Independent External Evaluation of the Electoral Cycle Management Project Zambia ( )

Transcription

1 UNDP Zambia Independent External Evaluation of the Electoral Cycle Management Project Zambia ( ) Terminal Evaluation Chandiwira Nyirenda April 2015

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ACCRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS... iii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY... vi 1. Introduction Purpose of the evaluation Scope of the evaluation Methodology Risks and Limitations Project achievement rating Evaluation timing opportunity Structure of the Evaluation report The project and its development context Project start and duration Problems that the project sought to address Immediate and development objectives of the project Expected project results Key Stakeholders and their roles in the project Ministry of Finance and National Planning United Nations Development Programme Implementing Partners Risks and Mitigation strategies Findings and conclusions Project design formulation Logical Framework Analysis Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page i

3 3.3 Project Implementation and Management Annual Work Planning Project Implementation Reporting Project performance and impact Relevance: Efficiency: Effectiveness: Sustainability: Impact: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATION LESSONS LEARNED Annexes List of Tables and Figures Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page ii

4 LIST OF ACCRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS AVR : Automatic Voltage Regulator AWP : Annual Work Plan BRIDGE : Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections CCMG : Christian Church Monitoring Group CDC : Centre for Disease Control CMOS : Metal-Oxide Semiconductor CSO : Civil Society Organisation CVE : Continuous Voter Education CVR : Continuous Voter Registration DFID : Department for International Development DNRPC : Department of National Registration, Passport and Citizenship ECZ : Electoral Commission of Zambia EIMS : Elections Information Management System EMB : Electoral Management Body EU : European Union GRZ : Government of the Republic of Zambia IBT : Invitation to Bid ICT : Information and Communication Technology IDEA : International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance INRIS : Integrated National Registration Information System IT : Information Technology MISA : Media Institute for Southern Africa MMD : Movement for Multi-Party Democracy NCC : National Constitution Conference NDI : National Democratic Institute Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page iii

5 NEA : National Execution Agency NEX : National Execution NRC : National Registration Card NSC : National Steering Committee NVET : National Voter Education Team OD : Organisation Development OYCD : Olympic Youth Development Centre OYV : Operation Young Vote PF : Patriotic Front PMS : Performance Management System POA : Public Order Act PVT : Parallel Vote Tabulation SADC : Southern African Development Community SC : Steering Committee TCDZC : Technical Committee on the Draft Zambian Constitution TSC : Technical Sub Committee TSC : Technical Support Team TTF : Train The Facilitator TV : Television UNDP : United Nations Development Programme UNEG : United Nations Evaluation Group UNICEF : United Nations Children s Emergency Fund UPND : United Party for National Development UPS : Uninterrupted Power Supply USAID : United States Aid for International Development USD : United States Dollar VEF : Voter Education Facilitator Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page iv

6 ZCAS : Zambia Centre for Accountancy Studies ZCID : Zambia Centre for Interparty Dialogue ZNBC : Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation ZNWLG : Zambia National Women s Lobby Group Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page v

7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Terminal Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Management Project ( ) was commissioned with the following specific objectives; 1. To provide an in-depth and independent assessment of progress or lack of achievement of stated goal, objectives and results; 2. Assess the extent to which the project has built the capacity of the Electoral Commission of Zambia and other targeted national institutions and nonstate organisations for effective management of the electoral cycle; 3. Draw up and document key successes, challenges, lessons learnt, innovations and best practices from the project and make recommendations for future support on electoral processes. The evaluation also reviews the appropriateness of the form of assistance provided, with a view to identifying lessons and making recommendations for future development cooperation around support to the electoral cycle management in Zambia. Overall the scope of the evaluation focused on the following four criteria which were used to assess the level and quality of contribution the project made to the country s electoral cycle of 2009 to Relevance: The design of the project addressed a broad range of areas in which the need for improvement was identified in order to contribute to the country democratic development. The project placed particular emphasis on capacity building in key players in the country s electoral process, including state and non-state actors, in which systems and processes for supporting the elections were targeted for improvement. In particular, the project sought to (i) build capacity in state institutions (ECZ and DNRPC) for managing the electoral process; (ii) build capacity in non-state institutions for enhancing women and youth participation in the political process of the country; (iii) augment mechanisms for conflict resolution among political players before, during, and after elections; (iv) improve domestic elections monitoring and observation; (v) enhance mechanism for inter-party dialogue; (vi) promote balanced and accurate media coverage of election events; and (vii) support the review of the legal framework for elections. With Electoral Cycle model which the project adopted, Cooperating Partner support which was harnessed under the project focused on addressing a comprehensive need driven issues throughout the electoral cycle rather than attending to isolated issues during election times. Given this focus, the project was Relevant (R) to the national democratic governance development objectives. Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page vi

