Electoral Commission Strategic Plan 2014/15 – 2018/19 and 2018/19 Annual Performance Plan Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs 26.

Electoral Commission Strategic Plan 2014/15 – 2018/19 and 2018/19 Annual Performance Plan Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs 26 March 2018

Vision, Mission, Values VISION:
To be a pre-eminent leader in electoral democracy. MISSION: The Electoral Commission is an independent constitutional body which manages free and fair elections of legislative bodies and institutions through the participation of citizens, political parties and civil society in deepening electoral democracy. VALUES: Impartiality; integrity; accountability; transparency; participation; responsiveness; and respect.

Mandate Constitutional mandate
In terms of Section 190 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa (108 of 1996), the Electoral Commission must - manage elections of national, provincial and municipal legislative bodies in accordance with national legislation; ensure that those elections are free and fair; and declare the results of those elections within a period that is prescribed by national legislation and that is as short as reasonably possible.

Mandate (continued) Legislative mandate
The duties and functions of the Electoral Commission are defined in section 5 of the Electoral Commission Act1998 (Act 51 of 1996.) These include to – (a) manage any election; (b) ensure that any election is free and fair; (c) promote conditions conducive to free and fair elections; (d) promote knowledge of sound and democratic electoral processes; (e) compile and maintain a voters' roll by means of a system of registering eligible voters by utilising data available from government sources and information furnished by voters;

Mandate (continued) Legislative mandate (continued)
(f) compile and maintain a register of parties; (g) establish and maintain liaison and co-operation with parties; (h) undertake and promote research into electoral matters; (i) develop and promote the development of electoral expertise and technology in all spheres of government; (j) continuously review electoral legislation and proposed electoral legislation, and to make recommendations in connection therewith; (k) promote voter education;

Mandate (continued) Legislative mandate (continued)
(l) promote co-operation with and between persons, institutions, governments and administrations for the achievement of its objects; (m) declare the results of elections for national, provincial and municipal legislative bodies within seven days after such elections; (n) adjudicate disputes which may arise from the organisation, administration or conducting of elections and which are of an administrative nature; and (o) appoint appropriate public administrations in any sphere of government to conduct elections when necessary.

Impact of recent court rulings: Constitutional Court (Mhlope case)
The ruling by the Constitutional Court in June 2016 (Electoral Commission v Mhlope and Others) had significant implications for the Electoral Commission. Two aspects of the judgment especially continue to have a very significant impact on the operational and strategic imperatives for the period covered by this Strategic Plan, they are: a) That the Electoral Commission must by 30 June have obtained and recorded on the national common voters’ roll all addresses of voters that were reasonably available as at 17 December 2003; and b) The Electoral Commission must obtain and record all available addresses on the voters’ roll for the relevant ward segments of the voters’ roll for purposes of municipal by-elections.

Recent court rulings: Other cases
The setting aside by the Electoral Court on 23 September 2016 of the results of the 2016 Municipal Elections for the Namakwa District Municipality. The Electoral Commission appealed the judgment in the Supreme Court of Appeal and the appeal was successful. The order by the Electoral Court to conduct a recount of the votes in ward in the Cape Metro, VD in ward Bergrivier Municipality and the entire Swartland Municipality. The Electoral Commission appealed the judgment in the Supreme Court of Appeal and the appeal was successful. c) The dismissal by the Pretoria High Court of the matter between the Electoral Commission and Abland Consortium to set aside the lease agreement for Riverside Office Park. The dismissal of this matter concludes the rectification steps recommended by the Public Protector.

Legislative amendments
A draft Electoral Laws Amendment Bill is due to be tabled in Parliament in the first quarter of The key amendments include: Electronic submission To provide for the electronic registration of political parties and electronic submission of party candidate lists. Mental health restrictions To remove restrictions from registration by mental health patients (Section 8 of Electoral Act). Internal party disputes To provide jurisdiction to the Electoral Court to hear and determine any matter relating to interpretation of the constitution concerning disputes about the legitimate leadership of the party. Voter registration enhancements To allow for electronic (online) registration by voters; To amend the legislation to ensure registration of voters in the correct ward (rather than voting district), and To expand the potential venues for overseas registration and voting. Voters’ roll certification To limit objections to the voters’ roll to a clearly defined window period in the election timetable

Draft Party Funding Legislation
The Political Party Funding Bill is due to be tabled in National Assembly in March 2018. Legislation provides for party funding to be managed by a separate entity reporting to the Commission. This will help insulate the work of the party funding unit from that of the existing Electoral Commission and ensure no conflict or “cannibalisation” of resources. Once adopted and proclaimed, it is proposed to implement the new legislation in a staggered approach in line with the availability of funding for the new responsibilities of the Commission.

