March 3-4, 2010

Major Conclusions and Issues from AGR III Expert Meeting

The UNECA and CODESRIA organized an Expert Meeting on AGR III on the theme: Elections and the Management of Diversity in Africa from 3-4 March 2010 in Dakar, Senegal.

The meeting brought together various stakeholders which include scholars, members of electoral management bodies, partner institutions like the UNDP, UN-EAD, UNESCO, IDEP, OHCHR, UNOVVA, APRM, NEPAD, OSIWA, OSJI, AGI, IDRC, Trust Africa, civil society organizations, media, and others;

The following observations were made at the meeting;

a. The decision of ECA to adopt a thematic approach for the AGR is quite commendable;

b. The theme of the report is quite timely and addresses an urgent governance issue on the African continent;

c. The decision to partner with the UNDP in producing the AGR particulary the national country reports is quite commendable as it would maximize the value of the country reports;

The meeting discussed exhaustively the background paper and draft questionnaire for ,AGR III and noted the following;

1. The issue of diversity should be further problematised. Diversity should include other factors like race, religion, gender, etc. beyond ethnicity;

2. The issue of state, state formation and state building, political elite and political culture, are quite important in this regard;

3. Historical context in the analysis of elections in Africa is important;

4. The issue of electoral cycle should be considered in the analysis of elections and diversity in Africa;

5. Institutional issues are also important- electoral system, electoral body, political parties and party system, CSOs, media, role of donors, etc.;

6. Electoral justice is key to the issue of electoral conflicts and diversity management in the electoral process. The judiciary and electoral management bodies are central to this.

7. Policy responses to the issue of diversity management in elections is quite important; How have countries reacted at the policy level to the chaknges of diversity management in elections;

8. Reform measures should be clearly highlighted in the report;

9. The role of partners and international development institutions in influencing elections and electoral outcomes is important. It was noted that the rush for elections in some post-conflict contexts may not be appropriate;

10.The report should capture not only the problems and pathologies of elections and diversity management in Africa; but also the good practices on the continent;

11.The methodology proposed for the thematic report is good but the instruments and questionnaire need to be reviewed and streamlined;

12.The questionnaire and instruments should take cognizance of diversity issues of geography, gender, class, youth, religion, etc.

13.The stakeholders’ sample category should be clearly defined. This may include-political parties, electoral management bodies, CSOs, mass media, military and security forces, policy makers, professional groups, academia, etc.

14.The report should engage regional and sub-regional frameworks/standards and initiatives related to elections and diversity which should include the African Charter on Elections, Democracy and Governance, the RECs protocols on elections (ECOWAS, SADC etc) and the APRM process.

15.Better strategies for dissemination, and partnership engagement on the report should be explored;