8 Efficiency: Original budget for the project over the four years of its lifespan was USD 19,810, 416. With the coming on board of the Department for International Development (DFID) and the United States Aid for International Development (USAID), the total committed funding to the project increased to USD 23,895, As of end of 2011, 60.6% of the total project budget (including funds received in 2011 from DFID and USAID) and 80% of the actual funds received had been utilized. The balance of the funding was to be utilized during the period to the end of the project in December The Project Steering Committee (SC) and Technical Support Team (TST, collaborated effectively with the ECZ, DNRPC, and non state actors to provide policy, strategic and technical direction and operational guidance. Technical Assistance was adequate and facilitated the implementation and completion of activities to achieve stated results. For this reason, the projects efficiency in resource utilisation was Satisfactory (S). Effectiveness: Overall, the Programme mobilized Cooperating Partner support to deliver benefits to the country s electoral process that would otherwise not have been attainable with ease through other funding from the Government of Zambia. Most significantly, the benefits delivered by the project include the following; i. Credible tripartite 2011 elections whose results were endorsed by political parties, international monitors and local observers as being an expression of the will of the Zambian people. ii. Significantly reduced incidences of political violence before, during and after the 2011 elections and beyond; iii. An increased number of Zambians who have been able to make informed decisions on their involvement and participation in the electoral process resulting from the implementation of a vibrant voter education programme; iv. Increased number of women and youths participating in the political process of the country; v. Increased dialogue between political parties and the establishment of structures and systems for dispute and conflict resolution; vi. Strengthened institutional capacities of beneficiary state and non-state institutions. The project provided ground-breaking support to the improved enfranchisement of Zambians through IT capacity building in the ECZ and DNRPC for effective voter and civic registration respectively. In addition, through a sustained voter education programme over a period of more than one year, the project enabled a large population of Zambians to make informed decisions to participate in the country s electoral process. Against this background, it can be concluded that the project s achievement of its objectives was Highly Satisfactory (HS). Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page vii

9 Sustainability: The primary focus of the project was on contributing to democratic governance in Zambia through capacity building in institutions that have a stake in the management of the electoral system of the country as well as supporting non-state actors and social groups to be more participative in elections processes of the country. With the support from the project in the areas of organisational and IT infrastructure capacity enhancement, the ECZ has significantly improved its effectiveness and efficiency as an Electoral Management Body (EMB). The institution s improved capacity as am EMB was demonstrated recently (January 2015) by its ability to deliver an election with highly rated professionalism within a period of two months. By and large, the institution s functions such as election results management and voter registration are backed by sound IT infrastructure which is still up-to-date. Similarly, the voter education function is well integrated in the ECZ mandate and the institution has spurred the sustainability of the intended results in this area by facilitating the integration of voter education in the school curricula and the establishment of voter education clubs in schools. With regard to DNRPC, the implementation of the INRIS component of the project has continued beyond the project s lifespan with a considerable degree of progress. As is the case with ECZ, DNRPC has been a major beneficiary of IT infrastructure development support aimed at introducing a biometric national identity card for Zambians. As observed, the technological upgrades in both institutions have been implemented with careful consideration of the appropriateness of the technology and for this reason, there is scope for long term sustainability of project achievements. However, policy support measures will play a major role in the sustainability of results of the project interventions. For this reason, while the introduction of the biometric identity card is backed by a review of some pieces of legislation, which enhances the long term sustainability of the results of this intervention, the investment in ECZ s IT infrastructure for CVR is not adequately backed by policy support measures which guarantee that there is central treasury funding at all times to sustain the CVR process. Notwithstanding these minor risks, the sustainability of project results is Moderately Likely (ML). Impact: To a large measure, the Support to the Electoral Cycle project had a significant impact on advancing the democratic governance agenda of Zambia. In the Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP), the government has committed itself to enhancing good governance by focusing on human and infrastructure development for governance institutions to improve their delivery capacities. Through its support to the capacity development of the ECZ and DNRPC, the Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page viii

