Monday, May 31, 2010

For Coverage of Guinee 2010 Elections

You can visit  www.RFI.fr/Guinee  for Radio France International(CFI) Coverage of Guinee Elections   

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Cellou Dalein Diallo et ses milliers de militants : La circulation fortement perturbée à Conakry !

Le président de l'UFDG, l'union des forces démocratiques de guinée, Cellou Dalein Diallo était ce soir au palais du peuple, le temple des grands événements au pays. Ce après Lansana Kouyaté, Alpha Condé et Sidya Touré.

Pour l'occasion, les militants et sympathisants, les commerçants du marché de Madina et des cinq communes de la capitale ont massivement répondu à l'appel pour donner leur soutien à la candidature de leur candidat aux élections présidentielles du 27 juin.

Le président du parti tout en félicitant ses partisans a appelé à la non violence pendant la campagne et de se comporter comme des citoyens de la guinée car leurs adversaires sont des guinéens aussi. A la CENI et les autres organes qui accompagnent ces élections pour le fair play.

La seule fausse note c'est que la circulation a été fortement perturbée dans la commune du Kaloum qui reste le quartier administratif et des affaires de la capitale guinéenne ainsi que des communes et quartiers environnants. Et ce, jusque tard dans la soirée

Sunday, May 23, 2010

élections Guinée 2010- Liste des candidatures déposés a la cour suprême

 

1-      Mamadu Sylla de l'UDG,  l'union démocratique de guinée,

2-      Alpha Condé du RPG,  rassemblement du peuple de guinée,

3-      Lansana Kouyaté du PEDN, parti de l'espoir pour le développement national,

4-      Mamady Diawara du PTS,  parti du travail et de la solidarité,

5-       Ibrahma Kassory Fofana du GPT, guinée pour tous,  

6-      Mohamed Touré du PDG-RDA, parti démocratique de guinée, rassemblement démocratique africain,   

7-      Ibrahima Abé Sylla de la NGR,  nouvelle génération pour la république,

8-      Sidya Touré de l'UFR,  l'union des forces républicaines,

9-      Dr Mbemba Traoré du PDU, parti du developpement et de l'unité,

10-    Rougui Barry de GUR, guinée unie pour la renaissance,

11-   Boubacar Barry du PNR, parti national pour le renouveau,

12-   Bah Ousmane de l'UPR, l'union pour le progrès et le renouveau,  

13-   Cellou Dalein Diallo de l'UFDG, l'union des forces démocratiques de guinée,

14-   Mamadou Baadiko Bah de l'UFD, l'union des forces démocratiques,  

15-   Alpha Ibrahima Sila Bah du PGRP, parti guinéen pour la renaissance et le progrès,

16-   François Lounceny Fall du FUDEC, front uni pour la démocratie et le changement,

17-   Alpha Ibrahima Kéira avec le PR, parti républicain,

18-   Aboubacar Somparé avec le l'ancien parti présidentiel, le PUP, parti de l'unité et du progrès,

19-    Dr Ousmane Kaba du parti PLUS, le sigle du parti libéral pour l'unité et la solidarité,

20-   Jean Mark Telliano, RDIG, rassemblement pour le développement intégré de la guinée.

21-   Almamy Ibrahima Barry de l'UFNG, l'union des forces nouvelles de guinée,

22-   Hadja Saran Daraba de l'union du fleuve Mano à la tête du parti convention panafricaine démocratique,

23-   Mohamed Soumah avec le parti GECI, génération citoyenne.

24-   Djénè Saran Camara

25-   Papa Koly Kourouma

Ethiopia votes in crunch election

Ethiopians have begun voting in the first election since a 2005 was poll marred by protests that led to the deaths of 200 people.

Polls opened at 0600 (0300 GMT) with officials dismissing fears that fraud and violence would hit the current election.

The opposition claimed the 2005 election was rigged in favour of Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

But the government of Mr Meles, a US ally, vigorously denied the claims.

Mr Meles is widely expected to be re-elected, with the opposition seen as divided and disorganised.

The BBC's Will Ross in Addis Ababa says the reputation of Africa's second most populous country is on the line following the events in 2005.

The head of the Electoral Board, Merga Bekana, says with an amended electoral law and adequate training, the problems of the last election will be averted.

