Alex Paila discusses various aspects of national and local election management in Sierra Leone during 2007 and 2008. These areas include the recruitment, training, evaluation and monitoring of election staff; election security; voter registration, audits and curtailment of voter fraud; information dissemination, media relations and enfranchisement of marginalized groups; and financial and logistical constraints and concerns.  He also emphasizes cooperation with community-based civilian organizations as key for information dissemination and higher voter turnouts, and he stresses relations with international organizations to improve workers’ training and monitoring, and secure funding. Paila also speaks about the issues of districting and determining electoral timetables.  Finally, he reflects upon some of the challenges faced by Sierra Leone during the elections in 2007 and 2008, as well as possible hurdles that the country may face in the future.    

Idrissa Kamara, a district electoral officer in Sierra Leone, begins by identifying his responsibilities at the National Electoral Commission.  He explains that the biggest challenges of the 2007 presidential election were to earn public acceptance of the electoral process and its results.  He stresses the importance of having an independent electoral commission that is not indebted to the government, and he identifies the complications that ensue when funding comes from the government and the international community.  Kamara promotes development of human capacity of administrators and the public, which he notes is cheaper than importing international advisers.  He also supports the inclusion of stakeholders so Sierra Leonean people can take ownership of their elections.  Kamara details important parts of the process of holding Sierra Leonean elections, including delimiting constituencies and allocating seats, hiring and training electoral staff, avoiding violence and voter fraud, registering voters, and processing complaints.  He then ventures into the topic of family voting, laments that people vote for candidates from their home region who speak the same language as they do, and discusses how to sensitize voters and shift the focus towards issues.

Emmanuel Debrah discusses the successes and challenges of the electoral process in Ghana.  He focuses on the role of the electoral commission in planning, implementing and monitoring elections and details that process.  Debrah explains the successes and challenges of voter registration in a country with limited records of birth or citizenship.  He also discusses the role of political parties in cooperating with the electoral commission, the relationship between the electoral commission and the government, and the monitoring and observation procedures for local and international observers.  Finally, Debrah touches on financial accountability structures for election officials, border demarcation issues and anti-fraud measures.    

Magnus Öhman discusses Sierra Leone’s 2007 elections.  He explains the considerations necessary during election sequencing, the current legal and constitutional framework for elections in Sierra Leone, and the various successes and challenges of Sierra Leone’s recent elections.  He describes the responsibilities of the National Electoral Commission, the legal framework that governs it, and its successes and challenges.  He also explains the training of poll workers, the boundary delimitation process, voter registration, and the various safeguards against fraud during both registration and voting.  Öhman also touches on the development of political parties in Sierra Leone, problems with the involvement of donor countries and international organizations, and the role of the media in elections.    

Case Study:  Mediating Election Conflict in a Bruised Society: Code of Conduct Monitoring Committees in Post-War Sierra Leone, 2006-2012

Albert Kofi Arhin discusses the biggest challenges of conducting elections in Ghana. He details the process of drawing up a timetable for the elections. He explains the issues surrounding elections funding and the steps Ghana is taking to make them more affordable. Arhin also discusses staff recruiting and training, elections monitoring, boundary delimitation, and voter registration. He then focuses on fraud prevention, both in the registration process and during the elections themselves, and security issues.  Arhin also touches on the Electoral Commission’s relationship with the media, discusses voter education, and offers advice for other countries conducting difficult elections.    

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

Charles Munyaneza speaks about his role as executive secretary of the Rwandan National Electoral Commission and the efforts to rebuild the country after the 1994 genocide. He begins his discussion by describing his experience working as the director of Political Affairs and Territorial Administration for the Ministry of Internal Affairs immediately after the genocide. He describes the situation in Rwanda in which many refugees had fled their land years before the genocide. With the new government, many refugees returned, causing a shortage of land and jobs. The Ministry of Internal Affairs was forced to look for innovative solutions to restructure the division of territory in Rwanda. Finally Munyaneza speaks about his efforts in the National Electoral Commission to push decentralization through promoting local self-determination.    

Case Studies:  The Promise of Imihigo: Decentralized Service Delivery in Rwanda, 2006-2010 and Government Through Mobilization: Restoring Order After Rwanda's 1994 Genocide

Professor Chaligha discusses the management of elections by the National Electoral Commission (NEC) in mainland Tanzania and the Zanzibar Electoral Commission (ZEC) in Zanzibar. The NEC is responsible for registering voters, demarcating constituencies, and conducting voter education. The relationship between the NEC and ZEC is complex in that some Zanzibar residents, who have spent less than three years in Zanzibar, are registered for mainland Tanzania’s elections. Chaligha mentions NEC’s efforts to maintain transparency on election day. For example, all candidates are allowed to place an election monitor at the polling station during voting. Following Tanzania’s constitution, leaders of political parties – including members of Parliament, councilors and ministers – are not permitted to serve on the NEC. In contrast to the NEC, the ZEC does permit political party members on the commission. A major hindrance to the NEC is its reliance on the government for funding. Chaligha proposes an election fund that the commission could call on only for elections.