10 project made a direct contribution to this good governance building process of the country with its focus on strengthening the delivery capacities of these two governance institutions. With the support of the project, the ECZ s delivery capacity as an Election Management Body (EMB) was significantly enhanced and as a result the institution was able to deliver the 2011 general elections in a credible manner and under peaceful conditions as compared to previous election events. Beyond the 2011 elections, the ECZ has continued to demonstrate its build capacity to effectively manage elections as evidenced by its ability to prepare for and deliver, within a short period of time, a credible Presidential election in January Overall, the achievements of the project included (i) registering 86% of eligible voters before the 2011 national elections (ii) more women were ready to stand as candidates in the 2011 elections; (iii) training of staff members from the ECZ, District Electoral Officers, and over polling staff to effectively manage election day; (iv) training media practitioners in ethical reporting and reducing elections-related violence; (v) training voter education facilitators; (vi) training traditional leaders in civic and voter education; (vii) developing a new results management system to facilitate the transmission of election results to the public within 48 hours after the closing of voting polls; and (viii) developing a legislative review process for electoral proceedings to ensure their fairness and transparency. Based on these results the project s impact was Significant (S). Summary of recommendations 1. Although ECZ has received considerable support in terms of organisational capacity strengthening, detailed analysis of areas where external support would be required should be undertaken so as not to allow the weaknesses in these areas become operational challenges for the institution in future. Some of the areas in which ECZ will require further support include the following: a. Capacity building for voter education for staff still needs to be scaled up to create a broader and stronger national pool of trainers who have undergone Train-The-Facilitator (TTF) programme; b. Creation of a national cadre of voter education facilitators for the deaf and blind to specifically take care of the needs of these special groups of citizens using specially developed facilitation materials; c. The National Voter Education Team (NVET) should be expanded from the present membership of two people to at least 25 people nationally; Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page ix

11 d. Electoral staff training in ECZ should be advanced further through conducting the BRIDGE workshop for the accreditation of ECZ personnel and identified future core-trainers. 2. Provide capacity building support to CSOs for them to set up and use credible PVT during elections. 3. More resources need to be invested in intensifying the relationship between ECZ and DNRPC and bring it to a level where civil and voter registration will be seamlessly linked. 4. The ECZ should endeavour to enter into high level policy dialogue with government to ensure that resources are secured to support the CVR programme, which was abandoned due to lack of funding from central treasury. 5. A formal body at the national level should be established to ensure the follow-up and involvement of beneficiaries (such as CSOs). A local Follow-up committee under the leadership of the Church mother bodies but collaborating with a structure linked to Parliament, for instance, could play a positive role in creating an enabling environment for the scaling-up of project results. 6. Future support to civic and voter education should ensure that CSOs play a lead role with ECZ playing an oversight role (though setting standards) and providing quality assurance. 7. ECZ should be supported to invest in the use of alternative IT platforms, such as mobile phone technology, to bring reality to the concept of continuous voter education to supplement the efforts of other players such as CSOs. This should also apply to the increased and continuous use of mass communication avenues, such as television, outside election periods. 8. Future support to the electoral process should take into consideration the need to pay attention to issues relating to the Constitution making process. One such area in which UNDP could render such support could be public information and civic education campaign on the constitution making process, and the role and implications of the draft constitution. Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page x

12 Lessons Learned 1. UNDP supports building systems in targeted institutions, but these institutions politicize this support through over reliance on politicians. This is the case with the DNRPC INRIS component of the project which fell in the hands of politicians and as a result suffered serious setbacks in implementation. 2. UNDP support invested in resources in building local expertise to develop systems for improving the electoral process. The current Electoral Information Management System (EIMS) in ECZ was developed by local staff using less financial resources than would have been the case if foreign expertise had been brought in to develop a system that was likely to remain alien to ECZ. 3. The continuation of electoral cycle support model should also focus on institutional barrier-removal. Even if interaction with governmental institutions can sometimes be cumbersome, it is a necessary component of any structure that is meant to be perennial. Including ministerial representatives in the national structure of the programme or at least inviting them in high-level meetings is the most cost-effective way to raise th A formal body at the national level should be established to ensure the follow-up and involvement of beneficiaries (such as CSOs). A local Follow-up committee under the leadership of the Church mother bodied, for instance, could play a positive role in creating an enabling environment for the scaling-up of project results. 4. A formal body at the national level should be established to ensure the follow-up and involvement of beneficiaries (such as CSOs). A local Follow-up committee under the leadership of the Church mother bodied, for instance, could play a positive role in creating an enabling environment for the scaling-up of project results. 5. High level donor coordination in the project was not regular due to representation which involved people (such as Heads of Diplomatic Missions) who are in a difficult position to spare time to attend to project related matters. 6. The project helped donors to maximize their contribution to the electoral process without incurring transaction costs on their part. 7. The project did not put in place a residual fund to support continuity of CSO involvement in the electoral process, such as voter education. Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page xi

