1. 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

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

3. 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.

4. 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

5. 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.

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

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

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. THE END