Strengthening institutions

	Press briefing after the February 2005 CMAG meeting: (left to right) Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon, Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs Olu Adeniji (Chairperson) and Frederick A Mitchell, Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Public Service, The Bahamas (Vice-Chair)

The Secretariat works to improve democratic arrangements through the observation of elections and the
provision of advice, technical assistance and training.

Commonwealth Observer Groups (COGs) and Commonwealth Expert Teams are constituted to observe elections in member countries at the request of their governments or election management bodies. Between July 2003 and June 2005, COGs were present for elections in Sri Lanka (April 2004), Malawi (May 2004), Cameroon (October 2004) and Mozambique (December 2004).

Eight Expert Teams were present at Commonwealth elections during the same period: Swaziland (October 2003), Mozambique (November 2003), Antigua and Barbuda (March 2004), Sierra Leone (May 2004), St Kitts and Nevis (October 2004), Maldives (December 2004), Lesotho (April 2005) and Papua New Guinea for the Autonomous Bougainville Government (May/June 2005). Secretariat staff also monitored elections in Nauru and Vanuatu in joint teams with the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS).

Observer Groups and Expert Teams report on the credibility of the electoral process and make recommendations for practical action to help improve elections. They consider the electoral environment and the process as a whole – not just the election day procedures. Often there are advance observers to report early in the process on key elements such as voter registration. The Secretariat is now placing increasing emphasis on follow-up of the recommendations of COGs and Expert Teams after elections. The full reports of all COGs and Expert Teams since 1994 are available on the Commonwealth Secretariat website, www.thecommonwealth.org.

Democracy is also supported through the placement of democracy advisers, who are key to the effort to deepen democracy in member countries over the long term. In the past two years, the Secretariat provided 23 short-term and four long-term advisers to nine Commonwealth countries to help them strengthen democratic processes and institutions. Most such experts provide advice to election management bodies, on election procedure as well as such issues as how election commissions can ensure their independence, or how to prevent the ruling party from abusing the advantages of incumbency.

Some Commonwealth experts assist parliaments. Others train civil society domestic election observers, as in Sierra Leone prior to the 2004 local elections. And there has been a trend in recent years to use Commonwealth experts to help ensure a ‘level media playing field’ prior to elections.

Over the last two years, the Secretariat has strengthened its partnerships in democracy development with regional organisations and Commonwealth associations. It has worked with the Pacific Islands Forum and the Commonwealth Local Government Forum in observing elections, and with the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) in various democracy activities, including a democracy workshop series on ‘Government and Opposition’. Other Commonwealth organisations have helped in the provision of media training workshops, constitutional advisers and relevant experts.

Promotion of best practice

	Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group The Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group on the Harare Declaration (CMAG) was established by Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1995 to deal with serious and persistent violations of the Commonwealth Harare principles by member states. Its current membership comprises the Foreign Ministers of Nigeria (Chair), The Bahamas (Vice-Chair), Canada, India, Lesotho, Malta, Samoa, Sri Lanka and United Republic of Tanzania. At its meeting in London in May 2004, CMAG considered the situation in the two countries on its agenda: Fiji Islands and Pakistan. The Group recognised the progress achieved in Fiji Islands in the light of its earlier engagement with that country and decided to remove Fiji from its agenda. CMAG also agreed that it would continue to consider reports on developments in Fiji Islands by the Secretary-General under ‘Other Matters of Interest to Ministers’. CMAG welcomed the progress made in restoring democracy and rebuilding democratic institutions in Pakistan, and decided to lift Pakistan’s suspension from the councils of the Commonwealth. The Group also noted continuing concerns in regard to the strengthening of the democratic process in Pakistan, and hoped that the process of democratisation would be consolidated in such a way as to encourage a broader embrace of the Harare principles. CMAG agreed to remain seized of the situation by retaining Pakistan on its agenda. At subsequent meetings in September 2004 and February 2005, CMAG welcomed the Government of Pakistan’s determination to remain fully engaged with the Commonwealth at all levels, and acknowledged Pakistan’s participation in the Commonwealth since its reinstatement. The Group has urged Pakistan to continue to make progress in the democratic transition, ensuring the supremacy of the Constitution and Parliament as well as the issue of the separation of the offices of President and Chief of Army Staff. The Group made clear its expectation that the two offices should not remain combined in the same person beyond the end of the current presidential term in 2007 at the latest.

The Secretariat promotes democratic best practice and strengthens democratic values and culture through workshops, seminars, conferences and publications.

A workshop on ‘Government and Opposition – Roles, Rights and Responsibilities’ took place in January 2004 in Maputo, Mozambique. Representatives from governing and opposition parties and civil society in Commonwealth countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) discussed their contribution to the democratic process and, in particular, how governments should govern and how oppositions should oppose. The workshop was organised by the Secretariat in co-operation with the CPA, the SADC Parliamentary Forum and FECIV Mozambique, a democracy NGO.

This was the first in a new series of democracy workshops on the same theme. Similar workshops were held in Trinidad and Tobago in July 2005 and Fiji Islands in August 2005, and others are planned. These workshops are part of the Secretariat’s increased emphasis on the importance of healthy political parties and a constructive parliamentary process to the success of the democratic system.

Senior election managers from 36 Commonwealth countries met in New Delhi, India, in February 2005 at a conference on ‘Improving the Quality of Election Management’, organised in co-operation with the Election Commission of India. Discussions focused on the nature of the election management body, the use of technology, and the relationship between election management bodies and political parties.

Creating a Culture of Integrity, by Australian academic Dr Jon Uhr, was published in 2003 – the second pamphlet in the series ‘Taking Democracy Seriously’. All publications in this and the previous ‘Deepening Democracy’ series are available on the Secretariat website.

Gender and democratic representation

The Commonwealth is committed to gender equality in democratic processes and political representation, reflected in the target of 30 per cent women in decision-making in the political, public and private sectors by 2015. Countries which have already reached 30 per cent are encouraged to strive towards parity.

The perpetuation of exclusionary political cultures and attitudes towards women in many political systems and institutions means that women remain under-represented in decision-making in many Commonwealth countries. Nevertheless, since mid-2004, some member states have recorded substantial improvements. South Africa, for example, reported 43 per cent women’s representation in Cabinet positions, while both Grenada and Guyana reported achieving levels above the 30 per cent target for women in parliament.

This brought the number of Commonwealth countries that have achieved the 30 per cent target to five: Grenada, Guyana, Mozambique, New Zealand and South Africa. The number of those with 20 per cent and over in women’s representation in parliament and government rose from 10 to 14 over the past year.

The Secretariat supports and encourages mechanisms for increasing women’s political participation and representation. It does so in collaboration with ministers responsible for women’s affairs, national women’s machineries, parliamentarians, local government officials and members of civil society.

A Caribbean regional workshop on women’s leadership, political participation and representation was held in June 2005 in Antigua and Barbuda. It culminated in the adoption of the ‘Antigua and Barbuda Declaration’, calling on Heads of Government and political parties to honour their commitments under the Harare Commonwealth Declaration, Millbrook Action Programme and Latimer House Principles, and announcing the setting up of a Caribbean Institute for Women in Politics.