electronic voting

Augustina Akumanyi

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E
Focus Area(s)
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6
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Ashley McCants
Name
Augustina Akumanyi
Interviewee's Position
Deputy Chairman
Interviewee's Organization
National Commission for Civic Education, Ghana
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Ghanaian
Town/City
Accra
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Augustina Akumanyi explains her role at Ghana's National Commission of Civic Education and how the commission was established, including its relationship with the government and its efforts to become and remain an independent body. She talks about how the commission operates, including staff appointments, operations, funding, budget authority, recruitment methods, and training and evaluation methods. She offers details of the responsibilities of the commission in voter and civic education activities and how these are shared with civil society and the media. This education can come in the way of messages that can either be motivational or instructional. Akumanyi gives her opinion on the best way to convey these messages, and which messages are more effective than others. Finally, Akumanyi shares her perspectives on the relationship between donors and host countries and ways to improve working relations.
Profile
At the time of this interview, Augustina Akumanyi was deputy chairman responsible for programs at the National Commission for Civic Education in Accra, Ghana. She had extensive experience in the Ghana Civil Service as well as more than 20 years working in the U.K. as a principle committee administrator in five London boroughs. She returned to Ghana in 2003 to work at the commission. She graduated from the University of Ghana and the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.
Full Audio File Size
45 MB
Full Audio Title
Augustina Akumanyi - Full Interview

Vincent Crabbe

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E
Focus Area(s)
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10
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Ashley McCants
Name
Vincent Crabbe
Interviewee's Position
Co-Chairman
Interviewee's Organization
Coalition of Domestic Election Observers (CODEO), Ghana
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Ghanaian
Town/City
Accra
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract

In this interview, Vincent Crabbe discusses his experience confronting the many challenges of ensuring transparency in the conduct of elections. One of the chief obstacles to transparent elections is the compilation of a reliable voter registry. For instance, in the absence of birth certificates and other forms of identification, he notes the difficulty of ascertaining whether a voter is of legal voting age. Other obstacles to compiling the lists include the fact that multiple individuals have the same name. Crabbe explains key reforms to Ghana’s elections process that he believes are transferrable to other countries, including see-through ballot boxes and counting ballots at polling stations to reduce the likelihood of tampering with while en route to counting centers. Finally, Crabbe sheds light on what he believes are the key attributes required for an electoral commissioner.   

Case Study:  Keeping the Peace in a Tense Election: Ghana, 2008

Profile

At the time of this interview, Vincent Crabbe was the co-chairman of the Coalition of Domestic Election Observers, which monitored all aspects of public elections in Ghana. Decades earlier, Crabbe established the country’s Electoral Commission. In 1968, he was appointed interim electoral commissioner. In this role, he oversaw the 1969 democratic elections that brought an end to military rule. Crabbe's status as interim electoral commissioner was equivalent to that of a judge on the Court of Appeals. He also served as the chairman of the Constituent Assembly for the drafting of Ghana's 1979 Constitution, as parliamentary counsel and constitutional adviser to the Ugandan government, and as director of the Commonwealth Secretariat Scheme for Legislative Draftsmen for the West, East, Southern and Central Africa Regions and the Caribbean Region. He also drafted the Guiding Principles for UNESCO in the field of Education, Scientific and Cultural Exchanges. He taught at the International Law Development Centre in Rome, Italy, and was a professor of legislative drafting at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, Barbados.

Full Audio File Size
82 MB
Full Audio Title
Vincet Crabbe - Full Interview

Kunzang Wangdi

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L
Focus Area(s)
Ref Batch Number
8
Critical Tasks
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Rohan Mukherjee
Name
Kunzang Wangdi
Interviewee's Position
Chief Election Commissioner
Interviewee's Organization
Bhutan
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Bhutanese
Place (Building/Street)
Election Commission of Bhutan
Town/City
Thimphu
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Kunzang Wangdi explains how, in his role as chief election commissioner of Bhutan, he set up and ran the country’s first democratic elections in 2008.  Wangdi explains the process that led up to the first election, including drafting laws and operationalizing the constitution, creating and managing a voter-registration process, training election workers and educating citizens on their role in a democratic process.  He discusses working with international observers and the media, reaching voters in remote areas, using electronic voting machines and moving forward for future elections.  Wangdi touches on the issue of security during the election and also explains Bhutan’s use of a mock election in 2007 to prepare election workers and voters for the electoral process.
Profile

At the time of this interview, Kunzang Wangdi was chief election commissioner of Bhutan.  In that capacity he set up and ran Bhutan’s first democratic elections.  Prior to his appointment as commissioner in 2005, Wangdi served as auditor general of Bhutan’s Royal Audit Authority.  He was also director of the Royal Institute of Management.  Wangdi began working for Bhutan’s civil service in 1977.  He received a bachelor’s degree in English from St. Stephens College in India and completed a master’s degree in public administration at Penn State.