"There is no way to cheat the results, so the results are very clear this time. We have learnt quite a lot," he told the BBC.

There are thousands of local observers spread out across the country although some in the opposition do not see them as neutral.

There are some 60 opposition parties but eight of the largest have formed an alliance known as Medrek in the national Amharic language.

The Ethiopian government has banned foreign embassy staff from monitoring the poll - it does not see them as experts on elections and says it does not want diplomatic relations blurred.

The European Union has 170 observers on the ground - a relatively large number which our correspondent says shows how important the EU takes his event.

Some rights activists dismissed the elections as a charade months ago, saying the government had muzzled the media and was effectively blacklisting opposition supporters.

The governing Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front's (EPRDF) dismisses such talk as propaganda.


Source: BBC

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Nigeria Reps reject two party system

Amid protests and rowdiness, which spanned over an hour, the House of Representatives dumped a proposal to institute a two-party system for future elections in the country.

The House voted in support of a multi-party system by 172 votes to 48, while one member abstained, when the Speaker, Dimeji Bankole, called for division. But members of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Action Congress (AC) and a handful of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members in the House who wanted a two-party system, kicked against the result.

The House had, on two previous occasions, failed to vote on the amendment to Section 80 of the Electoral Act 2006 to include a clause regulating the number of parties in the country.

During the previous debates on the issue at similarly rowdy plenary sessions, some members, particularly those of the PDP, had canvassed a multi-party system while the opposition spoke in support of two parties. This prompted Mr. Dimeji to defer voting to this week, citing faulty electronic voting machines his reason.

But yesterday's plenary was almost stalled as members disagreed on the voting method. The Speaker consulted with key members and principal officers even as some of the lawmakers lobbied on the method of voting.

After about 10 minutes, Mr Bankole said, "We've had enough consultations, a lot of different advise and counter advise. The simple thing to do is voice vote." But this angered some of the lawmakers who sang No! No! No! We no go gree o! We no go gree! However, the Speaker went ahead to put the question, asking the proponent of the two-party system to say 'yes' and those against to say 'nay'. Although, those against the system won, the exercise induced more protests from some members, some of who got up and moved to the front to complain to Mr Bankole and his deputy, Usman Nafada who jointly presided.

In the ensuing confusion, five staff from the serjeant-at-arms were immediately deployed to protect the mace, the House symbol of authority. Pleas by the Speaker, the chief whip, Emeka Ihedioha and his deputy, Aminu Tambuwwal failed to calm the rowdy lawmakers or make them return to their seats.

Complaining members

Bordered about the turmoil, Mr Bankole asked members who did not come with their electronic voting cards to raise up their hands at the end of which only about five of them indicated so.

"We've tried voice vote, members are complaining; we've divided the House, members are complaining. Before I go to the next level, if you know you are two-party system, move to my left, if you know you are for multi-party, move to my right." This infuriated the aggrieved members who shouted "No! No! No!" While some members of the opposition shouted "two-party system! two-party system!" others, apparently members of the PDP shouted "multi-party! multi-party! Calls for 'Point of Order' by Sani Saleh Minjibir (ANPP, Kano) and one other unidentified member were rebuffed by the Speaker.

Support for lawmakers

The Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) yesterday praised the decision of the House. The group, in a statement signed by its publicity secretary, Yinka Odumakin, said the only way to regulate political parties is to allow the electorates to decide.

http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/National/5570434-146/reps_reject_two_party_system_.csp#

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Guinea army chief promises smooth running of elections

Guinea's army chief has promised the military will ensure that the 27 June elections proceed smoothly.

Colonel Nouhou Thiam, who heads a military task force set up to oversee the polls, said the army would "defend the territory of Guinea."

He also promised the army would remain neutral during the elections.

A junta has ruled Guinea since the death of long-time leader Lansana Conte in December 2008, and the polls will return the country to civilian rule.

Col Thiam said during a meeting with leaders of Guinea's political parties that politicians should educate their supporters so that they behave in a civilised way.

"Campaigning does not mean breaking the other man's car, campaigning does not mean destroying the opponent's shop, campaigning does not mean throwing stones at each other or uttering foul language," he said.

The political leaders, in turn, promised to abide by the rules.