13 8. The use of mixed procurement modalities involving UNDP and local procurement processes using UNDP guidelines helped build in flexibility and minimized delays in processing low value procurements by ECZ. 9. UNDP ordinarily works with government establishments and therefore pays more attention to government needs. For this reason some donors felt their interests were subdued as they could not take a strong stand on certain issues concerning government contribution to project implementation. 10. Interaction between ECZ and UNDP was healthy and adequate. However, DNRPC did not enjoy a very constructive relationship with UNDP at all levels of engagement in the implementation of the project. 11. Project terminal evaluations are an invaluable source of information regarding what worked well and what did not work well in project implementation. Such information is useful for future use in the design of other projects and also for tracking of and making improvements on the results of the project. However, these evaluations should be undertaken immediately as part of the project closing down procedures as a long time lapse in between project closing and the conduct of a terminal evaluation could result into valuable information not being captured partly due to the relocation of people that were associated with the project and partly due to the tendency among people to relegate important project issues to history as they become committed to other engagements with the passage of time. Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page xii

14 1. Introduction 1.1 Purpose of the evaluation This evaluation is intended to examine and assess the extent to which the expected results were achieved, the contribution of outputs to project outcomes, and their likely impact, relevance and general sustainability. In the ToR document (See Annex 1), the specific objectives provided which contribute to the overall purpose of the evaluation are: 1. To provide an in-depth and independent assessment of progress or lack of achievement of stated goal, objectives and results; 2. Assess the extent to which the project has built the capacity of the Electoral Commission of Zambia and other targeted national institutions and non-state organisations for effective management of the electoral cycle; 3. Draw up and document key successes, challenges, lessons learnt, innovations and best practices from the project and make recommendations for future support on electoral processes. 1.2 Scope of the evaluation The scope of the evaluation was focused on the criteria outlined below. Under each of the criteria an attempt was made to address specific issues which provided overall guidance to the evaluation. i. Relevance: The extent to which the design of the project and the implementation of activities responded to the recommendations of international and domestic observer groups on past elections and the needs identified in previous studies, including (i) (SADC) Parliamentary Forum, which conducted a mid-term of the 2006 Election Trust Fund; (ii) the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) audit of the 2006 elections; and (iii) the Steadman Group exercise in which 1,500 people were interviewed country-wide on issues related to the 2006 election process. This aspect of the evaluation also paid attention to the appropriateness of the project design to the UNDP s approach to electoral assistance. Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 1

15 ii. Efficiency: The extent to which resources that were at the disposal of the project were used economically, including the worthiness of planned activities and their contribution to the achievement of desired project outputs. An additional consideration under this aspect of the evaluation was the extent to which the project funds, expertise and time were prudently used to produce the desired outputs. iii. Effectiveness: To what extent project objectives were achieved and contributed to the expected outcomes, including improved sustained capacity of the ECZ to plan and d manage elections, improved and balanced coverage of elections by media, increased involvement of women in elections, improved participation of civil society, and improved understanding of the election process among voters. iv. Sustainability: The potential for the continuation of the impact achieved and of the delivery mechanism following the withdrawal of existing funds. v. Impact: The extent of the project s contribution to the preparations for and accomplishment of the 2011 tripartite elections, considering the project design and execution, In general, information to be gathered was underpinned by the following two considerations; i. Stakeholder participation: Throughout the evaluation process, we were aware that information that would be received from the stakeholders in general and the UNDP staff in particular would greatly influence the quality of the evaluation process. For this reason, we sought to secure high level participation from them in order to ensure the credibility of the evaluation results. ii. Ethics Given the need to engage stakeholder in a constructive and objective manner, we recognized and protected the rights and confidentiality of the respondents in accordance with the code of professional conduct adopted by the United Nations Evaluation Group (UNEG). 1.3 Methodology According to UNDP, "Project evaluation assesses the performance of a project in achieving its intended results. It yields useful information on project implementation arrangements and the achievement of outputs. It is at this Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 2

