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ELECTORAL ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK a Tool to Assess Needs, Defne Objectives, and Identify Program Options

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ELECTORAL ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK a Tool to Assess Needs, Defne Objectives, and Identify Program Options ELECTORAL ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK A Tool to Assess Needs, Defne Objectives, and Identify Program Options March 2021 Prepared under: Tasking 006, Contract No. GS10F0218U/7200AA18M00017 Submitted To: USAID Authored By: Assia Ivantcheva (USAID) Michael McNulty (USAID) Carol Sahley (USAID) Ellen Seats Contractor: The Cloudburst Group 8400 Corporate Drive, Suite 550 Landover, MD 20785 Tel: 301-918-4400 Email: [email protected] Cover Photo Credit: Carol Sahley, USAID Voting in Sierra Leone 2018 elections. Table of Contents CONTENTS Acknowledgments . .iii Acronyms . .iv EXECUTIVE SUMMARY . VI PART I. FRAMEWORK PURPOSE, METHODOLOGY, AND APPROACHES . 1 WHY AND HOW TO USE THE GUIDE . 2 Purpose of the Guide . 2 New Challenges in Supporting Elections and Political Processes . .3 Overview of the Electoral Assessment and Strategy Design Process . 5 Assessment Methodology and Process . 8 ANALYTICAL APPROACHES TO UNDERSTANDING ELECTORAL NEEDS. .11 The Electoral Cycle Approach . .11 Principles and Obligations for Democratic Elections . .13 Rules of the Game and Power Dynamics . .15 PART II. CONDUCTING AN ELECTORAL ASSESSMENT . 19 STEP 1: ASSESS THE COUNTRY CONTEXT . .20 1.1 Regime Type and Political System . .20 1.2 Foundational Factors . .24 1.3 International Dynamics and Foreign Actors . .26 1.4 Confict and Security Environment . .27 STEP 2: ASSESS THE ELECTORAL CONTEXT. .29 2.1 Legal Framework and Electoral Reform . .30 2.2 Election Management . .34 2.3 Political Parties and Candidates . .41 2.4 Voter Education and Information . .46 2.5 Election Observation . .48 2.6 Media Ecosystem . .52 2.7 Electoral Security and Confict . .55 2.8 Electoral Justice . .58 2.9 Post-election Transitions . .61 PART III. DEFINING A STRATEGY AND IDENTIFYING PROGRAM OPTIONS . 63 STEP 3: DEFINE OBJECTIVES AND DEVELOP AN EPP STRATEGY . .64 3.1 Prioritize EPP Problems to be Addressed . .64 3.2 Consider USG Priorities and Programming . .68 3.3 Map and Coordinate with Other Donors . .68 3.4 Consider Resources . .69 3.5 Defne EPP Assistance Objectives and Develop a USAID EPP Strategy . .69 STEP 4: IDENTIFY PRIORITY PROGRAMMING . .72 4.1 Legal Framework and Electoral Reform . .73 i Table of Contents 4.2 Election Management . .75 4.3 Political Party Development . .78 4.4 Voter Education and Information . .81 4.5 Election Observation . .83 4.6 Media Ecosystem . .88 4.7 Electoral Security and Confict Prevention . .90 4.8 Electoral Justice . .92 4.9 Post-election and Political Transitions . .94 CONCLUSION . .96 ANNEXES . 97 Annex 1: International Principles and Obligations for Democratic Elections . .98 Annex 2: Assessment Report Template . .100 Annex 3: References and Additional Resources . .101 ii Acknowledgments ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Electoral Assessment Framework: A Tool to Assess Needs, Defne Objectives, and Identify Program Options was de- veloped by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) with the assistance of the Learning, Evaluation, and Research (LER) II mechanism implemented by the Cloudburst Group. The document was authored by Assia Ivantcheva, Michael McNulty, and Carol Sahley from USAID’s Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance (DRG) Center, and Ellen Seats from Cloudburst. The authors wish to thank the many colleagues and partners who gave their time to provide suggestions and contri- butions to the Framework. In particular, the authors thank Jef Fischer for his input on the design of the Framework, as well as his contributions to the text. The DRG Center’s Blair King and Luis Sobalvarro helped pilot a draft of the Framework and provided input on the document. The authors also thank additional current and former colleagues from the USAID DRG Center’s Democratic and Political Processes (DPP) Team, including Michael Chelius, Julie Denham, Monique Murad, Renne Traicova, and Ambar Zobairi, as well as the State Department’s Bureau of De- mocracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), for their input on the document. Aleta Starosta managed Cloudburst’s services for this activity. The authors also thank Stafan Darnolf, Michael Svetlik, and Chad Vickery (International Foundation for.
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