Col Thiam was speaking 24 hours after being named head of a 16,000-strong joint military and paramilitary task force for the elections by interim junta leader General Sekouba Konate.

Gen Konate took over in December 2009 from Captain Moussa Dadis Camara, who was seriously injured in an assassination attempt.

Capt Camara is currently in voluntary exile in Burkina Faso.

Guinea is a country rich in mineral wealth, although its people are among the poorest in the world.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

KENYA: Green and Red, Symbols for Referendum

 

NAIROBI, May 18, 2010 ( CISA) -Kenyans have moved another step closer to approving or rejecting the Proposed Constitution with the announcement of the referendum symbols.

After sifting through more than 350 proposed symbols submitted by Kenyans ­ including forks, spoons, trees and even the moon ­ the poll managers finally gave their verdict: the word YES on a green background for those supporting the proposed constitution, and the word NO on a red background for those opposing it.

The Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC), which had received a number of suggestions including those of animals such as rhinos, elephants and buffaloes, settled on the two colours after a long deliberation. In the 2005 referendum, the Banana stood for 'Yes' and the Orange for 'No.'

''Do you approve the proposed new Constitution?'' is the question that voters will have to answer in the August 4 vote.

Two groups have emerged with one for and another against the Proposed Constitution.

The Yes side includes a political grouping led by President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga that launched the 'Yes' campaign in Nairobi on Saturday. They are also supported by several civil society groupings and some religious groups.

On the other hand, the No side include a group of politicians led by Higher Education minister William Ruto and National Council of Christian Churches (NCCK) secretary Canon Peter Karanja.

The electoral body also announced the referendum regulations which will govern the conduct of the referendum. The regulations allow the different camps to form committees at the national and constituency levels.

The committees will not be registered if their logo and names resemble those of any of the 47 registered political parties or are similar to those used in the 2005 referendum.

The rules also indicate that the application should indicate the electoral areas in which the committee intends to support or oppose the referendum question.

The regulations indicate that the proposed laws can only be passed after acquiring 50 per cent plus one of the votes cast and 25 per cent in five of the eight provinces. In case the referendum results in a tie, the Commission shall proceed to hold a fresh referendum.

If the draft law passes the referendum test, President Kibaki has two weeks to promulgate the new constitution.

During this period, anyone can challenge the result in the Interim Independent Constitutional Dispute Resolution Court.

Meanwhile, civic education on the proposed constitution has not taken off 10 days since the draft was published.

The Committee of Experts (CoE) is straddled by lack of funds caused by failure of the Treasury to release Ksh.230M, leaving the CoE with only 20 days to educate the Kenyan public before they vote at the referendum in August.

At the same time, civic education in the country that has often relied heavily on Churches and other NGOs has been hit heavily by the lack of funds due to the stand of most Church leaders.

Investigations by CISA have revealed that most donors to Church related programs on civic education are withholding funds on the grounds that the churches are opposed to the passing of the proposed constitution.

The lack of funds for civic education, which is supposed to be conducted by the CoE and other non state parties, church organizations among others, is likely to open a window for politicians to manipulate the public on the contents of the proposed constitution.

Sunday, May 16, 2010

Guinea 2010 : vos contributions au questionnaire pour les candidats aux presidentielle

A tou(te)s les Guinéens et ami(e)s de la Guinée:

Dans le cadre de la préparation des élections présidentielles prévus en Guinée le 27 juin prochain, Alliance Guinée se joint å d'autres organisations désireuses d'un bon déroulement du scrutin pour recueillir des informations substantifiques auprès des candidats. Avec nos partenaires tels que RougeJauneVert.com et des organes médiatiques guinéens de référence, nous proposons de concevoir – avec vous – un questionnaire de 15-20 items qui sera soumis à tout candidat ayant l'intérêt de faire connaitre à l'électorat son caractère, son expérience et sa plate-forme.

Les objectifs de cette initiative sont les suivants:

  1. Permettre aux Guinéens de l'intérieur comme de l'extérieur à participer aux débats politiques, et de discuter de l'avenir du pays avec les candidats.
  2. Permettre aux Guinéens en âge de voter de comprendre les agendas et politiques de société des différents candidats, et à distinguer les candidats les uns des autres sur la base de leurs programmes et leurs réalisations.
  3. Donner un forum aux candidats pour expliquer leurs politiques et projets de sociétés et en débattre avec leurs adversaires politiques.
  4. Réduire les tensions et violences pour des motivations politiques par le biais du dialogue.
  5. Réduire le vote ethnique, et permettre des coalitions basées sur leurs politiques et philosophie de gouvernance à émerger et à se consolider.