16 level that direct cause and attribution can be addressed given the close causal linkage between the intervention and its effect or output. Project evaluation provides a basis for the evaluation of outcomes and programmes." 1 With this understanding of the purpose for project evaluations, we took an approach that emphasized on a wide range of data sources that comprehensively fed the evaluation process in order to bring out objective facts on project implementation and achievement of outputs. In this regard, we used a mixed method approach to capture qualitative and quantitative data. This included the following: i. Comprehensive desk review of relevant documents; ii. Design of open-ended interviews and structured surveys; Most importantly, focused interviews (see Annex 2 for list people interviewed) were held with key stakeholders including; (i) the ECZ; (ii) The DNRPC; (iii) civil society; (iv) media; (v) and (vi) Cooperating Partners. It ought to be mentioned that in order to gain as much information as possible, interviews take an open ended format so as to garner a greater amount of information through probing responses received from the people being interviewed. The selection of documents reviewed (see Annex 3 for list of documents reviewed) and the stakeholders to be interviewed was largely guided by the UNDP team. However, where need arose, we reviewed additional documents and interviewed other people not suggested by UNDP for the purpose of getting a diversity of views or opinions on a specific issue Risks and Limitations Given the constraints of time and the possible limited access to some stakeholders due to the timing of the evaluation process, which coincided with the festive period at the end of 2014 and the conduct of the Presidential election in January 2015, the interviews conducted were restricted to Lusaka-based stakeholders. In addition, many targeted informants were not easily accessible which led to the consultant relying heavily on documented information rather than on the views and opinions of relevant people. Most notably, the Consultant was not able to meet any informant from the Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MFNP) despite the central role this ministry played in the implementation of the project as the National Executing Agency (NEA). 1 UNDP; Project Level Evaluation Guidance for conducting Terminal Evaluations of UNDP Supported Projects: Evaluation Office, 2012, page 2. Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 3

17 1.3.2 Project achievement rating The project evaluation process applied a rating system that sought to provide the Evaluator s assessment of the project s performance in various areas. Table 1 below shows the rating categories that were applied. Table 1: Ratings Categories Rating Scales Outcomes, Effectiveness, Efficiency, M&E Highly Satisfactory (HS):The project had no shortcomings in the achievement of its objectives in terms of relevance, effectiveness, or efficiency Satisfactory (S): There were only minor shortcomings Moderately Satisfactory (MS): there were moderate shortcomings Moderately Unsatisfactory (MU): the project had significant shortcomings Unsatisfactory (U): there were major shortcomings in the achievement of project objectives in terms of relevance, effectiveness, or efficiency Highly Unsatisfactory (HU): The project had severe shortcomings Sustainability Relevance Impact Ratings Likely (L):negligible risks to sustainability Moderately Likely (ML): moderate risks Moderately Unlikely (MU): significant risks Unlikely (U): severe risks Relevant (R) Not Relevant (NR) Significant (S) Minimal (M) Negligible (N) Evaluation timing opportunity One of the off-shoots of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Management project was the training to Law enforcement agencies in effectively policing election events in the country. This initiative, which was a response to address an emerging national electoral challenge during the Kasama and Mufumbwe by elections in 2009 and 2010 respectively which were conducted under hostile environments due to widespread electoral violence among competing political parties. This evaluation therefore provided a good opportunity to measure the relevance and impact of the project with regard to the capacity of law enforcement agencies to manage or mitigate electoral violence during the Presidential elections of January For this reason, Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 4

18 this election event provided a good source of information with regard to the level of contribution this project may have made to improving policing of elections events Structure of the Evaluation report This report is divided into six sections. The first section, which is the introduction, outlines the purpose of the evaluation as described in the Terms of Reference of the exercise. In addition the scope of the evaluation is described, in terms of the four evaluation criteria used for the evaluation; namely relevance, efficiency, effectiveness, sustainability and impact of the project. Lastly, this section also outlines the methodology used to conduct the evaluation. The second section of the report describes the project and its development context, with a focus on (i) project start and duration; (ii) problems the project sought to address; (iii) immediate and development objectives of the project; and (iv) expected project results. In the third section of the report, finding and conclusions are described, using the four evaluation criteria described in paragraph one above of this subsection, while in the fourth section of the report project results are examined using the matrix of strategic area of intervention and expected outputs presented in Table 1 (page 16) in the original Project Document 2. In the fifth section of the report, the main recommendations are presented, while section six of the report presents the Lessons learned in the course of project implementation. 2 GRZ/UNDP; Strengthening Electoral Process in Zambia; Support to the Electoral Cycle ; ZMB10/ ; p.16 Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 5

