but extending far further than voter turnout. Let me know what you see as challenges and how they could be addressed.

In 2009 16 elections are sheduled for Africa alone, of which the biggest and most important must be the Sudanese presidential elections. South Africa has its own political intrigues that should see increased voter interest at the polls, but potentially may result in many campaign headaches for the South African EMB. With these kinds of developments, the elections front will continue to keep all of us on our toes.

Best wishes to all of you out there for 2009 and remember to drink (safe) water! If you are running an election or observing one of the many this year, you need to be at your peak performance. Water forms 75% of your body and just a 2% drop marks mild dehydration, causing fuzzy short-term memory, trouble with basic math, and difficulty focusing on smaller print, such as a computer screen. But dont take my word for it, educate yourself! And remember to Drink Up! Enjoy the thing that makes our planet special...

Make 2009 a positive year to remember!

Strategic Planning at the Lowest Point on Earth

The lowest point on Earth is the Dead Sea. Situated 413 metres below sea level, this salt lake lies between the West Bank and Jordan. With one of the world’s first health resorts, the Dead Sea area has enjoyed important religious significance within Judaism, Islamic and Christianity histories. This unique site was a very appropriate location for a BRIDGE course in strategic planning for Jordanian election managers.

From the 6th to 9th October, election practitioners from the Jordanian Ministry of the Interior engaged in strategic planning at the Marriot’s Jordan Valley Hotel Dead Sea Resort and Spa. Two 2-day sessions were run with 22 participants in each session. The event was organized by IFES and comes after a number of other BRIDGE activities that have been run in the country. Heads of electoral districts came from across the country to attend the strategic planning training.

The participants are responsible for the management of elections in their electoral districts and do this on a part-time or temporary basis, balancing this work with their other responsibilities for the Ministry of the Interior. Coming from 42 electoral districts (excluding the 3 Bedouin districts) across 11 governorates, the participants are the highest ranking election practitioners outside of head office.

The BRIDGE course depended heavily on the strategic planning for EMBs document that was compiled by Joe Baxter from IFES several years ago. This document was translated into Arabic for this course. Participants were also provided with the IDEA Handbook on Election Management Body Design, also in Arabic. The course was run by myself and Hermann Thiel, assisted by Sara Al-Utaibi (IFES) and Sa’ad Al Shehab (Ministry of Interior). During the workshop, Sa’ad Al Shehab received his full accreditation as a BRIDGE facilitator and becomes the first representative from the Ministry to achieve the status. This step is an important step in the growth of BRIDGE in Jordan, increasing the prospect of future independent offerings of BRIDGE within the Ministry.

Participants received the training enthusiastically as this marks the first such a focus on broader strategic planning regarding elections within the Ministry. Some of the participants will go on to become governors within the different areas and this investment in their understanding of elections and planning will reap benefits in future. This session, focusing on key concepts and tools for strategic planning, is hoped to form the basis for a future follow-up which will review the 2007 elections and craft a proper strategic plan for the 2011 elections.

Running a BRIDGE course

So you want to run a BRIDGE course? BRIDGE has grown into the de facto elections training curriculum around the world today. Short for Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections, the course has developed out of initiatives by the Australian Electoral Commission, International IDEA and the UN's Electoral Assistance Division. A testimony to its growth is the addition in recent years of IFES and UNDP as partners in the BRIDGE Project.

With capacity development in elections becoming a major focus in many countries, BRIDGE represents a short-cut (not replacement) to the many years of on-the-job learning many of us were exposed to when we started in elections. However, many who see it as a simple "entry-level" training miss the point completely. Whilst it can serve that purpose, it also can act as a wake-up learning programme for those officials that have clocked up 10 to 20 years of experience behind them in the elections field. Many of these veterans have not been exposed to elections outside of their own contexts and have become complacent in what they know and tied to the belief that theirs is the best way of tackling their specialist areas.

So... Is BRIDGE the panacea for all election training ills? Well, with 23 modules covering the whole range of elections practices within the election cycle, it most certainly comes across as just what the doctor ordered. The 23 modules are structured around foundation modules, electoral architecture, stakeholders and operations. With massive flexibility coming through customisation options, one seems to be able to craft almost any training on elections around it. But, this flexibility and myriad of modules also becomes BRIDGE's greatest weakness. While in theory any accredited facilitator can appear to tackle the training, the reality and practice are quite the opposite.

A few key things spring to mind when considering selecting a credible facilitator:

• elections expertise (Has the person worked in the area? In what capacity?)
  
• facilitation competence (What experience as a facilitator does the person have?)
  