Pour concevoir le questionnaire destiné aux candidats, nous avons besoin de vos idées sur les questions les plus pertinentes à leur poser.  Quelles sont vos préoccupations et aspirations prioritaires ? Quelles questions pouvons-nous poser pour solliciter des réponses bien réfléchies qui nous permettront de distinguer entre les candidats ?

 

Pour joigner la coalition des Guinéens qui veulent voter pour la Guinée, veuillez remplir le formulaire å travers le lien ci-dessous pour partager avec nous vos contributions à ce questionnaire pour les candidats. Merci aussi de partager ce formulaire avec vos amis et collègues et d'aider d'autres personnes qui ne peuvent pas le remplir ou n'ont pas accès à l'internet en le remplissant pour eux tout en respectant leurs opinions.

Votre opinion compte – faites-vous vous entendre et nous veillerons à ce que vos  réponses soient compilées pour informer le questionnaire qui sera prochainement soumis aux candidats. Dès que le questionnaire lui-même est prêt nous vous tiendrons au courant nous vous demandons à l'avance de nous aider à convaincre tous les candidats sérieux de le remplir pour une large diffusion des résultats.

 

Remplir le sondage ici:
https://spreadsheets0.google.com/embeddedform?formkey=dDhHRV9PYlQwbHB1d25fZF9jR091TlE6MQ

 

Remerciements et solidarité,


L'équipe des organisateurs

 

__________________________________

Alliance Guinea

www.allianceguinea.org

allianceguinea@gmail.com

Facebook - Twitter

 

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Guinea Elections in the Cyberspace

As Guinea plays for its landmark elections on 27th June 2010, a lot of political actors are taking their campaigns and activities online. Africa Elections Project(AEP) is providing up to the minute coverage of this elections at http://www.africanelections.org/guinea . Our online editor took a walk in the cyberspace and providing below a list of websites, twitters, blogs and facebook accounts to work surrounding the upcoming elections. If you know of any other related online space send us an email at guinea@africanelections.org

This is part one of this posting, part two will be posted soon with more Guinea related web spaces

 

Electoral Commission

Commission électorale nationale indépendante (CENI) Guinea http://www.ceniguinee.org/

Political parties and candidates:

1.       Rally of the People of Guinea (RPG), Alpha Conde,

http://alphaconde.com/alpha_conde/

http://twitter.com/alpha_conde

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Professeur-Alpha-Conde-President-du-Rassemblement-du-Peuple-de-Guinee/287974955904?v=wall

2.       GUR / Guinée Unie pour la Renaissance la Candidate de la Rupture Mme KABA Rougui BARRY

 http://www.rbb2010.com/  

 http://fr-fr.facebook.com/rouguybarry

 http://twitter.com/rouguybarry

3.       UDPG Twitter

 http://twitter.com/UDPG

4.        Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea (UFDG) of Cellou Dalein Diallo or the Party of Hope

http://www.celloudalein.org/

 http://twitter.com/Cellou2010

 

NEWS SITE

1.       http://www.africaguinee.com/

2.       http://www.guinee24.com/

3.    http://www.radio-kankan.com

4.       http://www.lejourguinee.com

 

 
Follow Guinea elections on twitter http://twitter.com/guineaelections
 
 
 

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Jonathan to run in Nigeria 2011 Elections ?

Goodluck Jonathan has declared his interest to run for the 2011 presidential elections. Cairo Ojougboh, the president's special Adviser on National Assembly Matters, made the revelation on Wednesday while briefing journalists in Abuja.

"Mr President is a PDP president and he is a member of PDP, and Mr President will run under the PDP," Mr Ojougboh said. He, however, added that despite the zoning policy of the party, President Jonathan will run and they are certain he will win.

"There is no moral justification to ask Jonathan not to run," he said.