19 2. The project and its development context 2.1 Project start and duration Project implementation commenced without delay. Following the signing of the Project Document on 4 th November 2009, the initial project implementation activities were set in motion and as a result, between 4 th November and 31 st December 2009 the following progress was reported; Project Officer was recruited; Recruitment process of Project Manager had commenced; Development of specifications for the mobile voter registration kits in collaboration with ECZ, UNDP Procurement support office, and UNDP was underway; Invitation to Bid (ITB) for mobile voter registration kits was launched for the submission of bids; The approach of civil society support was aligned to the electoral cycle timeline through consultative meetings. Overall, the timely start of project implementation gave ample time for project activities to be implemented and thus contributed to the successful achievement of the following key results, which were critical to the achievement of the overall project objective as defined in the project log frame, which was the delivery of credible 2011 tripartite elections; i. Capacity building in the ECZ was done systematically, using an Organisation Development (OD) approach which focused on developing a five year ( ) strategic plan, organisation restructuring and improving staff performance through the introduction of a new Performance Management System (PMS). At the conclusion of this exercise in 2010, the operational capacity of the ECZ, as an Electoral Management Body (EMB), was significantly improved well in time to prepare the institution for effectively managing the electoral process leading to the 2011 tripartite elections. In addition, through a systematic needs assessment, Information Technology (IT) capacity development needs of the ECZ and the DNRPC were thoroughly identified, albeit the delays in addressing these needs in the later institution. ii. Voter registration was conducted over a period of eleven (11) months from June 2010 to May 2011 in preparation for the 2011 general elections. The timely procurement of the mobile voter registration kits facilitated the registration process, which resulted in the capture an unprecedented 5,167,154 (86%) of eligible voters onto the voters register Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 6

20 iii. for the 2011 general elections, as compared to 71 % of the eligible voters captured on the register for the 2006 general elections. The early start of project implementation in 2009 gave ample time to ECZ to standardise voter education materials and over a period of two years, up to 2011, CSOs got fully engaged in implementing their voter and civic education programmes. In turn, this gave the general citizenry ample chance to understand their obligations and rights to vote. To a large extent, the high voter turnout (53% of registered voters) during the 2011 general elections can be attributable to this factor. Initially, the project was designed to be implemented over the period from 2009 to However, due to set backs experienced in the implementation of the component focusing on strengthening DNRPC, the implementation period of the project was extended two times leading to its finally closing down in December With regard to timeliness project start-up therefore, the process is rated as having been Highly Satisfactory (HS) as assessed against the achievements mentioned above. 2.2 Problems that the project sought to address Since the reintroduction of multi-party democracy in Zambia in 1991, successive governments have repeatedly sounded their commitment to building structures and systems for promoting good governance and democratic indulgence. As a national commitment, this is reflected in the aspiration stated in the Vision to Develop political systems and structures while retaining the roots and positive aspects of their own mould of social, cultural and moral values. While being faced with numerous challenges of democracy building, the country has exhibited unfaltering commitment to plural politics and democratic values. Over a period of twenty three years since the advent of multiparty politics, Zambia has conducted four general elections and two Presidential elections. Some of these elections have been heavily disputed, such as in 2006, while others have been described as having been free and fair, such as the 2011 tripartite elections. Admittedly, numerous challenges continue to exist in the electoral process of the country, ranging from limitations in aspects of capacities of institutions involved in or contributing to the management of the electoral process to inadequate participation of some social groups, such as women, in the political process. However, regardless of these challenges, the existing electoral system has become to be generally recognized in the country as representing a crucial element in the effective promotion of sustainable democratic governance and is now accepted as being one of the most important 3 Republic of Zambia; Vision 2030; page 2 Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 7

21 ways citizens can participate in decisions that affect their lives and hold their representatives accountable for results. Related to this, the nation is still engaged in what has now become a protracted Constitution making process. Part of this process relates to improving the electoral process. It is anticipated that these improvements to the electoral process will have an effect on the way elections are managed in Zambia. 2.3 Immediate and development objectives of the project The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Trust Fund to support the 2006 elections marked the beginning of harmonised Cooperating Partner electoral assistance to Zambia. Through this fund, nine Cooperating Partners pooled funding (totaling USD7.3million) to support the electoral process in the following areas; i. Development of a roadmap for the implementation of the 2006 elections; ii. Establishment of a continuous voter registration process; iii. Implementation of civic/voter education programmes with the involvement of civil society organisations (CSO); iv. Engagement of the media in the dissemination of electoral information; v. Documentation of lessons learned; and vi. Development of support systems for the coordination of international observers and training of local Election Monitors. This Trust fund, which was widely acclaimed as a successful and practical demonstration of development cooperation harmonization, was followed by the 2008 Preparatory Assistance which was funded by the UNDP and the European Union (EU). This assistance sought to address the capacity development needs in the ECZ and to conduct a comprehensive capacity needs assessment in the DNRPC. Further in the same year (2008) Cooperating Partners provided support to the Presidential election resulting from the passing on of the incumbent President in that year. In the Logical Framework the overall objective of the project is stated as improved democratic governance through development of a free, fair, transparent and efficient electoral system in Zambia.This objective justifies the focus of the Cooperating Partners support to capacity development in the ECZ and the DNRPC, which are the two national institutions that facilitate citizens participation in the democratic process through voter registration and civil registration respectively. In addition, through the project s support to non-state actors, especially civil society organisations, who provide the oversight functionality in the electoral process, this objective also recognizes the multiplicity of roles played by different actors in the provision of a free, fair, transparent and efficient electoral process. Overall the development objective of the project was in tandem with the Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 8