• inter-personal skills (Is there a personality "fit" between the person and yourself?)
• past experience/s in doing similar things (not necessarily BRIDGE, but also other training courses)
• knowledge of the materials (navigating through >5000 pages of material is no joke?)

Finding a good facilitator is not as difficult as one would think. Either contact the author or the BRIDGE office in Melbourne to be pointed in the right direction. A good facilitator can help you through the rest of the process. But what can you do independently?

Define "Why" Clearly?
Understand that training is about change, whether it is about improving service delivery, introducing new technology changes or simply preparing people to do their jobs. You have identified a need for training/learning and it must be driven by understanding of why. Be clear about what the change is that you wish to see. Maybe it is about addressing past problems or pushed by a need for reform or wanting to introduce a new culture of learning? Be clear about why you want the training.

Understand the Target Group
You need to understand your audience. Understanding who the audience is will guide you into your project proposal. Who are you doing the training for? What is their level of seniority? How many of them are there? What level of experience in elections do they have? What have their previous training experiences been? How does this audience fit into the broader scheme of capacity development or change that your are wanting to introduce? How long do you have for the training?

Maybe you need to separate the "audience" in two or more categories. Mixing executive management with operational or field staff might not work well. Each audience category has specific needs. Field staff need to know the detail of specific election procedures and the basic rationale behind the procedures. Executive management's focus may be more on the principles of elections and working with stakeholders. These needs can often be broken down into personal motivations, institutional/group areas and operational components. Once you can pin-point these needs, a more sophisticated picture can be developed on how training can be rolled out. Remember, people are not robots that follow recipes well. Problems in the field will quickly show up weaknesses in training that focuses simply on "robotic training".

Then what?
BRIDGE consists of 23 modules. What are the topic areas that are relevant to you? What problem areas are you trying to address? The module titled Introduction to Election Administration covers aspects of almost all the other modules. This is often a good place to start if you are not sure which modules to focus on. This module can then serve as the basis for other additions, such as greater focus on registration, contestants (political parties and candidates) or media. These components can then be added.

How long does it all take?
A typical one-week long course takes can take up to two years to put together! Rubbish is what I hear you say :-) That is if you don't have buy-in from key role-players. Have you got the funding to go ahead with the project? Have the key decision-makers inside the relevant institutions given the "green light" for the project? Does the timing of the project clash with operational time-lines? If you underestimate the amount of motivation and education that you need to put into the initial phases to get approval, then two years suddenly doesn't sound unrealistic.

However, once you have all your ducks in a row, then the next step is finding an available good facilitator, a suitable venue and making sure all the other administrative processes kick in. You may have to be prepared to wait up to two months for someone to be available. Thinking that you can also do the course with only one facilitator is unwise. The BRIDGE course prides itself on its participatory learning and drawing on global experiences. You will need at least two good fully accredited facilitators to run a full programme that lasts one week. Look for opportunities to fully accredit existing facilitators from the country or neighbouring countries.

A good venue for up to 25 participants needs to be roughly 22m x 11m. This allows for sufficient space for the various activities associated with a BRIDGE course, including ice-breakers, energizers, role plays, etc. Of course it is possible to run the sessions in smaller venues. Just make sure there is enough space elsewhere for some aspects of the course, like a large area outside the venue. The venue, along with translation services (if required), will require booking well beforehand, sometimes up to a month or two beforehand. Venues should of a suitable standard, being used regularly for similar or other conference-type events. The location of venues should also take into consideration the proximity to the head office of the participating institution, as inevitably participants' day-jobs will interfere with the course, regardless of how hard one tries to keep the learning separate. The disruptions to the course could simply prove to undermine the course to the extent of rendering its usefulness null and void.

I have a good lead facilitator and a venue...
Once facilitator/s and the venue is in place, a pre-course preparation is mandatory and this can be at least a week long prior to the course. Facilitators will need access to preparation space, printing and bulk copying/binding facilities in the run-up to the course. With a good lead facilitator the preparatory phase will be managed properly, ensuring that all the relevant materials are in place and to the appropriate standard, that all other facilitators have been briefed and are prepared for delivery of the course. The learning amongst experienced BRIDGE lead facilitators are such that checklists exist to cover most aspects of the logistical arrangements, from the preparatory phase through to the post-course component. What ultimately then distinguishes one from the other is style, experience and professionalism.

Then its all systems go...

For more information on how to go about organising your own BRIDGE course, contact me on nackerdienr@gmail.com.

Quo Vadis Zimbabwe?

"It is not power that corrupts, but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it."

— Aung San Suu Kyi