dep monthly newsletter inaugural edition nov final

8/10/2019 Dep Monthly Newsletter Inaugural Edition Nov Final

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A monthly newsletter of the Democratic Empowerment Project | November 2014

DEP supports pre-electionvoter education campaign

Stakeholders' role in mitigat-ing election-related conflict

Underlining the gender andsocial inclusion imperative

EMB leaders, senior manag-ers undergo professionaltraining

Human rights training forpolice strengthened

Bolstering capacity of com-munity media practitioners

UN Resident Coordinatorpays a courtesy call on NEC

ZEC staff hone their comput-er skills

DEP boosts operations ofRPPs office

EMBs get semi-accredited

BRIDGE facilitators Study underscores NECs in-

stitutional strengthening

Technical support providedto voter registration roll-out

ZEC assessment triggers araft of reforms

Community media ready formarathon voter education

DEMOCRATIC EMPOWERMENT PROJECT DEP)

In partnership with the National Electoral Commission and the Zanzibar Electoral Commission and managed by the UNDP

The DEP is supported by Canada, Denmark, the EU, Finland, Norway, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland , UNDP, the One UN Fund and UK

A Message from the UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident RepresentativeIN THIS EDITION...

December

Steering Committee meeting

UPCOMING EVENTS

Welcome to the inaugu-

ral newsletter of the

Democratic Empower-ment Project (DEP), a

three-year multi-donor initiative aimed

at capacity strengthening of key insti-

tutions of democracy in Tanzania in-

cluding the National Electoral Com-

mission (NEC), Zanzibar Electoral

Commission (ZEC) and the office of the

Registrar of Political Parties (RPP).

The project has been under implemen-

tation now for over a year and this pub-

lication fulfils a long standing need for

disseminating news and information to

Development Partners, implementing

partners and the Tanzanian public at-

large.

I would like to acknowledge all our

donors and partners and thank each

and every one of them for enabling the

project to take off and support Tanza-

nian partners.

In particular, we recognise a number of

donors who have pledged additional

funds to the project on top of their ini-

tial planned contribution.

Among the many project milestones,

BRIDGE training for both Electoral

Management Bodies (EMBs) was initi-

ated with the training of staff as

BRIDGE facilitators.

EMB capacity needs assessments were

undertaken, and this will provide the

basis for further support in various

priority areas as identified.

Training of middle-ranking Tanzania

Police Force (TPF) officers in public

order management was completed as

planned and has been well received.

ICT upgrading work with the EMBsand the RPP is well advanced and

should bring immediate benefits when

completed.

Significant technical support was pro-

vided to both EMBs on their biometric

voter registration systems.

UNESCOs support for community

media has run smoothly and will pro-

vide a useful foundation for future pro-

ject initiatives on voter education and

maintaining a peaceful elections envi-ronment.

Significant progress was also made

with UN Womens support for inclusive

participation; following stakeholder

mapping and identification of women,

youth and persons with disabilities

seeking nomination the next phase of

capacity development will follow.

Via this monthly newsletter we will

highlight milestones and achievements

and provide you with information up-dates.

Happy reading,

Mr Alvaro Rodriguez

UN Resident Coordinator and

UNDP Resident Representative


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The NEC is to embark on an extensive public infor-

mation campaign aimed at sensitizing eligible Tanza-

nians to register to cast their ballot in a forthcoming

referendum on a proposed constitution as well gen-

eral elections in 2015.

The campaign is

being supported

by the DEP and

will reach out to a

broad spectrum of

the citizenry in-

cluding women,

youth and first-

time voters, per-

sons with disabili-

ties and other

m a r g i n a l i z e d

groups.

The new voter reg-

istration will use bio-

metric technology. Under this system, voters will be issued with

a new smart-card like voters card compared to the 2010

laminated card.

This process means doing away with the old national permanent

voter register and creating a new one based on the biometric

technology.

In addition, the public awareness and education will reach out

to key electoral stakeholders who need to understand and have

confidence in the workings of the new biometric technology.

Tanzania has approximately 23 million eligible voters.

The current and future use of biometric technology and finger-print and facial scanning will enable NEC to eliminate any mul-

tiple registration.

Various means will be used to reach out to the public, the elec-

torate and other stakeholders - including radio spots, leaflets

and posters, newspaper adverts and social media.

Political parties, the civil society, the media and other key stake-

holders are expected to collaborate with the authorities to in-

form and educate the public about the mechanics of the new

voter registration process.

DEP supports pre-election voter education campaign

Stakeholders role in mitigating election-related conflict

The proposed voter

education and stakeholder

engagement will reach out

to a broad spectrum of thecitizenry including women,

youth and first-time voters,

people with disabilities,

non-literate and other

marginalized groups.