22 national ethos of plural politics which has characterised Zambia s political landscape since the reintroduction of multiparty democracy in Expected project results The support to the electoral cycle management project was designed to achieve the following eight expected results: 1. Enhanced organisational effectiveness and efficiency of ECZ; 2. A workable Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) system developed with increased number of registered voters; 3. Digitized (new biometric) National Registration Cards (NRC) issued to Zambian citizens; 4. Revised legal framework for elections (Electoral Act, Code of Conduct etc.) and dispute resolution mechanisms; 5. Increased women s participation in the electoral process; 6. Capacity of Media actors enhanced and effective media monitoring mechanisms in place for improved media coverage of elections; 7. Civic, Voter education and domestic observation programmes enhanced; 8. Inter-party dialogue strengthened. These expected project results were arrived at through a multi-stakeholder consultative process and were therefore reflective of the challenges identified during previous election events and were also based on anecdotal observations of areas of weakness of the electoral process in Zambia. This point is further elaborated upon below in section 3 of this report. Given the congruence between the problems identified then in the country s electoral management process, the development objective of the project and the expected project results, it is evident that the project was relevant (R) to the democratic development needs of the country. 2.5 Key Stakeholders and their roles in the project The stakeholders listed, with their roles outlined, in Table 2 below played different contributory functions in the implementation of the project. Through consultations with them, vital information was collected which fed into the process of preparing this report. Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 9

23 Table 2: Key Project Stakeholders Stakeholder Role played in the project Ministry of Finance and National Planning National Executing Agency - Project coordination, oversight and monitoring on behalf of GRZ United Nations Development Programme Implementing Agency Electoral Commission of Zambia Department of National Registration, Passports and Citizenship Media Institute of Southern Africa Zambia Centre for Certified Accountants Olympic Youth Development Centre Implementing Partner Implementing Partner Implementing Partner Implementing Partner Implementing Partner The Key project stakeholders listed in the Table above played various roles in the implementation of the project. These roles are outlined below under each of the stakeholder Ministry of Finance and National Planning As the National Executing Agency, the Ministry of Finance and National Planning (MFNP) was entity responsible for managing the execution of the activities related to the project at a national level, and to UNDP at the international level. Through its oversight role, the MFNP coordinated the full participation of ECZ and DNRPC as well as other government agencies with mandates relevant to the electoral process in Zambia. The role of the MFNP as the NEA was widely acknowledged among other stakeholders as being central to the effective management and successful completion of the Project. As noted, collaboration between it and the UNDP Country Office was Highly Satisfactory (HS) as evidenced by the high level consultations between the Minister and the UNDP Country Director on matters relating to project implementation. Equally importantly, there was a clear separation of responsibilities between the UNDP Country Office and the GRZ as stipulated in the Letter of Agreement signed by the two parties. This agreement took away any risks of role conflicts between the two parties in project implementation. As noted from the minutes of the Steering Committee meetings, the MFNP was consistently represented at these meetings and made important contributions to their proceedings. The open nature of the relationship between the MFNP and UNDP Country office is also reflected in their consultative engagements in which they were involved o reach agreement on project implementation extension on two occasions. Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 10

24 2.5.2 United Nations Development Programme As Implementing Agency, UNDP was responsible for the timely and costeffective delivery of the agreed project outcomes. Through the Letter of Agreement, the UNDP was tasked with the following service delivery responsibilities to the project: Project procurement especially related to the Continuous Voter Registration; Procurement support to DNRPC; Support to non-state actors which included civil society organisation, women groups, media, and political parties to enhance their role in electoral processes through a grant-making scheme; Recruitment of project personnel In addition, UNDP also had co-financing obligations involving USD 926, which it contributed to the project budget. With regard to project implementation coordination, UNDP provided the Technical Support Team (TST), which was housed in the ECZ and the Project Support Team (PST), which operated from the Country Office. Through the TST, which was headed by the Project Manager, the UNDP facilitated the achievement of project results in each of the intervention areas. Similarly, through the PST, the UNDP provided the backstopping support to the overall implementation of the project with the involvement of the other Implementing Partners. Through consultations with the MFNP, the UNDP was also responsible for securing approvals on the project document revisions and amendments which did not involve significant changes in the immediate objectives, outputs or activities of the project Implementing Partners The key Implementing Partners (i.e. ECZ and DNRPC) had duo roles to play in project implementation. On the one hand, they were recipients of capacity building support from the project in targeted areas to enhance their contributions to the management of the electoral process of the country. On the other hand they had specific responsibilities assigned to them with to strengthening other institutions or system related to the electoral process. In this regard, ECZ played a key role in supporting the capacity enhancement of CSOs in the area of voter and civic education, while DNRPC assumed the responsibility of putting in place systems for improving civil registration as well as introducing the biometric national identity card for Zambian citizens, a process which is still ongoing. Other Implementing Partners, namely Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA Zambia), Zambia Centre for Certified Accountants (ZICA) and the Olympic Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 11

