Promoting Information and Voice for Transparency on Elections (PIVOT)

Transcription

1 Promoting Information and Voice for Transparency on Elections (PIVOT) End of Programme Assessment Rosalind Hanson-Alp December 2008 Prepared for UK s Department for International Development (DFID)

2 Table of Contents 1. Summary 3 2. Methodology 3 3. Background to the PIVOT programme 4 4. Programme Coordination and Management 4 5. Programme Achievements on Outputs Output 1. Greater understanding of citizens, particularly poor women and men, on electoral processes and issues and of their role in holding government to account Output 2. Enhanced capacity of the media to produce election materials and provide accurate, credible and unbiased information to the public about elections Output 3. Enhanced integrity of the electoral process through international observer delegation and improved credibility in monitoring and reporting on the elections process through enhanced capacity of civil society to effectively monitor the election process _ Output 4. Increased participation of women and youth in the political process Output 5. Strengthened and representative political parties providing choice to electorate based on policies 9 Key Risks and PIVOT s Response 10 Intimidation of women aspirants and candidates 10 Election violence 10 Partisanship and Sierra Leone s political landscape 10 Appendix 1. PIVOT Lessons Learned 12 Appendix 2. Broader Election Lessons 13 Appendix 3. Recommendations for Future Election Support Utilise documented coverage of the electoral process and party / candidate pledges as tools for civil society to hold Government accountable Build institutional support to independent radio networks and domestic monitoring groups to develop sustainability Streamline women s participation in elections in gender focused development and civic education activities Support to promoting information and transparency on elections Start now! 15 Appendix 4. Acronyms 16 Appendix 5. List of People Interviewed and Met 17 Appendix 6. Terms of Reference for PIVOT Post-elections Evaluation Exercise and Project Completion Report 18 End of Programme Assessment December

3 1. Summary The Post-Election of the Promoting Information and Voice for Transparency on Election (PIVOT) programme was developed as an umbrella structure bringing partners with a diversity of experience and approach together under a common goal. The purpose of the PIVOT programme was to support free, fair elections by improving citizens ability to engage effectively in the electoral process through enhanced capacity of media and civil society. Presidential and Parliamentary elections were held in August 2007 and a run-off election in September. Local Council elections were conducted on July 5, Reviewed coordination structures at the end of PVIOT s first year of implementation led to a more effective coordination and increased synergy within the programme. Overall, PIVOT proved valuable in providing opportunities for collaboration and shared experience. The flexibility of PIVOT was recognised by partners as one of its strengths. PIVOT partners developed strong relationships with civil society organisations and key institutions like the National Electoral Commission (NEC) and there was concerted effort to provide the public with step-by-step information on the electoral process and wide coverage of election events to the public through on the ground activities and media broadcasts. The work of media and civil society partners' providing space for political parties to present manifestoes and candidates to state pledges was innovative and effective in broadening an important aspect of voter education. PIVOT's provision of international and domestic observers was effective in monitoring the electoral process and feeding reports, statements and recommendations through media partners to the public. Challenges to PIVOT included the trend of widespread, organised intimidation of women aspirants and candidates, which led to the withdrawal of some aspirants candidacy, and the highly politicized landscape in Sierra Leone. It was evident that more focus on working directly with political parties and the Political Parties Registration Committee (PPRC) in combination with increased efforts to address gender disparity at community and decision making level, would help to build up stronger support for women s participation in elections. Another challenge to ensuring free and fair elections is in reviewing the role and partisan nature of Traditional Authorities. As the Councillor of Paramount Chiefs summarised it, people assume that Paramount Chiefs support the Government of the day but how can we be non-partisan? Traditional rulers are confused about politics and there is need to look at ways of engaging them before and after elections. While PIVOT made a valuable contribution to the credibility and outcome of free and largely fair, non-violent, Presidential-Parliamentary and Local Council Elections, a number of issues can be addressed to maintain the momentum of civil society s involvement and lay the foundation for timely support to the 2012 elections. Key recommendations for follow-up are: Utilise documented coverage of the electoral process and party / candidate pledges as tools for civil society to hold Government accountable Support to promoting information and transparency on elections Start now! Streamline women s participation in elections in gender focused development and civic education activities Build institutional support to independent radio networks and domestic monitoring groups to develop sustainability 2. Methodology This evaluation and narrative report was informed by a review of project documentation, interviews with project partners and stakeholders and from two PIVOT facilitated Lessons Learning events. These events provided an overview of Sierra Leone s election experiences, involving a broad range of stakeholders as well as a focused exercise to analyse PIVOT s contribution to elections and the lessons learned. As per the terms of reference, operational project sites were not visited and focus End of Programme Assessment December