Implementation of party funding
In view of the many unknown factors in the first year of implementation of the provisions of the envisaged new act, the following is proposed: A phased-in approach be followed in implementing the requirements of the bill and only a skeleton staff complement be appointed; The CEO of the political party funding entity be amongst the first appointments on the structure; Two senior managers, one for party funding management and one for policy & regulatory affairs and enforcement also be amongst the first appointments as these are basic functional elements of the proposed business entity; The current RPPF unit be moved to the new entity; and It is proposed to prioritise the following aspects of the draft legislation ahead of NPE 2019: Implementation of Represented Political Party Fund; Establishment of the Multiparty Democracy Fund; Annual reporting and disclosure by political parties of all resources and amounts of direct funding to the Electoral Commission; and Research and policy development.

Environmental Analysis
Narrowing of margin of victory between majority and opposition parties. Highly litigious environment in which parties are increasingly turning to the courts to solve disputes rather than mediation or dialogue. Fragile coalitions in a number of municipal councils, including two dissolved councils since 2016 LGE. A rise in intra- and inter-party conflict and violence ahead of 2016 LGE – frequently linked to party candidate list process. Continuation of community protests over service delivery issues. On-going demarcation disputes in some municipalities. Highly constrained fiscal environment.

Organisational renewal
The Electoral Commission is currently conducting an organisational review to ensure it remains a competent and efficient organisation able to deliver on its mandate, especially in the current financially challenged environment. The scope of this human resources review is to document business processes at a high level, undertake the organisational review and design process, review and update job profiles and job grading, and develop a remuneration strategy liaising with the national office Human Resources Department. This human resources review is being executed at all levels of the organisation in a phased approach and is expected to be concluded by 31 March 2018.

Technology renewal Key IT systems within the Electoral Commission are long overdue for replacement and updating. The following IT replacements are planned for 2018/19 in preparation for NPE 2019: Hardware: Servers: These are due to be replaced during 2018. PCs/printers/laptops: These are scheduled for replacement in late 2018/early 2019 (in a phased approach dependent on funding). Registration devices (“zip-zips”): A tender for the development and provision of new generation voter registration devices ahead of NPE 2019 is in the final stages of evaluation. Delivery is scheduled for the first quarter of 2018/19, in time for voter registration. Software: Operating system: Upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10 is planned for 2018/19 – impacting on all application systems. Change of voter registration system to incorporate location based technologies. Strengthen the use of mobile and online technologies.

Performance Environment
a) Streamline address harvesting and capturing processes; b) strengthen its temporary human and infrastructural capacity to avoid logistical difficulties; c) pay tariffs commensurate with the realities of attracting a more mature and experienced election day staff complement; d) substantially improve on and increase the amount of training provided to such electoral staff to equip them to deal with the increasingly litigious environment and new registration processes and technologies, e) adjust its capacity and programmes to be able to deal with complaints, objections, disputes and court cases as well as conflict resolution management; f) sensitise permanent and temporary staff about the dangers and complications of electoral fraud in order to protect the integrity and credibility of electoral processes;

Performance Environment cont.
(g) further increase the focus on democracy and voter education as well as the dissemination of information through civil society and the media; (h) deal with the cost escalations in the logistical field, especially with regards to printing and the increased cost of diminishing municipal support; i) expand on the erecting of prefabricated offices (park homes) which had been piloted as alternative for the accommodation previously provided by municipalities; j) replace the stock of zip-zips in the MTEF period as these will be reaching the end of their useful lives; k) carry out an IT hardware refresh and platform upgrade on a 5 year cycle; and l) maintain the measures aimed at transparency with elections that were introduced with the national and municipal elections in respect of ICT systems.