Five hours after the media briefing, Mr. Cairo in a follow up release, claimed he was not speaking for the president and that he was speaking in his personal capacity.

source : http://234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Politics/5567603-146/jonathan_to_run_in_2011.csp

Monday, May 10, 2010

AFRICAN ELECTIONS PROJECT RANKED INGENIOUS BY INNOVATION FAIR

The African Elections Project was selected to be a part of 33 key projects out of 223 innovative projects submitted from around the globe and joined the rest of selected projects to participate in the World Bank Innovation Fair held in South Africa from the 12 – 15 of April with one of its partners International Institute for Sustainable Development.

The main theme for the occasion was "Innovation Fair: Moving beyond conflict" with a focus on two critical challenges of development in fragile states namely Communications for Governance and Service Delivery and Conflict and Violence Prevention. This initiative is directed towards uncovering a long lasting route to peace and security across the world by soliciting ideas from participating organizations. Selected participants came from over 40 countries which included India, Zimbabwe, Lebanon, Ghana, Sri Lanka, Yemen, DR Congo, Guinea-Bissau and Kenya.

This African Elections Project (AEP) was chosen for its work in the area of Communication for Governance and Service Delivery because of its innovative use of social media to develop capacity and monitor governance process prior to, during and after the elections. The project leverages the free, fair and unbiased media and the crucial role they play in elections such as providing impartial information thereby contributing to peace building during elections. .

Kwami Ahiabenu II, the representative for the African Elections Project opined that "the fair provided a platform for the exchange of ideas on how to replicate one project in a different context and how to improve ideas based on experience to reduce conflict conditions or the fear of a potential conflict.

The African Elections Project is aimed at developing the capacity of the media in ICTs in elections coverage while stimulating the provision of elections information and knowledge via its portal www.africanelections.org and other new media tools. African Elections Project has so far covered elections in Ghana, Malawi, Mauritania, Mozambique, Botswana, Togo, and Namibia with planned coverage of Cote d'Ivoire, Niger and Guinea in the pipe line. The project is coordinated by the International Institute for ICT Journalism (Penplusbytes) working hand in hand with key partners www.osisa.org and www.osiwa.org .

Signed

Jerry Sam, Project Manager,

http://www.africanelections.org/

Sunday, May 9, 2010

Twittering African Elections

African Elections Project (AEP) www.africanelections.org uses social media and new media tools to develop capacity and to monitor the governance process prior to, during and after the election. One of such myriad of tools is the use of micro blogging using twitter in a number of ways:
• Connecting with stakeholders such as politicians, political parties, elections observers and monitors, electoral management bodies, citizens and Civil Society
• Publishing SMS from our journalists and citizens journalist to a greater audience via twitter
• Using twitter in our elections news production and dissemination process
• Publishing pictures from the field via http://twitpic.com/photos/togoelections
• Using twitter to send out alerts from our Early warning system
• Publishing media monitoring output to twitter
• Dissemination of elections results from polling stations
@africanelection African Elections Project affiliates: (twittering elections in English, French and Portuguese)

African Elections Twitter http://twitter.com/Africanelection

Togo Elections http://twitter.com/togoelections

Ghana Elections Twitter http://twitter.com/ghanaelections

Mozambique Elections Twitter http://twitter.com/mozambiquevotos

Namibia Elections Twitter http://twitter.com/namibiaelection

Botswana Elections Twitter http://twitter.com/botswanaelects

Cote D'Ivoire Elections http://twitter.com/cotedivoirevote

Mauritania Elections Twitter http://twitter.com/mauritaniavoix

Guinea Elections Twitter http://twitter.com/guineaelections

Malawi Elections Twitter http://twitter.com/malawivotes2009

Friday, May 7, 2010

Overview of African Elections Project

introduction
The African Elections Project is a country-specific platform giving the capacity of the media in ICTs in order for them to use it as a tool for election coverage and the provision of elections information and knowledge. It first run in 2008 in Ghana followed later by Cote d ‘lvoire and Guinea in 2009. By March 2010, it has run this project in ten countries including Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, Niger, Guinea, Mozambique, Mauritania and Togo.

It focuses on technology training for senior editors, journalists and reporters. They are also developing an election guide for journalists and civil society organizations and a mobile application to encourage citizens to engage in election monitoring.