4 was placed on assessing PIVOT s overall value and contribution to elections and identifying lessons learned with recommendations to supporting future elections in Sierra Leone. PIVOT project partners did, however, carry out their own end of project analyses in the districts where they were working. This narrative report has been compiled in addition to providing an assessment of PIVOT partner activities against the nested log frame in DFID s Project Completion Report format. Reporting on PIVOT management, coordination and monitoring is addressed in the Project Completion Report. This PIVOT assessment was conducted over a seven day period between 1 16 th December Background to the PIVOT programme Following the official announced of the end of the war in January 2002, the first post-conflict Presidential and Parliamentary elections took place in August 2002 and Local Council elections in In following its mandate, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) reinstated the majority vote system in 2007, in line with Local Council elections. This constituency-based system, otherwise known as the first-past-the-post system (FPTP), political parties nominate a candidate to run for contest each constituency seat. DFID provides support for electoral reform with funds to increase skills and knowledge within the National Electoral Commission and supporting agencies through the provision of technical assistance and direct procurement of election materials. This latter programme is managed by UNDP as part of a Basket Fund arrangement in partnership with other Donors such as the EC, Irish Aid, DANIDA, JICA, & France. The lack of attention to civil society engagement under the basked fund was the basis for the decision to create an umbrella programme that selected complementary project proposals in support of promoting civil society s participation in elections. PIVOT set up as a complementary effort in support of elections with a 3 million budget over a two year period from November 2006-December The PIVOT programme s overall goal was to support development partners in providing opportunities for Citizens to be able to hold local and national Government to account with the purpose to support free and fair elections by improving citizens ability to engage effectively in the electoral process through enhanced capacity of media and civil society. PIVOT was set up an umbrella programme of support to international and national development partners with diverse skills and approach with the view to achieving the programme s collective goal. International NGOs partnered with national organisations to achieve outputs, they were as follows: Strengthening media The international NGO, Foundation Hirondelle partnered with the Fourah Bay College s Department of Mass Communications. International NGOs, BBC World Service Trust and Search for Common Ground partnered with the Independent Radio Network, a network of community radio stations. International and domestic election observation The international NGO, the National Democratic Institute partnered with Sierra Leone s National Election Watch. Promoting women s participation and representation in elections The International NGO, Oxfam partnered with the national coalition of women s organisations 50/50 Strengthening political parties The International NGO, Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) worked directly with political parties. 4. Programme Coordination and Management The PIVOT umbrella programme aimed to start in October However, initial delays, due to contractual agreements between partner organisations, resulted in PIVOT starting implementation in January 2008, only months before the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in August A End of Programme Assessment December

5 consultant was hired by DFID to coordinate the PIVOT partnership on a 10 days a month basis in order to more effectively oversee, monitor and report on the programme given DFID-Sierra Leone s limited staff resources and intense workload. In the first year, coordination was limited to facilitating monthly partner meetings with a distinct lack of documentation, monitoring and reporting. This affected the programme s ability to focus partners on lateral collaboration and the broader PIVOT purpose and goal. A Post-Election Evaluation report 1 of the PIVOT programme in December 2007 made specific recommendations to improve the management and coordination of the PIVOT programme which resulted in the development of a new terms of reference for the Coordinator and a jointly developed nested logframe to increase collective understanding and direction to achieving the programme s goal. Despite being developed at a late stage of the programme, emphasis on the nested log frame and increased engagement with partners had the benefit of improving overall monitoring and reporting as well as help create a more holistic approach to implementation. All PIVOT partners said that coordination meetings helped foster partner synergies as it was "not a forced partnership" but considered as an opportunity for information sharing and cross learning. 5. Programme Achievements on Outputs Programme achievements are reported through PIVOT s five outputs, each of which was led by different project partners. While all partners did contribute to each output, the report is structured in this way to fit with the outline of the nested log frame. 5.1 Output 1. Greater understanding of citizens, particularly poor women and men, on electoral processes and issues and of their role in holding government to account Search for Common Ground (SFCG) and BBC-World Service Trust (BBC-WST) worked in partnership to develop and implement the Democratic Governance in Sierra Leone project which formed a component of the PIVOT programme, leading activities for Output 1. The project was implemented for a period of two years from January 2007-December 2008 (SFCG s budget was for two years and BBC-WST s for one year), with a total budget of 532,912. The partnership between SFCG and BBC-WST worked well in terms of providing complementary skills to community radios stations and selected journalists. Through supporting the Independent Radio Network (IRN) made up of 21 radio stations distributed around the country, SFCG and BBC- WST were effective in building on existing radio stations and skills and capturing local level voices. BBC-WST provided state-of-the-art equipment and technical skills to 7 radio stations, although the selection process was not clear and there seems to have been some level of tension between stations who received equipment and those who did not. In responding to the need to broadcast credible news and information on the electoral process, BBC-WST trained radio station journalists in collecting background research and producing focused news reports. As a result, partner radio stations who commonly produced one-dimensional news reports on a large number of topics were able to start broadcasting more factual, focused news on key topics. With support, IRN developed and endorsed a Code of Conduct and collectively enforced members to adherence to it. For example, reports of member stations giving favoured airtime to a political party or broadcasting misinformation were queried by the network and station managers were asked to come to the forum and report on accusations of misconduct. SFCG worked with IRN stations to produce weekly programmes and daily discussions related to the elections and consequent public concerns, including repetitive messaging and jingles about the electoral process, advocating voter participation and non-violence in the run-up to elections. Electoral education and key issues were also broadcast at national level through SFCG s Parliament Bol At, Common Ground News, Salone Uman (Sierra Leone Women) and the popular soap series Atunda Ayenda. Outreach activities included broadcasting discussions and debates with electoral and state officials, aspirants and candidates and the public which contributed to making 1 December Post-Elections Evaluation of the Promoting Information and Voice for Transparency on Election (PIVOT) programme. Governance and Social Development Resource Centre. End of Programme Assessment December