Efforts to promote peace and stability requires

the active role and collaboration of all key

s t a k e h o l d e r s ,

according to a

strategy aimed

at supporting peace infra-

structure in the current

electoral cycle in Tanza-

nia.

The proposed strategy

follows a study commis-

sioned by DEP and is de-

signed to guide the inte-

gration of activities in

support of mitigation and

resolution of election-

related conflict across the

project .

To this end, DEP expects

to provide support to anumber of activities to-

wards capacity building,

training and stakeholder engagement.

The performance of the EMBs is seen to be particularly

crucial in reinforcing peaceful elections through strong

capacity, credibility and

transparency and active

stakeholder engagement.

On their part, political

parties can credibly com-

mit to peaceful campaign-

ing and the management

of intra and inter-party

disputes.

According to the strateg y,

civil society and political

parties have an important

role in enabling the citi-

zenry make informed elec-

toral choices.

The ongoing support to

community radio through

UNESCO can enhance

civic participation in dem-

ocratic processes includ-

ing peaceful resolution of conflict.

Community radio practitioners such as depicted are seen to en-courage peaceful conduct of electoral processes


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EMB leaders, senior managers undergo professional training

Underlining the gender and social inclusion imperative

The Democratic Empowerment Project will organise a

training workshop for Commissioners and Directors

of Elections from the two EMBs of Tanzania aimed at

discussing their roles and responsibilities in building

electoral institutions with credibility and good working culture.

The workshop will introduce participants to theoretical, concep-

tual and practical aspects of election management including

electoral systems and laws, electoral management designs and

models, EMB-stakeholder engagement and electoral reform

issues.

The overall aim is to introduce participants to best practices and

comparative experiences in electoral management in an effort to

foster improved knowledge and skills necessary to enhance the

quality and credibility of elections.

It will follow the internationally renowned comprehensive pro-

fessional electoral curriculum based on adult-learning and par-

ticipatory methodology known as Building Resources for De-

mocracy, Governance and Elections (BRIDGE).

Key topics will include the electoral management design, elec-

toral technology, gender and elections, elections and media and

voter education. The workshop is also an opportunity to get the

Commissioners and Directors of Elections from the EMBs to

discuss some of the major tenets that define their organisations,

their structures and roles and areas of cooperation that might be

explored or improved between the two organisations.

Julius Mallaba, NEC's Director of Elections, officiating a past

BRIDGE training event

I

nclusive elections, where all those eligible and interested

have the opportunity to participate in electoral processes

as voters and as candidates, was the theme of a one-day

workshop in September organized by DEP.

The workshop brought together leaders of the NEC, ZEC, Office

of the Registrar of Political Parties and the Tanzania Police

Force so as to identify entry points and strategies to promoting

gender and social inclusion among their activities supported by

DEP.

UN Women is leading DEP work on supporting womens politi-

cal participation and leadership in electoral processes as well as

a broader inclusion agenda covering youth and persons living

with disabilities (PWDs).

The project will support the training of candidates for nomina-

tions by the political parties.

This means addressing the obstacles that mitigate inclusive

participation by these groups and the creation of sustainable

processes to empower and build capacities for effective partici-

pation in politics and elections, said Anna Collins-Falk, UN

Women Representative in Tanzania.

The decision by DEP to support inclusive participation in elec-

tions came in response to a decision taken earlier by political

party leaders to support more women, youth and PWDs as can-

didates in the 2015 election.

Bernadeta Killian. Principal, Mkwawa Constituent College of

Education, presents a paper at the stakeholder workshop


4/8Page 4


Bolstering capacity of community media practitioners

Ninety Tanzanian police officers have undergone a

training course in public order management as part

of a programme under the DEP to strengthen the

capacities of the Tanzanian police to ensure peace-

ful elections for 2015.

Delivered by trainers from the UKs College of Policing, the

training in public order benefited ninety senior and middle-ranking officers from every region. The training began in June

and took eight trainers from the College a total of two months to

complete. It was delivered through four two-week courses in

Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar.

It is expected that this training would be cascaded to reach as

many police officers as possible through regular training ses-

sions in the regions.

Commanders were then expected to return to their stations and

cascade the training in every region in the country.

This training is timely for the field and operation officers be-

cause as we approach the general elections, the question of hu-

man rights and managing crowds is inevitable, the DeputyCommissioner of Police, Simon Sirro, said.

The training would allow police leaders to establish a command

structure and deal with issues regarding human rights, manag-

ing crowds, critical incident management, tactical planning and

decision making.

DEP is now working with the police on the content and struc-

ture of the next phase of training on human rights, gender and

the role of the police in the elections.

It is proposed that through this course the same approach to

public order management and minimal use of force is communi-

cated to approximately 10,000 rank and file officers in all re-

gions via a cascade training process.

