Governance and Development Programme Historic Events

Bridge Train The Facilitators (Ttf) Course, Angola

18 - 28 September 2006

(a) Preparatory Phase

The BRIDGE TTF is the first phase of a project that received financial support from the Royal Netherlands Embassy of the Netherlands and technical support from the Governance and Development Programme of SaferAfrica. The second phase of the project will include a BRIDGE training of Provincial Coordinators of the PNASCAE on voter registration, preparation of an electoral event and polling and the count. The third and final phase of the project will be a PNACSAE /Electoral Commission Roundtable Meeting.

The BRIDGE TTF training was conducted by four accredited BRIDGE facilitators, Mr. Felisberto Naife, Mr. Cesar Pareira da Silva, Claudio Langa from the Secretaradio Technico de Administracao Electoral (STAE) and Kenneth Mpyisi, Governance and Development Programme, SaferAfrica. The team of facilitators arrived in Luanda on 12 September 2006 to prepare for the course. In close coordination with the PNASACE, the team prepared the 10 day course that aimed to ensure that the participants are fully trained in the BRIDGE methodology and electoral processes within the national context of Angola. Portuguese materials for the introduction to electoral administration, preparation on electoral event, polling and the count were availed by International IDEA. SaferAfrica translated the electoral systems, public outreach, voter registration, electoral observation and strategies for sustainability (facilitators' notes and indexes) modules.

The Facilitators and the President of PNASCAE

The participants for the course included nine members of PNASCAE, three from Angola 2000, two from the National Electoral Commission of Angola and two from the Ministry of Territorial Administration. The training was conducted at the Hotel Fleuma and was fully residential.

(b) Opening Ceremony

The opening ceremony was attended by the President of the National Electoral Commission, Dr Caetano de Sousa, the Ambassador of the Netherlands H.E Jan Gijs Shouten and other members of the diplomatic corps in Angola, officials from the National Electoral Commission and members of the national media The President of the PNASCAE, Mr. Matias Capapelo made the first address outlining the background to the project and assured the audience that civil society in Angola intends to play an active and constructive role in the electoral processes in Angola.

The Ambassador of the Netherlands stressed the importance of elections for the consolidation of peace and reconciliation in Angola. He further reaffirmed the commitment of the government of the Netherlands in supporting democratic processes in Angola. Dr. Caetano De Sousa, President of the National Electoral Commission welcomed the training as an important process in capacity building of key stakeholders in electoral processes. He also stressed that close cooperation between civil society and the electoral commission is important for successful electoral processes.

(c) Overview of Training - Week One

Following the opening ceremony the facilitators embarked on an overview of the BRIDGE methodology and modules. The facilitators utilised power point presentations and group exercises for this section of the course with the full participation of participants. Emphasis was placed on key understandings, learning outcomes and assessment criteria. The session was concluded with the elaboration of the code of conduct for the course.

On the second day of training, the facilitators divided the participants into four groups and were assigned different modules and requested to prepare facilitators notes and deliver presentations. The groups were given the rest of the day to prepare their presentations. During the preparation period the facilitators assisted the groups and clarified any outstanding issues. The following day the groups were randomly chosen to commence their presentations. The modules covered included introduction to electoral administration, electoral systems, voter registration and the preparation of the electoral event.

The presentations were made on day 3 and 4 of the training. Overall the groups worked well together and used various activities during their presentations. These included brainstorming, role plays, powerpoint presentations icebreakers and energizers.

(d) Overview of Training - Week Two

At the beginning of week two, the facilitators reviewed the presentations with the participants as a group. The main area of focus was to encourage the participants to use a variety of activities and to ensure that the focus of the training is on the participants. The facilitators reviewed some modules and made further clarifications particularly on electoral systems and boundary delimitation. The participants were then randomly divided into groups of two for the preparation and presentation for the following week. Topics included observers, polling and the count, preparation of an electoral event and strategies for sustainability. Some of the groups received the same topic which was therefore useful in further explaining methodological issues and in depth discussions. Overall the presentations were well prepared and inspired discussions that focused on the national context of Angola as well as the use of international experiences. The final session of the training included an overview of the BRIDGE implementation manual and a group exercise on planning BRIDGE training.

(f) Closing Ceremony

On 28th September 2006 a closing and presentation of awards ceremony was held at Hotel Fleuma. H.E Gijs Shouten Ambassador of the Netherlands presented the certificates to the participants. Mr. Matias Capapelo President of the PNASACAE thanked the Ambassador of the Netherlands for his financial and moral support. He also thanked the facilitators for an inspiring 10 days and the participants for their dedication.

August 2006

Mr. Barney Karuuombe, Regional Integration of The SADC Parliamentary Forum visited SaferAfrica offices from 23-24 August 2006. The purpose of the visit was to explore the opportunities on partnership between the Governance and Development Programme of SaferAfrica and the SADC Parliamentary Forum. The discussions focused on the challenges facing regional integration and the need for strengthening the capacity of parliamentarians in order to enhance the effective implementation of SADC protocols. The two organizations agreed to continue exploring areas of cooperation with the view collaborating on joint projects.