6 space for candidates to focus on issue based discussions and campaigning. SFCG worked closely with NEC to support voter education, which NEC acknowledged as being helpful in broadening their coverage and ability to respond to informational needs. SFCG also collaborated with NEW and non- PIVOT partners to broadcast monitoring progress and reports of intimidation towards women aspirants and candidates. Special attention was given to women s electoral participation through general and focused programmes like Salone Uman (Sierra Leone Women). The shocking level of intimidation of female candidates prior to both Parliamentary and Local Council elections was addressed through discussion programmes and news reports of harassment. In Moyamba district, for example, a female candidate was being threatened by a political party who tried to use the women s secret society to pressure her to stand down. Complaints reached one of the IRN stringers who broadcast it on radio in a name and shame ploy. This was successful in helping stall further intimidation until party symbols were awarded. The candidate was eventually elected and wrote a letter of thanks to IRN and SFCG. Post-election activities were limited both in the 2007 and 2008 elections, mainly due to general election fatigue. It would have been useful, for example to provide more detailed public information about the annulled polling stations, although it was reported that NEC delayed in presenting reports and statements. BBC-WST did train radio stations in producing accountability programmes, using interviews with elected MPs and pre-election recorded material on campaign pledges to hold MPs accountable. However, utilising recorded material as tools for civil society to hold Government to account was not given sufficient focus. In addition, poor road networks and limited project timeframe resulted in programming covering predominantly urban district voices and did not capture enough of the grass roots or community voices as was initially hoped. SFCG played a valuable role in reducing tensions prior to post-elections through mediation activities and by providing credible information in response to public needs in combination with repetitive non-violence in elections messaging. 5.2 Output 2. Enhanced capacity of the media to produce election materials and provide accurate, credible and unbiased information to the public about elections Fondation Hirondelle (FH) partnered with Fourah Bay College s (FBC) Department of Mass Communications (DMC) on the Strengthening Media in Sierra Leone project which led activities for Output 2. The project was implemented for a period of two years from January 2007-November 2008 with a total budget of 725,000. The project created Cotton Tree News (CTN), an independent news and information radio programme broadcasting six hours a day through Radio Mont Aureol, a student and community radio station based at FBC, the UN broadcasting network and satellite feeds to ten community radio stations around the country. FH programming is focused on providing accurate and investigative news reports, through which election information was broadcast. FH transformed Radio Mont Aureol, initially developed and run by students from the DMC, into a state-of-the-art newsroom from which CTN broadcasts its programmes and established a training centre. FH employed a team of journalists, predominantly students from the DMC, and provided technical and journalism training through practical experience as apprentices. Over 60 CTN students and community radio journalists benefited from internship experience in Star Radio in Liberia (a FH partnership initiative). Through an MoU with FBC, CTN developed a schedule and curriculum as part of the DMC s Bachelor of Arts degree course. While this offers students with the valuable opportunity to gain practical training and journalistic skills, FH acknowledges that the training was not fully integrated into the curriculum and the partnership with FBC has at times been problematic. FH suggested that if they are to continue it would be more productive to merge with FBC. In order to broaden coverage, FH provided satellite dishes and training to 10 selected community radio stations who broadcast CTN daily news programmes. There have been significant challenges in maintaining and repairing satellite equipment in the provinces as replacement parts are unavailable in Sierra Leone and have to be imported as well as limitations in the current technology that makes equipment susceptible to damage from severe weather. This created some frustration End of Programme Assessment December

