PEPSA Observatory Conference

about the conference | programme

DATE6-8 June 2005
VENUEThe Sunnyside Park Hotel, Johannesburg, South Africa

Monitoring Compliance of member-states to the SADC Principles Governing Democratic Elections

This inaugural Observatory Conference seeks to officially launch the PEPSA project amongst the key stakeholders in the area of electoral processes in the region. It will introduce the project and its objectives as well as begin discussions around setting in motion and strengthening initiatives aimed at effectively utilising the SADC Guidelines and Principles Governing Democratic Elections adopted in Mauritius in 2004.

This first Observatory will examine the following issues:

• Harmonisation of regional electoral principles: the 2004 SADC Guidelines and Principles Governing Democratic Elections; the 2003 EISA/ ECF Principles for Election, Management, Monitoring and Observation in the SADC Region (PEMMO); and the 2001 SADC-PF Norms and Standards for Elections in the SADC Region.
• Assessment of the current state of compliance with the Mauritius Principles by SADC states.
• Advocacy on improving compliance with the Principles as well as improving the standard of the Principles themselves.
• Reflections on the recent Zimbabwe elections as well as advocacy strategies in preparation for the elections to be held in Angola, DRC, Mauritius, Tanzania, and Zambia.
• Specific interest group interaction with the SADC Principles to enable articulation of sector-specific concerns and in turn greater and more qualitative participation of such groups in election-related initiatives using the SADC States' commitments as articulated by the Principles.

It is envisaged that the PEPSA Observatory will be an annual meeting of stakeholders from across the spectrum of the electoral process from government officials to various civil society actors. It is also envisaged that beyond providing an opportunity for information-sharing, the Observatory will also provide a forum for strategising, both at national and regional levels, on how to improve conditions in SADC states for the conducting of elections in a manner that maximises the benefits of elections as an expression of the will of the people and in turn contributes to the consolidation of democracy in the region.