A country-specific election portal aggregates election-related news articles, blog posts, photographs, events, and Op-Eds. Some of the countries, such as Ghana, also have detailed information about the candidates and political parties


Interview
What problem is your project aiming to overcome?:

A dearth of elections information and knowledge to aid in free and fair elections while promoting accountability and governance monitoring.
What are the roots of that problem?:

Lack of tools for elections information- and knowledge-sharing online coupled with low content generation on the continent.

Also democratic culture is relatively new in Africa, which means that supporting information- and knowledge-sharing culture is just evolving. This is true in most African countries.

There has been a slow uptake by citizen journalists to cover elections, maybe partly due to the fears elections create and also the counter-mechanisms by the competing political entities which mostly use the traditional media outlets like radio and television.

Lastly there are very few new media projects related to elections in Africa. African Elections Projects stands unique in this case.
Why did you personally become involved in this project?:

I was part of the team that conceived of the idea, therefore was part of it from day one in 2008. I have been amazed at how the project has rolled out and the possibilities of using new media it has offered.
Are you providing unofficial channels of information that should be provided by the government?:

Yes, through articles and blog postings to our web platform, especially in the area of voter education.
Why is the government not providing the information?:

We do not have any evidence to explain why such information is not provided, but we usually hear from the government that they do not have the resources to provide such information.
How does the information published on your website turn into offline change?:

It contributes to voter education and creates awareness about the electoral process. It also ensures accountability by the electoral management bodies by making them stakeholders. Information about political parties, manifestos and campaign promises invariably help stakeholders and voters make informed decisions.
How many people work on your project?:
10
How many hours a week do you personally spend on the project?:

Average 10 hours to full time during build up to elections.
How many hours does the whole team spend on the project?:

Full time for most of the team members and average of 12 hours for others.
What are the most time consuming tasks?:

Research, content generation and the uploading of content due to low bandwidth in most areas we operate from.
How do you extract value from large amounts of data? How do you build engagement around it?:

We have in house software we use to process the data plus the use of some web 2.0 tools that enable collaboration. We build engagement through enabling information and knowledge sharing.
How do you verify the identities of participants on your website?:

Contributors to our website are all registered users, so we have information about them though we do not get the information about persons posting comments since they are not required to register.
How do you attract new participants?:

Through the exchange of links, by disseminating content in our networks, and by advertising in traditional media. Also, word of mouth.
What has been the most effective method of spreading awareness about your project?:

Word of mouth through mostly online means and referrals.
What are the incentives to participate in your project?:

Contributing local content from an African prospective for the global market thus presenting the African story of elections as opposed to simply relying on foreign (non-African) online publications.
What are the biggest obstacles to your success?:

Lack of capacity by media groups to use ICT tools. This is true in all ten countries we have worked with, though of course with varying levels of capacity. But in most cases, the media is only coming to terms now with effective use of ICT tools.

Also, a lack of affordable bandwidth. I think this has been the biggest ICT infrastractural challenge. For instance in Malawi, we had to pay heavily to have even a basic connection.

Slow uptake of citizen journalism on the continent.

Democratic process - especially elections - are not yet well established in some countries hence bringing an election specific media project appears threatening to certain establishments by increasing visibility and accountability.
How do you plan on overcoming those obstacles?:

Capacity building for the media in the use of ICTS, stimulating citizen journalism, and advocating for free and fair elections.
What skills and expertise would be of assistance to your project?:

The use of ICTs in elections especially in information and knowledge sharing. Also, providing more online resources for both mainstream journalists as well as citizen journalists.
How do you plan on financially sustaining your project? :

Marketing and promoting our technical platform in the area of media monitoring, content mangament systems, and SMS to raise funds while at the same time exploring the options of advertising on our online platforms.
What other organizations are you working with?:

FrontlineSMS, Ghana Journalist Association, all Africa, Global Voices, in country news agency, electoral management bodies, MISA, SMSGH, Highway Africa, Media Foundation for West Africa, West African Democracy Radio, OSIWA, OSISA, Media Council of Malawi, Ghana Information network for knowledge sharing, in-country journalist associations.
Have you thought about developing your own tools?:

Yes, our web platform, SMS and media monitoring tools were developed in house plus we customise some web 2.0 for our use as well.

We also developed the following
1. CMS – elections portal
2. Results Manager – for presentation of results graphically, tables and maps
3. SMS System – for news production process, news broadcast and elections observations
4. Media Monitoring System
5. Video content production – customisation.