7 for both FH and the community radios as there was a near continuous need to maintain station equipment and a limited number of technicians. FH have trained 12 stringers who report on news events from the provinces which are then incorporated in CTN s news programmes. Initially news programmes were broadcast in English and some Krio and a half hour daily news programme in Limba, Mende and Temne. FH recognises the need to provide more local language programmes following some listener responses that claimed CTN is only for Freetown 2 and they could not understand programmes as they were in English. As a news agency, FH s approach in the run up to elections was to cover events as news items and create public discussion and electoral information on issues such as the PPRC Code of Conduct and women, youths and disabled participation in elections through the regular and growing popular Insai Salone (Inside Sierra Leone) programme. FH did not develop special relationships with Government institutions like NEC as it was stated that as a news agency journalists needed to remain objective and as such only reported on NEC activities and events. CTN worked closely with NEW as regular participants on CTN s programmes and as an important information source. CTN s approach to broadcasting as a news agency complimented SFCG s work which was rooted in messaging and integrated programming as a civil society voice. Tensions between the media partners, likely due to differences of approach, was somewhat addressed in the second year of implementation as more effort was given to collaborative opportunities. The future of FH and CTN was precarious in the period leading up to the closure of PIVOT, as they lacked funding to continue after 2008, and acknowledged they would have benefited from a clearer exit strategy or fund-raising plan. It is evident that FH has contributed to strengthening media professionalism within its target group. However, given the level of investment in CTN it might have been a more sustainable option to build on existing stations capacity to produce independent news reporting rather than creating a new independent news agency. FH have since acquired further funding from Irish Aid. 5.3 Output 3. Enhanced integrity of the electoral process through international observer delegation and improved credibility in monitoring and reporting on the elections process through enhanced capacity of civil society to effectively monitor the election process National Democratic Institute (NDI) partnered with the National Elections Watch (NEW) on the Strengthening Democratic Governance in Sierra Leone project which led activities for Output 3. NDI were the coordinating partner and funded for one year with a budget of 900,000 to deploy international observers to monitor the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in 2007 and provide capacity support to NEW. As a domestic election observer group NEW were funded for a two year period from January 2007-December 2008 with a budget of 500,000 (managed and reported on by NDI) to monitor the 2007 and 2008 elections. NDI exceeded their target by deploying 100 international observers to monitor the first round Presidential and Parliamentary and subsequent run-off elections. NEW mobilised 5,400 fully trained volunteer domestic observers to monitor 87% of the polling stations in the first round and trained an additional 1,000 replacement observers for the run-off. Long-Term Observers (LTO) were deployed 6 months prior to the elections and worked closely with NEW's domestic observers to conduct preelection assessments during the registration and nomination processes. NDI and NEW discussed plans for observer deployment cover with the EC, ECOWAS and the Commonwealth, who also deployed international observers. Observer reports and public statements following elections were published widely through the media. NDI s Resource Centre that offered voter education and resource materials for candidates was not fully utilised by civil society or political parties which NDI attributes to it being established too late in the campaigning calendar. The Resource Centre was used more as a training centre and as a space for civil society and candidates to hold meetings. 2 December Post-Elections Evaluation of the Promoting Information and Voice for Transparency on Election (PIVOT) programme. Governance and Social Development Resource Centre. End of Programme Assessment December

