Promoting Cost Effectiveness in Electoral Processes Presented by: Dr. Christiana A. M. Thorpe Chief Electoral Commissioner/Chairperson National Electoral Commission, Sierra Leone President of ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions

Contents Concept of Cost Effectiveness Electoral Cost Drivers Types Electoral Costs Considerations for Cost Effectiveness Conclusion

1. Concept of Cost Effectiveness The three E’s Economy inputs/resources required for an electoral project Effectiveness achieving the outputs of an electoral project Efficiency using minimum inputs to achieve the outputs of an electoral project.

2. Electoral Cost Drivers Legal Framework type of voting system; FPTP or PR? Organizational Framework permanent or temporary? independent/governmental/partisan Management Framework Policies/procedures/regulations

3. Types of Electoral Costs direct costs core electoral costs diffuse costs administrative/indirect/recurrent costs integrity costs extra cost to provide security and create public trust in the electoral processes.

5. Considerations for Cost Effectiveness Voter registration permanent or temporary? Sierra Leone experience: using limited number of equipment in registration phases building on the existing systems for the future

5. Considerations for Cost Effectiveness (cont’d) Voter Education use of effective dissemination strategies that meet local needs: stakeholders meetings at various levels radio/television discussion proragmmes in local languages billboards/posters with simple messages community groups or hailers

5. Considerations for Cost Effectiveness (cont’d) Polling electoral materials/equipment need, quality, complexity to use, quantity, distribution, storage, archiving and disposal. polling stations allocation of voters per station amalgamation of stations in higher population density areas number of staff per station

5. Considerations for Cost Effectiveness (cont’d) Voting voting methods (paper based or electronic?) external voting (postal, use of embassies) special provision for the physically challenged EMB Staffing permanent staff ad hoc staff (registration, polling, etc.) training, capacity development institutional memory

5. Considerations for Cost Effectiveness (cont’d) Use Governmental Structure/Facilities national census/statistics office for Boundary Delimitation national registration office for extracting voter register public facilities for registration and polling use of government vehicles and other transport services

5. Considerations for Cost Effectiveness (cont’d) Sub-regional EMB Networking sharing of resources: ballot boxes voting booths

6. Conclusion cost-effectiveness refers to: providing an effective service for the lowest possible cost. however, savings cannot be allowed to compromise the basic requirements of legitimate elections. a particular measure to reduce electoral cost may work well in one country but not in another because of differing legal, political and socio-economic circumstances. human resources and their knowledge and experience are an EMB’s greatest asset.

6. Conclusion (cont’d) EMB investment in developing and retaining staff is: a cost effective measure and should; also ensure that institutional memory survives losses of experienced staff through accessible archiving of electoral records. EMB decisions to use new technologies should objectively consider their: long-term usefulness and costs and impacts on EMB sustainability. sub-regional EMB networking by sharing resources such as ballot boxes and voting booths can be a cost-effective measure.

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