On a separate note, since we develop own own tools, we have copyright with an option to reproduce with permission.
Has there been any communication between your project and government officials?:

Yes, on regular basis, including interviews as well.
Are there any legal obstacles to your work? Any laws that should be changed?:

Freedom of information bills, when enacted, can contribute to access to information for our work.

Otherwise we have so had no legal actions against the website though we had a solicitor letter while covering Malawi Elections on content on the website.
Have there been any attempts to replicate your work elsewhere?:

We are currently worked or working in ten African countries (Ghana, Malawi, Mauritania, Togo, Niger, Cote d’Ivoire, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana and Guinea. Otherwise AEP is original in many ways.
What other projects in your region should we know about?:

Ushadidi and in-country, elections-related websites like the Nyasa Times.
If someone gave you $10,000 how would you use the money?:

To train journalists and citizens journalist in the use of ICTs and new media while acquiring tools for them like flip cameras.
If someone gave you $100,000 how would you use the money?:

To train journalists and citizen journalists in the use of ICTs and new media while acquiring tools for them like flip cameras, satellite internet connection for our newsrooms on the go, a mobile broadcasting system, and to scale up our media monitoring platform.
What are your plans for 2010 and 2011?:

To cover 10 -15 countries having elections.
Further Questions
What metrics do you use to judge your own success?

Website:

- Usage and number of target audience reached using web metrics counted by number of visitors, where they are coming from, which websites are linking to us and repeat visitor
- Number of feedback received
- Number of reposts to other sites
How many visitors come to the AEP Portal? How many unique hits per month?

100,000. The majority of readers come from Europe and North America and are largely citizens of the countries we cover that are living abroad. Our content is reposted on other blogs, tweets, etc, and on other news organisation websites including AllAfrica.
What is the target audience?

Media, journalists, electoral management bodies, citizens and international bodies.

http://transparency.globalvoicesonline.org/project/african-elections-project

AFRICAN ELECTIONS PROJECT

African Elections Project established 2008 with the vision of enhancing the ability of journalists, citizen journalists and the news media to provide more timely and relevant elections information and knowledge while undertaking monitoring of specific and important aspects of governance

Broad based Objectives

· To consolidate the gains of democracy through active promotion of free flow of election information and knowledge as a vehicle to promote free and fair elections;

· To strengthen the media and related civil society in their role as enablers of good governance

· Developing capacity of journalists in the area of elections coverage in order to improve on

the quantity and quality of the coverage of elections issues;

· Enhance the process of information and knowledge sharing of good practices and lessons among all stakeholders involved in election monitoring process;

· Contribute to the reduction of the tendencies of violence by encouraging the media to tell both sides of the elections story

· Early warning system to alert stakeholders who may be falling into the trap of inflaming passions which can lead to violence.

· Developing media elections result centre which will service the media with key content about

the elections during the result stage;

· To develop capacity for election observations;

· To provide a central pool of relevant ICT tools for stakeholders involved in the electoral

process; and

· To create a space for dialogue between political parties and the electorate'

Building Blocks

Training for senior editors, journalists and reporters

SMS application in coverage and monitoring

Election Guide for the Media

Information and Knowledge Online Portal

Knowledge products for the media

Media Monitoring incorporating early warning system

Africa wide Coverage

Ghana www.africanelections.org/ghana

Mauritania www.africanelections.org/mauritania

Malawi www.africanelections.org/malawi

Mozambique www.africanelections.org/mozambique

Namibia www.africanelections.org/namibia

Botswana www.africanelections.org/botswana

Togo www.africanelections.org/togo

Pending Countries

Niger www.africanelections.org/niger

Guinea www.africanelctions.org/guinea

Cote d’Ivoire www.africanelections.org/cotedivoire

We planned future coverage for the following countries:

Nigeria

Burkina Faso

Kenya

Rwanda

Uganda

Liberia

Burundi

Tanzania

African Elections Project is no doubt a ground breaking project providing an important contributory role in deepening democracy and supporting the creation of open societies through capacity building for the media and other key stakeholders, while at the same time providing a unique online elections information and knowledge platform that will eventually provide transparent access to the electoral processes across the Africa.