8 NEW took advantage of public expectations of the Presidential and Parliamentary 2007 elections and attribute part of their success in mobilising a large number of volunteers in a short period to people wanting to be part of change in ensuring democratic elections. NEW s enhanced capacity has moved it from a stop-and-go monitoring group to a credible independent organisation that inspired public trust and confidence. As a result people relied on NEW to provide credible information and intervene as a neutral body in situations where tensions were high. For example, in some cases where traditional authorities were restricting campaigning to favoured parties, NEW mediated with Local Government, traditional authorities and political parties to allow equal campaigning access to all parties. NDI and particularly NEW collaborated with all the partners acting as a source of information for the media component and in responding to partner reports of candidate intimidation and electoral offenses. The partnership between NDI and NEW was complimentary as domestic observers benefited from training in observer processes and organisational structuring. The Local Council elections gave NEW the opportunity to prove they could monitor elections alone and manage a significant budget with limited technical assistance from NDI. NEW deployed 3,200 volunteer observers who covered 100% of the Local Council polling stations. As a result some people referred to them as the new NEW and a few members participated as international observers in the recent elections in Ghana. Both partners acknowledge that post-election activities were limited. More focus could have been given to putting pressure on NEC to more speedily resolve election disputes and provide explicit information concerning the annulled polling stations in the 2007 Presidential and Parliamentary elections. To date, no electoral offenses have been charged to court. NEW have started to review their mandate with the view to expanding their work to cover more domestic elections and peace building activities. 5.4 Output 4. Increased participation of women and youth in the political process Oxfam partnered with the coalition of women s organisations 50/50 on the Promoting a Culture of Equal Representation (PACER) project which led activities for Output 4. The project was implemented in the target districts of Kailahun and Koinadugu for a period of two years from November 2006-November 2008 with a total budget of 394,896. PACER project targets were ambitious, aiming to increase women s representation at Parliamentary and Council level to 30%. In addition, PACER aimed to address traditional and structural barriers that marginalise women s participation in the political arena. As highlighted in PIVOT s annual evaluation, coordination and staff changes within both Oxfam and 50/50, combined with a limited understanding and focus of the project's goals resulted in an extremely slow and largely ineffective start to implementation in the first year. Following recommendations from the evaluation, Oxfam and 50/50 developed a cohesive plan to implement activities and formalise the monitoring and reporting system in accordance with the nested logframe. Oxfam supported 50/50 s capacity in developing a four year Strategic Plan and Capacity Building plan. As a result, PACER was substantially more effective in year two. The operational districts were selected on the basis of being at the extreme scale of women s representation: Kailahun had the highest number of women representatives in Parliament and Councils while Koinadugu had no female representatives. PACER conducted awareness raising activities through facilitating open dialogue, radio programmes and messaging materials, collaborating with PIVOT media partners and to a limited extent NEC and Councils. PACER worked with community stakeholders to come up with a criterion for what they expected from candidates. Based on these criteria, PACER worked with community women s groups to go and find potential female aspirants who were then trained in preparation for candidacy campaigning. This was a creative way of promoting women s participation and if continued on a long-term basis would likely be effective in increasing the percentage of representation. However, both partners recognise that the timeframe was too short to adequately build the confidence and skills of new aspirants and as a result there are some reports of successfully elected women raising concerns about their capacity to hold their positions. In response to this PACER has started working with the Decentralisation End of Programme Assessment December

9 Secretariat (DecSec) with the aim of building the capacity of women at WARD committee level as a means of increasing opportunities to prepare potential candidates for the 2012 elections. At the end of the 2008 elections, women s representation had decreased in Kailahun but increased 100% in Koinadugu. Focus on PACER s ability to meet unrealistic targets, however, would detract from the valuable contribution PACER undoubtedly made to elevating the profile of women candidates at local and national level, with the likely additional benefit of stimulating more women to vote based on individual choice. Although it was perhaps an oversight in the project that risk mitigation was not a component of PACER, the project faced the overwhelming challenges of attempting to address overt intimidation targeted to women aspirants, particularly independent candidates. At the extreme, partners reported incidences where women were threatened with rape or death but more commonly women were under intense family pressure as they tended to hail from politically involved families and were competing against male relatives. Of the 291 female aspirants PACER trained for the Local Council elections; only 31 were successful in attaining party symbols from which three stepped down as a result of intimidation. Oxfam and 50/50 recognised the need to engage directly with political parties at the start of the project if they were to be effective in pushing for party endorsement of women candidates. However, as an international NGO, Oxfam were concerned about the implications of working directly with political parties which could affect their perceived impartiality. As a lesson PACER partners acknowledge that not enough attention was paid to national level advocacy, for example working with the Political Parties Registration Committee (PPRC), and believe that the there was political resistance to integrating women s issues at legislative and party decision making level. A valuable opportunity for programme synergy was missed as Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) were working directly with political parties offering scope for incorporating gender focused issues in WFD s support to parties. However, DFID also consider it a lesson that donor support for elections was mainly on the lines of taking a political issue and developing a technical response. DFID relies on development partners to provide an overview of the political context and would benefit from having a clearer in house understanding of how largely political issues affect programme implementation. Delays in PACER s implementation affected the project s ability to complete all activities and as such Oxfam have requested a no-cost extension to round-up activities. 5.5 Output 5. Strengthened and representative political parties providing choice to electorate based on policies Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) aimed to work directly with political parties under their Political Party Development Programme which led activities for Output 5. WFD were funded for a period of one and half years from December 2006-June The project proposed to build the capacity of political parties in developing party manifestoes and policy based campaigning with the view to provide voters the choice of parties based on principles and policy as opposed to personality. While WFD did provide training to political parties in manifesto development, delays in setting up the project meant that WFD arrived on the scene after the two main political parties, the All Peoples Party (APC) and the Sierra Leone Peoples Party (SLPP) had already developed their manifestoes and WFD were only able to provide limited support to the third largest party, Peoples Movement for Democratic Change (PMDC). As highlighted in PIVOT s annual evaluation lack of reporting, documentation of activities and monitoring in the first year of implementation makes it difficult to assess the impact of WFD s work. There was some level of training for party candidates and WFD developed and supplied balanced campaigning materials to parties. WFD conducted an opinion poll prior to the Presidential and Parliamentary elections, but did not share the results from the poll with partners. There was some duplication in surveys as BBC-WST and SFCG conducted a baseline survey, collected similar information on information source preferences as the opinion poll. More effective communication with partners might have identified this as an opportunity for collaboration. There was limited collaboration with media partners although a BBC-WST trainer assisted WFD in some of the party training workshops. End of Programme Assessment December

