The UNDP formalizes its desire to contribute to the basket fund

2023-06-23 08:05:23

The United Nations System through the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Madagascar has officially announced its commitment to provide electoral technical assistance to the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI). Its resident coordinator, Issa Sanogo, confirmed this yesterday as part of the second dialogue for a transparent electoral process organized yesterday by the body in charge of organizing elections in the country.

“This assistance carried out with the financing of technical and financial partners through the effective establishment of the common fund for the elections will relate in particular to support for dialogue for the strengthening of a peaceful civic and democratic space, support for the inclusion and citizen participation of all in the electoral process according to international norms and standards and support for the operational capacity of the CENI for the conduct of technical electoral operations and other electoral activities”, specifies Mrs. Natasha van Rijn, UNDP Resident Representative.

For the UNDP, this is part of the project “Strengthening of electoral and democratic processes in Madagascar” (RPEDEM). This project aims in particular to contribute to a serene environment conducive to the holding of credible, transparent, peaceful and inclusive elections in 2023-2024.

In addition to the UNDP, France, through its President, Emmanuel Macron, has also already announced its determination to help Madagascar within the framework of this common fund, also called Basket Fund. A few months earlier, the European Union delegation to Madagascar has also already indicated its availability to support the country in this direction, although this aid will only be “marginal”. Then other countries, through their ambassadors, have also already announced intentions in this direction, without so far specifying the nature of their support.

Despite everything, the CENI did not miss in advance the prospects for innovation in the management of the electoral process, by presenting them with the stakeholders, in particular within the framework of this second dialogue. This is the case, among other things, of the change in format of the electoral list to A4, the change in the shape of the voting booth, the securing of the electoral lists (computer encryption and watermark) and sensitive printed matter, the use of smartphones for the speed and reliability of the processing of the results, the proposal of dates for the twinning or the dissociation of the holding of the Communal/Municipal elections and the legislative elections.