Human rights training for police strengthened

One of the police commanders trained in public order man-

agement receives his certificate of participation

T

wenty four media practitioners from five community

radio stations have been trained on codes of ethics,

gender responsive reporting and conflict sensitive re-

porting as part of an intervention by the DEP to

strengthen community media as a platform for community dia-logue and sustainable development.

The training attracted practitioners from Masasi, Pangani, Mi-

cheweni, Makunduchi and Unguja urban.

It highlighted the importance and tactics for promoting inclusive

participation and addressed challenges of minority groups, in-

cluding PWDs.

Participants gained practical experience interviewing community

members and local government authorities.

The training was organised by UNESCO and aimed at empower-

ing community media as a means for civic engagement includingpromotion of a peaceful election and social dialogues.

As part of the intervention, a training manual for conflict sensi-

tive journalism and a conflict sensitive reporting checklist were

drafted for Tanzanian community media practitioners and other

stakeholders in response to identified needs for common termi-

nology and approaches to reporting on conflict sensitive journal-

ism in Kiswahili.

A community radio correspondent puts her training into prac-

tice following a workshop on conflict-sensitive reporting


5/8


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The Registrar of Political Parties (RPP) received in

September ICT equipment under the DEP.

The equipment comprised 30 laptops, 15 desktop

computers, a digital scanner, 2 printers and a Server.

The equipment is expected to bolster the RPP's operational effi-

ciency including improved

communication between the

headquarters and its region-

al offices, and more im-

portantly, with its key stake-

holders and the wider pub-lic.

The goal of this support is

to ensure that the RPP has

improved capacity to sup-

port political parties as

agents of democratic consol-

idation; this is an important

step towards improved de-

mocracy in Tanzania, said

Mr. Philippe Poinsot, UND-

Ps Country Director.

Receiving the items, Justice

Francis Mutungi, the Regis-

trar of Political Parties, highlighted that the provisioning of ICT

equipment to his office was timely and was deemed essential in

improving the capacity and credibility of the RPP to contribute

to the democratization of political parties and politics at large.

In a world where information and communications technology

has made it possible for institutions to deliver improved ser-

vices, we really appreci-

ate this support which

will help improve the

quality of services ren-

dered by our institu-

tion, said Justice Mu-

tungi.

DEP is also currently

facilitating the upgrade

of the RPPs ICT infra-

structure at its head

office in Dar es Salaam.

The specific areas of

support to the office of

the RPP are ICT, legal

and institutional reform

and effective stakehold-

er engagement includ-

ing for intra- and inter-party dispute resolution mechanisms.

DEP boosts operations of RPPs office

T

wenty one staff from the two EMBs graduated in May

as semi-accredited BRIDGE facilitators after attending

a two-week Train-

the-Facilitator (TtF)

workshop funded byDEP.

The workshop introduced the

participants to the BRIDGE

learning methodology, which

has a strong emphasis on adult

learning techniques by capital-

izing on individual experience,

knowledge sharing and peer

learning.

The trainees are expected to

undergo further instructionthrough under the tutelage of

an accredited facilitator be-

fore they themselves become fully accredited and being able to

deliver such training on their own. Both EMBs have agreed to

work with DEP to support more modular training sessions in

order to enable more staff to become exposed to the BRIDGE

training and for the

trained semi-accredited

staff to become fully ac-credited facilitators.

The ultimate goal of the

programme is to create

sufficient capacity within

the EMBs to accredit

BRIDGE facilitators with-

out the reliance on exter-

nal facilitators.

The two EMBs said they

looked forward to using

the BRIDGE methodologyand training techniques in

their training pro-

grammes, particularly for the coming voter registration, the con-

stitutional referendum and the 2015 general elections.

EMBs get semi-accredited BRIDGE facilitators

Justice Francis Mutungi, Registrar of Political Parties (extreme left)

Participants of the BRIDGE Train the Facilitator workshop proudlypose with their certification


7/8Page 7


Study underscores NECs institutional strengthening

The NEC is committed to delivering professional and

technically sound elections and has initiated a pro-

cess to address organizational capacity gaps to

achieve this objective, according to a study supported

by the DEP.

The Capacity Needs Assessment

(CNA) was conducted be-

tween July and September.

It will assist NEC to de-

sign and implement effec-

tive strategies to conductthe forthcoming referen-

dum and general elections,

as well as to enhance its long-

term capacity development requirements to conduct elections.

Concurrently, NEC needs to establish greater autonomy from

government structures to enhance its image as an independent

and impartial body. According to the CNA, a management de-

velopment programme should target Commissioners and also

senior management and middle level cadres of staff to strength-

en the organization and improve efficiency and service delivery.

Legally and in the longer term, the assessment recommends the

need to establish an expert-based NEC where recruitment

and selection of Commissioners can be through nomination

procedures by the President fol-

lowed by a screening process

in Parliament.