10 WFD contracted an independent evaluation of their project which stated that the training provided to parties on tolerance and non-violence in elections had cultivated an impact. In Kenema As a result of the workshops they had attended, they formed a cross party association called the All Political Parties Association (APPA). Similarly in Bo, a cross party association called the All Political Parties Youth Association (APPYA) was formed and a document about holding violence free elections was signed by all the youths across the parties who had attended the workshops 3. The evaluation also said that at the local level campaign materials, t-shirts and flyers were late in being distributed and women interviewed stated that they were not involved in the process of developing them. In 2008, WFD facilitated two workshops for Parliamentarians on the effectiveness of being an MP and the transition to Government. WFD s independent evaluation emphasised that the absence of an in country presence, as the project was managed from the UK, made it difficult for party members to build an effective relationship with WFD as there was no continuity to link one visit to another. Key Risks and PIVOT s Response Intimidation of women aspirants and candidates There was clear evidence of the intensity of intimidation tactics targeting women aspirants and candidates during the Presidential and Parliamentary elections, This posed a significant risk to achieving the PIVOT programme purpose of improving citizens ability to effectively engage in the electoral process, particularly by means of increasing women s participation as aspirants and candidates. While all partners did take action to mitigate this risk, through collectively channelling intimidation reports to electoral authorities, increased media programming on women s voices and issues of intimidation and PACER s concentrated support to women aspirants and candidates which helped to increase public awareness of the issues faced by women, this was largely an improvised response. As a result of not having effectively developed a cooperative plan to integrate gender, specifically in relation to a plan of action to respond to risks, at all levels across the programme, PIVOT limited its ability to mitigate this risk in the Local Council elections, Election violence In the run-up to the Presidential-Parliamentary and Local Council elections, Sierra Leone faced the risk of election related violence affecting the nation s ability to hold free and fair elections. As a risk this was perhaps the most pronounced as it threatened to have a direct affect on election outcomes and democratic process in Sierra Leone. The risk of violence in the elections was linked to issues of Traditional Authorities partisanship, the overwhelming politicisation of Sierra Leone society and national divide along political party lines. PIVOT partners collectively recognised this risk and worked at all levels, from political parties to civil society, in partnership with NEC to reduce the risk of violence. Through disseminating accurate information on the electoral process, radio messaging, public dialogue and training, PIVOT partners were effective in laying the foundation for increased tolerance and a rapid response to incidences of conflict. Partners focused on different components worked well together, by sharing information about incidences of violence and developing complimentary non-violence election campaigns. In addition, partners were responding to pre-election conflicts through on the ground conflict resolution activities which evidently contributed to preventing widespread violence. Partisanship and Sierra Leone s political landscape In reviewing Sierra Leone s elections and the lesson learned, it became clear that the acute political landscape and its affect on programme implementation was not a risk fully addressed by PIVOT. The level of partisanship among Traditional Authorities was recognised as a real concern to future free and fair elections in Sierra Leone. As mentioned above, Paramount Chiefs acknowledge the challenges of remaining apolitical and recommend this issue is addressed at national level, 3 Evaluation of the WFD Sierra Leone Political Party Development Programme, November PIVOT partner and Coordinator reports and Coordination meetings. End of Programme Assessment December