Strategic Planning Process
In November 2011 new members of the Commission were appointed, and a re-visioning exercise (Vision 2018) was undertaken. A task team was established to draft the current five-year strategic plan, taking cognisance of Vision 2018 while aligning the plan with the MTEF budget structure. While this original five-year strategic plan (expiring in 2018/19) remains the foundation for this current Strategic plan, the management of the Electoral Commission meets each year in around August to review the Strategic Plan based on, among others, the previous year’s performance, the current environment, emerging and changing priorities and challenges, and other critical factors. A revised draft Strategic Plan and Annual Performance Plan is then presented to the Executive Committee and ultimately to the Commission for approval prior to tabling in Parliament. In June 2018 the Commission and key management from the administration will embark on a new five-year strategic re-visioning exercise which will form the foundation of the Strategic Plan for the next five year period.

Strategic Goals 1. Strengthening governance, institutional excellence,
Strategic Goals Strengthening governance, institutional excellence, professionalism and enabling business processes, at all levels of the organisation Achieving pre-eminence in the area of managing elections and referenda, including the strengthening of a cooperative relationship with political parties Strengthening electoral democracy.

Strategic Goal 1: Strengthening governance, institutional excellence, professionalism and enabling business processes, at all levels of the organisation. Strategic objectives 1.1 Exercising oversight (monitoring, evaluation and leadership) to ensure the effective implementation of the Electoral Commission’s core mandate, strategic goals and objectives, aligned with the corresponding budget allocation. 1.2 Exercise efficient oversight (monitoring, evaluation and support) by the provisioning of assurance and risk management services. 1.3 Build institutional capacity to enable the Electoral Commission to deliver on its constitutional mandate.

Strategic Goal 1: Strengthening governance, institutional excellence, professionalism and enabling business processes, at all levels of the organisation 1.4 Manage financial resources efficiently to protect the public image of the Electoral Commission as an accountable institution. 1.5 Provide and maintain a stable, secure and scalable ICT environment that meets the functional needs of the Electoral Commission to ensure the credibility of electronic electoral processes.

Performance indicators and targets Quarterly targets for 2019
Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 1.1 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1.1.1 Number of Commission meetings held per annum Quarterly 11 3 2 1.1.2 Number of quarterly reports per annum reviewed by the CEO within 30 days after the start of the next quarter 4 1

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 1.2 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1.2.1 Number of quarterly internal audit progress reports per annum prepared by the Chief Audit Executive and reviewed by the Audit Committee each year within 60 days after the start of the next quarter Quarterly 4 1 1.2.2 Quarterly review and update the Electoral Commission’s strategic risk register by the Executive Risk Management Committee within 30 days after the start of the next quarter.

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 1.3 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1.3.1 Number of permanent staff positions filled per annum (Posts filled for part of the year will be counted on a pro rata basis) Annually 90% 930 filled posts - - 930 filled post calculated pro rata over the year 1.3.2 Number of permanent staff who were provided with developmental training interventions per annum. Quarterly 372 8 130 252 1.3.3 Extent of compliance with performance management system as evidenced by the existence of performance agreements and performance assessment for the under review. 100% of qualifying staff (930 staff) 100% performance agreements of qualifying staff - 100% performance assessments of qualifying staff

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 1.4 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1.4.1 Achieve an unqualified audit report on the annual financial statements each year Annually Unqualified - -

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 1.5 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 1.5.1 Minimum annual % network and application systems availability measured in hours (system generated report available) Quarterly 97% of 2,223 hours achievement 97 % of hours achievement 97% of hours achievement 97% of hours achievement 97% of hours achievement 1.5.2 Upgrade IT hardware and platform on a five year cycle as per the approved ICT strategy and plan (Phase 1) by 31 March 2018, (Phase 2) by 31 March 2019 and (Phase 3) by 31 March 2019 and storage upgrade/replacement by 31 March 2020. Annually (5 Year cycle) Platform upgrade completed (Phases 2&3) - (Phases 2&3)

Strategic Goal 2: Achieving pre-eminence in the area of managing elections and referenda, including the strengthening of a cooperative relationship with political parties Strategic objectives 2.1 Manage free and fair elections in accordance with the applicable electoral timetables to ensure the efficient and credible execution of the mandate of the Electoral Commission; 2.2 Maintain an accurate national common voters roll to ensure the credibility of elections; 2.3 Ensure efficient election delivery by the timely establishment of accessible and suitable voting facilities and processes and by applying infrastructure and logistical resources to meet operational demands for main electoral events;