25 Youth Development Centre (OYDC) had specific for capacity building among civil society organisations and youths. Collectively, the effectiveness of contributions of these stakeholders to the implementation of the project can be assessed as being Highly Satisfactory (HS) as evidenced by the following major achievements; i. A well coordinated project which was implemented with the involvement of all stakeholders; ii. iii. iv. Demonstrated improved capacity of the ECZ to manage the electoral process of the country; A comprehensive voter registration programme which captured an unprecedented 86% of eligible voters in preparation for the 2011elections; A comprehensive civic and voter education programme which was implemented successfully in preparation for the 2011 elections v. Well managed election 2011 elections whose results were widely accepted as credible; vi. vii. Increased participation of women in the election process which resulted in at least 50% women candidates retaining their Parliamentary seats; Increased participation of youths in the electoral process Although the DNRPC component of the project was not completed during the life span of the project, activities under this component are still being implemented and considerable progress has been reported as explained in section 3.4 of this report. 2.6 Risks and Mitigation strategies In the project document, nine risks were identified which had the potential to pose challenges to project implementation. However, the assessment of the likelihood of some risks to occur was poor. (i) The risk of delays in establishing a data sharing framework between DNRPC and ECZ was rated as being Low. This data sharing framework was never established throughout the life of the project. Moreover one of the mitigation strategies of establishing early dialogue between ECZ and DNRPC prior to project implementation was never fully achieved. (ii) The risk of delays in enactment of amendments to the Constitution Review process was rated as being medium. This risk turned out to be high as the Constitution review process has remained a protracted exercise to date. (iii) The risk associated with delays in implementation of Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 12

26 structural reviews of the ECZ and DNRPC was rated as being low. In reality this risk turned out to be high as the structural reviews to the two institutions have not been implemented due to funding constraints. However the mitigation strategy associated with this risk was sound as the two institutions have continued to operate within the existing structures. On the basis of these observations, it can be concluded that the risk identification and mitigation was Moderately Unsatisfactory (MU). Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 13

27 3. Findings and conclusions 3.1 Project design formulation The project was designed to provide technical and financial assistance which focused on capacity building. As pointed out in the Project Document 4, the overall project aim was to provide support for strengthening the electoral process in Zambia through capacity development of the ECZ and DNRPC as well as Civil Society Organisations (CSO) in organising and managing the electoral process. In particular, the project was focused at capacity development in the following actors in the Zambian electoral process; i. The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ); ii. iii. The Department of National Registration, Passports and Citizenship (DNRPC) of the Ministry of Home Affairs; Non State actors Against the background of this need for capacity development in the electoral process in Zambia, the support of the project was conceived to produce the expected results itemized in 2.4 above. According to previous studies and other anecdotal observations in the past, the electoral regime in Zambia was characterised by generally flawed electoral management practices. Following the disputed 2001 elections, the government took a step to appoint an Electoral Reform Technical Committee and a Constitutional Review Commission which were assigned the task of reviewing the electoral and legal frameworks respectively. This resulted in the enactment of the new Electoral Act No. 12 of This new Act provided for the legal framework under which the 2006 tripartite elections were conducted. In addition, the Act also provided for a strengthened mandate of the ECZ and stiffer penalties for corruption, illegal electoral practices, and other electoral related offences. While these improvements were indicative of a positive thrust toward democratic development in the country, numerous challenges were also evident. These included the need to: i. Harmonise the election related legal instruments; 4 Strengthening the Electoral Process in Zambia: Support to the Electoral Cycle (ZMB10/ ); GRZ/UNDP Project Document; page 1. Independent External Evaluation of the Support to the Electoral Cycle Project Zambia ( ) Page 14