11 providing clearly defined roles in elections for Traditional Authorities. The politicisation of almost every sector, public and private, was a high risk to realising PIVOT s goal as partners had to spend significant time negotiating the political landscape. In hindsight, PIVOT did not take into account the need to work more directly with political parties, Traditional Authorities and the security sector. As a result, PIVOT was troubleshooting rather than addressing some of the root causes of Sierra Leone s divided political environment. End of Programme Assessment December

12 Appendix 1. PIVOT Lessons Learned In the Sierra Leone context where information is principally passed by word-of-mouth the diversity of partner skills and approach, balancing media with civil society election monitoring and advocacy support reduced the high risk of information being misinterpreted and limited tension and potential conflict. Community radio stations are susceptible to misuse and manipulation from political and traditional powers, particularly during elections. Support to an independent radio network like IRN contributed to setting higher standards and ethical benchmarks for radio journalism through Codes of Conduct and a structure for peer review. Radio networks also helped protect smaller and more vulnerable stations from being taken over by political parties as they had the backing of a collective voice. Building the capacity of a network of community radio stations was a valuable tool for providing an independent voice and monitoring mechanism during elections. In order to capture a grassroots voice and participation in elections it would be necessary to extend media work to Chiefdom level and give more focus to local language programming. In a post-conflict environment like Sierra Leone providing a local monitoring initiative like National Elections Watch (NEW) with resource and technical capacity was a valuable contribution to ensuring significant civil society participation and oversight of elections. In order to achieve the level of participation needed to meet international and national gender representation targets, projects would need to build understanding and support for women aspirants and candidates from Political Parties and the Political Party Registration Committee, Government institutions like the National Electoral Committee and influential community members such as Traditional Authorities. Limited post-election activities and election fatigue as a result of demanding pre-election activity log frames missed valuable opportunities to capitalise on post-election accountability and provide civil society with the tools to hold Government to account. Clear management and coordination structures, incorporating agreed mechanisms for documenting, monitoring and reporting on implementation based on a jointly developed integrated log frame to build common understanding and improve lateral collaboration among partners needs to be set at the design stage of umbrella programmes. Partners need to allow for more space and flexibility in developed programme log frames to ensure projects effectively respond to emerging issues and address risks. Donors need to have a deeper understanding of the political context in which programmes are funded and improve donor communication, cross learning and limit duplication of programming support. End of Programme Assessment December

13 Appendix 2. Broader Election Lessons Lessons from Sierra Leone s elections are drawn from presentations and discussions during the PIVOT facilitated Lessons Learning Event which brought PIVOT partners and representatives from the NEC, PPRC, political parties, Traditional Authorities, civil society, donors, NGOs and academics together to identify trends in the 2007 Presidential and Parliamentary elections and 2008 Local Council Elections and collectively identify lessons learned. The National Electoral Commission was generally perceived as non-partisan and professional in performance, contributing to the conclusion of credible and largely free and fair Presidential and Parliamentary elections. 5 International technical assistance to the National Electoral Commission needed to give more focus to transferring skills to increase long-term sustainability and national ownership of electoral processes. The National Electoral Commission missed opportunities to effectively deal with election offences by not following up on election offences and appropriately reporting court proceedings on election malpractices. The National Electoral Commission s nationwide boundary delimitation exercise in which they redrew the boundaries of many wards and constituencies for the Local Council elections was not as inclusive of a variety of stakeholders as the boundary delimitation exercise in the Presidential and Parliamentary elections in This resulted in confusion among aspirants as to their representational coverage and likely contributed to public apathy and a lower voter turnout in the Local Council elections as compared to the 2007 national elections. The lack of clearly defined structures outlining the role of Traditional Authorities and an effective mechanism to enforce the neutrality of Paramount Chiefs contributed to the intimidation of voters and partiality in candidates access to voters during campaigning. Political parties and party radio stations need to be directly engaged in promoting election transparency and adhering to the Political Party Registration Committee s Code of Conduct. Some people believed that political parties were the source of violence, confusion and voter apathy. 6 Public tensions increased over concerns about the use of ex-combatants as security for Presidential candidates. The process of awarding party symbols was not based on a democratic selection process which contributed to the marginalisation of women and young aspirants competing for Parliamentary and Local Council seats. Political parties contributed to the division of the country along regional and ethnical lines with geographical dominance marginalising independent candidates ability to gain access and reach to the public in campaigning. The collective efforts of international and national NGOs, civil society organisations and Government institutes like the National Electoral Commission contributed to an increase in national awareness of the electoral process and civil society s participation in elections. 5 Statements from the NDI, NEW, EC, ECOWAS and the Commonwealth declared the Presidential and Parliamentary elections as credible, free and fair. 6 December Key Findings from Election Evaluation Forums in Eight Districts. Search for Common Ground. End of Programme Assessment December