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 2.1 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannuall y / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 2.1.1 Average number of calendar days in which elections are conducted from date of vacancy in each year covered by this plan The date of the vacancy is the date on which the Electoral Commission receives an up to date notification (unless the matter is still active in the court). Quarterly Within 90 days for by- elections 2.1.2 Average number of calendar days in which to replace PR seat vacancies in each year covered by this plan. The date of the vacancy is the date on which the Electoral Commission receives an up to date notification (unless the matter is still active in the court. Within 35 days Within 35 days Within 35 days

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 2.1 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 2.1.3 Number of calendar days in which election results for each election are announced by the Electoral Commission in each year covered by this plan Quarterly By-elections Within 7 days By- elections Within 7 days By-Elections Within 7 days By-Elections Within 7 days By-Elections Within 7 days 2.1.4 Number of elections set aside in each year covered by this plan 0 (None)

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 2.2 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 2.2.1 Number of registered voters reflected on the voters’ roll as at 31 March each year Annually 27,653,320 - - 2.2.2 Reduce the number of registered voters who appeared on the voters roll as at 31 March 2016 for who the Electoral Commission did not have addresses or sufficient particularities to the number reflected in each year covered by this plan Zero -

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 2.3 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 2.3.1 Number of contracted voting stations in place on main registration weekends or general election days in the years where applicable Annually 23,000 - - - 2.3.2 Timely sourced electoral materials in accordance with the approved materials requirement plan (MRP) and bill of material (BOM), delivered to voting stations, for each main electoral event (i.e. NPE and LGE). Quarterly 100% of 23,000 voting stations achievement

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 2.4 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 2.4.1 Number of liaison sessions held with members of party liaison committees (PLCs) meetings at national (x1), provincial (x 9) and municipal (x213) levels per annum Quarterly 1,784 liaison sessions 8 Nat / 72 Prov / 1,704 Local 356 liaison sessions 536

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 2.5 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 2.5.1 Number of electoral staff recruited and trained per annum. Annually 56,850 staff - -

Strategic Goal 3: Strengthening electoral democracy
Strategic objectives 3.1 Encourage the electorate’s engagement with, and participation in, electoral processes in order to facilitate the right to vote as enshrined in the Constitution; 3.2 Achieve a low rate of spoilt ballots as a measure of the effectiveness of balloting education; 3.3 Enhance the Electoral Commission’s reputation as a credible and trustworthy Electoral Management Body; 3.4 Provide thought leadership in the field of electoral management and related fields as per Vision 2018 in order to strengthen electoral democracy.

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 3.1 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 3.1.1 Number of voters who turnout in national and local government elections, as a percentage of registered voters in years when applicable Annually n/a - - 3.1.2 Number of civic and democracy education events held per annum. Quarterly 45,000 12,000 18,000 24,000 3.1.3 Audience reached by civic and democracy education programmes through television and radio in each year covered by the Annual Performance Plan. 6,400,000 (2,400,000 TAMS and 4,000,000 RAMS) - 3.1.4 Public perceptions of the Electoral Commission held, as evidenced by the media reports for each year covered by the Annual Performance Plan 80% neutral / positive achievement 80% neutral / positive achievem ent 80% neutral / positive achieveme nt 80% neutral / positive achieve ment 80% neutral / positive achievemen t

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 3.2 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 3.2.1 Recorded number of spoilt ballots in national and local government elections in the years when applicable Annually n/a - - -

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 3.3 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 3.3.1 Number of interactions / liaisons internationally achieved per annum. Quarterly 20 5

Quarterly targets iro performance indicators for strategic objective 3.4 Reporting period (Quarterly / Biannually / Annually) Annual target /19 Quarterly targets 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 3.4.1 The number of research and thought leadership initiatives achieved per annum Annually 4 -

Discussions & Questions
End of Presentation

Electoral Commission Strategic Plan 2014/15 – 2018/19 and 2018/19 Annual Performance Plan Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs 26.

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Electoral Commission Strategic Plan 2014/15 – 2018/19 and 2018/19 Annual Performance Plan Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs 26."— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback

Log in

Auth with social network:

Electoral Commission Strategic Plan 2014/15 – 2018/19 and 2018/19 Annual Performance Plan Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs 26.

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Electoral Commission Strategic Plan 2014/15 – 2018/19 and 2018/19 Annual Performance Plan Presentation to Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs 26."— Presentation transcript:

Similar presentations

About project

Feedback