In the same vein, govern-

ment should rethink its

funding strategy by provid-ing Parliament the where-

withal to approve finances

directly to the EMB. A legally

binding Code of Conduct for political parties needs to be estab-

lished as a way to reduce and prevent the likelihood of conflict

during electoral events and increase cross-party cooperation.

The study noted that the ongoing constitutional review present-

ed a useful opportunity for NEC to amend its governing laws

and legal guiding principles.

DEP is supporting the EMBs to develop detailed vot-

er registration strategies and plans in relation to

the use of Biometric Voter Registration (BVR).

Although the project did not have a direct role in

the procurement of Tan-

zanias BVR system, DEP

and NEC agreed to coop-

erate in the rendering of

technical and advisory

services to the BVR roll-out and the project is fully

supporting this process.

In addition to deploying

an international expert,

DEP also provided les-

sons from recent experi-

ences in other African

countries that have intro-

duced BVR systems.

DEP further the overall

proposed logistical ar-rangements for the roll-

out, as well as the customization of the software that will be

installed in each kit.

Beyond that, DEP facilitated two workshops on BVR-related

issues with NEC: on overall BVR planning and on the develop-

ment of a logistics plan covering arrangements for delivery and

dispatch of the kits, training of personnel, and operational

planning.

DEP previously

supported ZEC in

updating the Zan-

zibars voter regis-

ter, conductingvoter education,

producing voter

cards, and provid-

ing technical assis-

tance for upgrad-

ing and maintain-

ing the voter regis-

tration system.

In total, 29,660

new voters were

registered and6,792 voters infor-

mation was updat-

ed. The registration process concluded earlier this year.

Technical support provided to voter registration roll-out

Registration of voters in the archipelago of Zanzibar in a past event. Tanza-

nia is gearing up to roll out a BVR system across the country

NEC needs to establish greater autonomy

from government structures to enhance

its image as an independent andimpartial body.


8/8Page 8


ZEC assessment triggers a raft of reforms

CONTACT DETAILS

Nicodemus Odhiambo MarcusCommunications Analyst

Email: [email protected]

MAILING ADDRESS: c/o United Nations Development Programme |P. O. Box 9182, Dar-es-SalaamTELEPHONE: 255 22 2112576 |FACSIMILE: 255 2111168

The Zanzibar Electoral Commission has performed rela-

tively well as an EMB and is developing a solid track

record of credible and professional elections and refer-

enda in Zanzibar, according to a recent study support-

ed by DEP.

Nonetheless, the Capacity Needs Assessment has revealed vari-

ous structural, systemic and organisational capacity gaps, deficits

and challenges that require a strategic response to improve ZECs

core functions and responsibilities.

The key findings identified capacity constraints amongst electoral

staff as being one of the greatest challenges to the EMBs ability

to deliver on its mandate. Additionally, human resource proce-

dures and processes will require attention, including a gender

mainstreaming policy, a robust monitoring and evaluation frame-

work and a formal staff appraisal system.

Other important challenges include ZEC's capacity to develop

budgets and operational plans efficiently and cost-effectively us-

ing the electoral cycle approach. While ZEC successfully intro-

duced a biometric voter registration in 2009, improved systems

to produce efficient and transparent election results, for example,

require staff training and technical assistance. Similarly, inclu-

sive stakeholder participation in all aspects of the electoral cycle

is essential for credible and peaceful elections. The assessment is

the initial step in a process that will assist ZEC in building a more

skilled, professional and service-orientated EMB.

Community media ready for marathon voter education

Select community radios being supported by the DEP will

embark on a voter education campaign aimed at sensi-

tizing Tanzanians

about the forthcoming

constitutional referen-

dum and general elections.

With financial resources from

the project, the radios will air a

wide range of key messages in

various formats including radio

spots, special voter educationprogrammes and interviews.

Among the key messages, the

radios will prompt eligible per-

sons to register as voters and to

actually cast their ballot when

elections are due, provide a plat-

form for candidates and their

parties to present their manifes-

tos and political advertising to the wider citizenry and explain to

the electorate, in clear and simple language pieces of legislation

and other regulations govern-

ing the conduct of elections.

They are also expected to

mainstream key issues of con-

cern to citizens which political

parties and candidates should

address as they seek to be vot-

ed to public office. These in-

clude issues relevant to theelderly and the young, women

and other marginalised

groups. At the same time, com-

munity media practitioners

must continue to demonstrate

their professionalism. A key

issue in this context is the way

the media deal with election-

related conflicts.

Stakeholders participate at a validation seminar of the CNA

Piencia Etanga, Senior Legal Officer, office of the Registrar of

Political Parties, speaks to community radio practitioners

dep monthly newsletter inaugural edition nov final

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