Full Audio File Size
74MB
Full Audio Title
Kunzang Wangdi Interview

Rebooting the System: Technological Reforms in Nigerian Elections, 2010-2011

Author
Gabriel Kuris
Focus Area(s)
Core Challenge
Country of Reform
Abstract
In 2010, President Goodluck Jonathan appointed committed reformer Attahiru Jega to chair Nigeria’s electoral commission, building hope that the West African nation would finally break its chain of discredited elections. With under a year to prepare for the April 2011 elections, the commission turned to emerging technologies such as open-source software and social media to register 73 million voters from scratch and open a direct dialogue with the electorate. A small team of young Nigerian engineers guided by Nyimbi Odero pioneered these innovations, many of which contradicted the advice of elections experts. Despite some initial technical difficulties, Nigeria’s homegrown technology enabled the commission to prepare for elections goals on schedule and under budget. The credibility the commission earned helped spur unprecedented levels of voter participation. Ultimately, domestic and international observers validated the 2011 elections as the most free and fair in Nigeria’s history.
 

Gabriel Kuris drafted this case study on the basis of interviews conducted in Abuja and Lagos, Nigeria, in October 2011. Case published March 2012. For a broader analysis of Nigeria's 2011 elections, see "Toward a Second Independence: Repairing Nigeria's Electoral Commission, 2010-2011."

Associated Interview(s): Nyimbi OderosDapo Olorunyomi

 

Gocool Boodoo

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Focus Area(s)
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14
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Varanya Chaubey
Name
Gocool Boodoo
Interviewee's Position
Chief Elections Officer
Interviewee's Organization
Guyana Elections Commission
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Guyanese
Town/City
Georgetown
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
Gocool Boodoo discusses his personal path to his position as chief elections officer of the Guyana Elections Commission, as well as his reflections on the institutionalization of practices, policies, and procedures that account for the relative success of the 2006 electoral process in Guyana. Boodoo notes the benefits of institutional memory with the implementation of a permanent staff for the commission and secretariat, and he highlights the importance of transparency at every level of the organization and every stage of the electoral process, from registration to voting day to declaration of results. The emphasis he places on technology for organizing and sharing information, including registration forms and polling results, reflects his feeling that electronic voting will be a reality in Guyana at some point in the near future. The roles of technology, particularly for the sharing of information internally and with regional organizations, are the central focus of the interview. He also stresses the importance of a valid electoral roll. The interview concludes with a brief discussion of constituency delimitation in the late 2009 local elections, including a proposal before Parliament of a mixed proportional representation and "first-past-the-post" system.

 

Profile

At the time of this interview, Gocool Boodoo was chief elections officer at the Guyana Elections Commission. He previously served in various public relations and administrative capacities at the commission. Prior to his work at the Commission, he was the head of the Department of Foundations and Administration of the School of Education of the University of Guyana. His initial work with the commission was in the preparation of training and policy manuals for electoral workers. After serving as deputy commissioner for administration, he became chief elections officer in 2001, and he supervised both the March 2001 and 2006 national elections.

Full Audio File Size
26 MB
Full Audio Title
Mr. Gocool Boodoo - Full interview

John Larvie

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E
Focus Area(s)
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3
Country of Reform
Interviewers
Ashley McCants
Name
John Larvie
Interviewee's Position
Programs Coordinator
Interviewee's Organization
Center for Democratic Development, Ghana
Language
English
Nationality of Interviewee
Ghanaian
Town/City
Accra
Country
Date of Interview
Reform Profile
No
Abstract
John Larvie gives a detailed account of the electoral process in Ghana and the relevant players at each level. He starts by explaining the timing and sequencing of elections in Ghana, including the length of the electoral process and the decisions involved in finalizing its schedule. The legal framework of the electoral system in Ghana is also addressed, focusing on regulations that govern eligibility, registration, voting procedures, and the voting system used. He then moves on to explain how the election management body, the Electoral Commission of Ghana, was established with specific reference to efforts to maintain its transparency, and how its responsibilities, budget, and appointments are administered. He offers further insights into the role the Electoral Commission plays in regulating the political parties, and its training, recruitment, delimitation, evaluation and poll worker protection procedures. Larvie also gives details on Ghana’s voter education programs and the use of election monitors and their monitoring methods. Throughout the interview he offers advice and insights into addressing challenges that arise in elections, such as funding issues, partisan appointments, and ballot design to prevent vote fraud. Finally he explains the need to use the media effectively.
Profile
At the time of this interview, John Larvie was working at the Center for Democratic Development in Accra, Ghana. His work since 1987 involved the management of decentralization, democracy and governance at the district and national level in Ghana, with a specialty in communications and public relations. He also trained election observers and poll workers, and worked in civic and voter education initiatives. Previously he held various posts in communications and public relations with the Electoral Commission of Ghana, district assemblymen, and the International Foundation of Electoral Systems. In recognition of his role in governance and democracy work, in 1997 he was made an honorary member of the Board of Elections in Washington, D.C.
Full Audio File Size
141 MB
Full Audio Title
John Larvie - Full Interview