Comparison of the Russia and South Africa election evaluations

For both countries, the report details USAID"s strategic objectives, implementing mechanisms and agencies, and project activities, which included political party development, support for the Central Elections Commission (CEC) (both countries), and civic or voter education. There are many lessons to be learned. In the case of Russia: (1) Because participating U.S. NGOs were responding to a need for quick help, their assessments, though of high quality, were not incorporated into long-term planning. Proper baseline data, specific indicators, targets, and evaluation criteria were not established prior to the cooperative agreements. (2) The perception of nonpartisanship may be influenced by the approach to and method of training. In this case, the implementing agency, the International Republican Institute"s (IRI) use of local contacts to conduct the initial solicitations for training programs may have affected its reputation for impartiality. (3) Establishing rapport with the CEC is a prerequisite to working effectively with it. (4) USAID"s inability to keep up with activities of the NGOs may jeopardize the NGOs" ability to properly manage assistance programs. Lessons learned from the South African election are as follows. (1) The success of the voter education program was the result of its early start and the integration of a local NGO having training experience and community development skills with an international NGO having international election and management skills. USAID will, however, need to do a better job of communicating its goals and requirements. (2) Bipartisan political party training, e.g., by representatives from both IRI and the National Democratic Institute (NDI), was not deemed important by local parties. (3) Future projects should tailor training materials to the cultural environment and include host country nationals in the planning process. (4) The election law consultations and multiparty fora seem to have had the least impact, possibly due to the timing of these activities. (5) Work with the CEC needs to be done early for maximum effectiveness. Lessons common to both elections are as follows. (1) The timing of election assistance is critical to its success. (2) The U.S. NGOs did not approach either election from a developmental perspective (which would include post-election assistance), but with a single focus on the national election. The NGOs were working under short-term (1 year) cooperative agreement. Since USAID"s long-term goal is to support transitions to democracy, the Agency should consider the use of organizations which take a developmental and long-term approach to the democracy sector. (3) The method used for training can be a more important factor than the political affiliation of the trainer.