Governance and Development Programme visit to Luanda, Angola

July 2006

Kenneth Mpyisi from the Governance and Development Programme traveled to Luanda, Angola from 20-22 July 2006. The primary purpose of the visit was to coordinate and plan the activities for the training of civil society and the electoral commission on electoral processes scheduled to take place from September 2006 - February 2007. During the visit Kenneth Mpyisi also met with officials from theSwiss Embassy, OpenSociety, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) and the Angolan Electoral Commission.

The Netherlands Embassy in Luanda will be funding the electoral processes training and exchange of information activities that will take place over a six month period in support of the forthcoming elections. SaferAfrica will be providing technical assistance to the National Plaform for Elections and Angola 2000.
Since March 2006, the National Platform has received assistance from international organizations based in Luanda and has established an office and has employed four staff. Matias Capapelo, the Director of Angola 2000 is the President of the Platform that includes all 18 regional electoral networks. The training that will be provided in the next six months includes a Training of facilitators’ Course for members of the National Platform and the Electoral Commission, a training of all the 18 provincial coordinators of the platform and a roundtable meeting with electoral commissions and civil society organization from other African countries.

May 2006

(L - R) Mr Jose Lira Fernandez (*President of the Chilean mutuals*); Mr Alfrredo Sigliano (*President of ODEMA*); Mr Osvaldo Andrade (*Minister of Labour in Chile*); Mr Donovan Williams (*SaferAfrica*)

Building Resources in Democracy, Governance and Elections (BRIDGE)

March 2006

The first Building Resources in Democracy Governance and Elections (BRIDGE) training workshop for election-related civil society organisations was held March 6 – 17, 2006 at SaferAfrica, offices in Pretoria, South Africa. This was aimed at building the enabling capacity of the Plataforma Electoral Angolana [This is a coalition of Angola-based civil society organisation involved in the electoral process in Angola] to play an effective role in the electoral process in Angola. To achieve this aim, the training focused on selected components of the BRIDGE modules.

The BRIDGE Election Administration Course founding partners; the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division (UNEAD), International IDEA and the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) developed the course with the aim to improve skills, knowledge and confidence of election professionals and of key stakeholders in the electoral processes such as members of the media, political parties and electoral observers. Modules include introduction to Electoral Administration, Electoral Systems, Public outreach, Boundary Delimitation, Registration of Voters, Contestants, Preparation for an Electoral Event, Polling and the Count and Strategies for Sustainability.

The training was conducted in both English and Portuguese and was funded and coordinated by SaferAfrica. The BRDIGE facilitators were Theophilus Dowetin, from the Association of African Election Authorities and Kenneth Mpyisi, Governance and Development Programme, SaferAfrica.

A period of one week was spent by the facilitators to customise the contents of the course to suit the mission and the training needs of the Angola civil society in elections. Some BRIDGE materials in Portuguese were received from the BRIDGE Project Office, Melbourne, Australia; and additional relevant materials were incorporated from other sources. Some materials including existing BRIDGE OHPs were translated into Portuguese for the training. Powerpoint presentations were also developed within this period.

The opening ceremony was chaired by Slu Hlongwa, the Director of the Governance Programme of SaferAfrica during which a presentation of the Governance and Development Programme was made and an outline of the course presented. The course was attended by 10 participants: 7 from Angola civil society; and 3 are staff of SaferAfrica who are nationals of Kenya, Mali, and South Africa. The training benefited immensely from the diverse background of its participants. Experiences on the nature of elections management in the participants’ countries were shared during the course, thus providing a good cross cultural context to issues discussed.

The topics covered included the following:

Elections: Reasons, Nature and Alternatives
Standards & Principles of Good Election Administration
Types of Election Management Bodies (EMBs)
Code of Conduct for an EMB
An EMB and its Stakeholders
Political System and Electoral System: Concept of Free and fair Elections
Voter Registration: Purposes, Types/Method, Criteria, Attributes, Stages,
Participation of Women Politics: Challenges and Possible Interventions
Electoral Public Outreach: Principles, Types & Design
General Principles of Good Boundary Delimitation
Preparing for an Electoral Event: Approaches to the Count
Sub Regional Electoral Initiatives & Guidelines for SADC[Southern Africa Development Community]
Role of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Election Administration in Africa - Case study of Ghana, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
Legal and Institutional Framework Election Administration in Angola
Lessons Learnt from the African Experience for CSO Participation in Election Administration in Angola – Open Discussion

A closing ceremony was held on 17th March 2006 and was attended by Director, Peace and Security Brig. Gen. Pal Martins and Dr. Abdalla Hamdok, Director Africa and the Middle East of International IDEA.