14 Appendix 3. Recommendations for Future Election Support There is a great deal to be learned from the PIVOT programme experience and broader election successes and challenges. There is need for future support to extend beyond elections to a broader focus on civic education, governance and accountability in order to achieve increased civil society election participation and mechanisms for accountability. The following key recommendations are provided as perceived priorities. 1. Utilise documented coverage of the electoral process and party / candidate pledges as tools for civil society to hold Government accountable Perhaps for the first time in Sierra Leone s electoral history, documentation of the electoral process, political party manifestoes, candidate pledges and public debate were recorded so extensively. This is a valuable resource that could be used by civil society organisations and media to hold national and local government to account in the current term of office. It is recommended that PIVOT partners collate documentation and make it publicly available in the form of a database to civil society and the media. In addition use of this resource should be integrated in partners ongoing development projects that support civic education and advocacy for Government accountability. A database could be developed in the form of a digital catalogue disseminated to civil society coalitions, libraries, media houses, international and national NGOs and uploaded on internet websites. 2. Build institutional support to independent radio networks and domestic monitoring groups to develop sustainability PIVOT media partners provision of radio station equipment, technical and journalist training was a valuable component in building the capacity of community radio stations to disseminate independent and balanced coverage of the 2007 and 2008 elections. Equally, the significant achievements of the National Electoral Watch (NEW), with the technical support from NDI and resources from DFID, contributed to mobilising civil society en masse and providing a strong basis for domestic capacity to effectively observe elections. In order to ensure there is a framework for independent monitoring and reporting on elections in preparation for the 2012 elections, it is recommended that radio station networks like the Independent Radio Network (IRN) and monitoring groups like the National Elections Watch (NEW) be supported in developing Strategic and Fund-Raising plans to build institutional capacity for sustainability. Creative initiatives for income generation and building the entrepreneurial skills of radio station should be explored in order to build on PIVOT s significant investment in the media and elections observer component. Addressing sustainability issues would also reduce re-investment of donor resources in start-up activities for media networks in the run-up to the 2012 elections. 3. Streamline women s participation in elections in gender focused development and civic education activities Sierra Leone s entrenched patriarchal system contributed to a resistance at national and local level to provide space and support for women aspirants and candidates in the 2007 and 2008 elections. As a result, efforts to promote women s participation in elections were highly politicized. Women aspirants and candidates were perceived as a threat by their male counterparts who feared losing power of seats and reacted with excessive intimidation tactics that resulted in some candidates stepping out of the elections. It is recommended that to achieve gender parity in the political arena women s organisations and gender focused development projects collaborate to review national electoral legislature and political party constitutions as a basis for working with the Political Parties Registration Commission and the National Electoral Commission in advocating for a legal framework that promotes women s engagement and participation in elections. In order to address the need for attitudinal change and promote the perception of women as equally qualified to provide leadership in decision making at community and political level it is recommended that development partners and civil society organisations streamline the concept of women in elections in gender focused development and civic education activities. Campaigns that showcase successful women in End of Programme Assessment December

15 politics, the development and private sectors could be developed for schools and rural communities as a means of providing role models for young girls and women. In addition development partners supporting the education sector should work with the Ministry of Education to review the national curriculum to eradicate archaic elements that stereotype gender roles and develop modules that promote women. 4. Support to promoting information and transparency on elections Start now! The overwhelming recommendation from PIVOT partners and stakeholders is that planning and support to promoting public participation and oversight of the 2012 elections should start now to maximise impact. The Office of National Security s National Security Coordinator, Brigadier Kellie Conteh stated that the nation s future will depend not only on the success of recent elections, but the smooth development of democracy and election processes in the year It is recommended that development partners and civil society start immediately to build relationships and links particularly with the National Electoral Commission, Political Parties Registration Commission, Office of National Security and political parties in responding to capacity needs and planning for the 2012 elections. This would require development partners to work collaboratively. Replicating parts of the umbrella structure of PIVOT in the form of an Elections Working Group with a realistic mandate and commitment would benefit collaboration and support to the above recommendations in preparation for Donors should take the lead in developing an information sharing strategy among donors and for stakeholders to limit duplication of programming and provide potential linkage between projects to maximise resources and build on investments. 7 Presentation to Members of Parliament during an ONS initiated Parliament Training Day in August (supported by Conciliation Resources through a DIFD funded security sector-civil society project) End of Programme Assessment December