The pre election period was an eventful one, with intense conflicts and physical violence between candidates of the same political parties and, a period which violated almost all election laws. The Elections Deparment, Police Deparment and district retaining officers were not exercising the powers they were given to them by the Parliamentary Election Act. It was also seen that the State properties were excessively misused by governing party candidates. The other contenders of the main 4-5 opposition political parties did not enjoy the privileges that enjoy by the candidates of the governing party. Hence, the election cannot be described as being free and fair with all parties having access to equal resources, opportunities and privileges for all candidates.

The project on elections and conflict prevention was sponsored by the UNDP Oslo Governance Centre (OGC), Democratic Governance Group of UNDP’s Bureau for Development Policy (BDP/DGG). It was led by Siphosami Malunga, former Governance and Conflict Advisor at OGC and currently Democratic Governance Practice Leader at the UNDP Sub-Regional Office for Eastern and Southern Africa, and Linda Maguire, Electoral Advisor at BDP/DGG. As one output of the project, this Guide on Elections and Conflict Prevention represents the culmination of a collaborative effort between BDP and the Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery (BCPR). This Guide was authored by a leading academic specialist, Timothy Sisk, of the Josef Korbel School of International Studies, University of Denver (USA), together with Chris Spies, a former UNDP Peace and Development Advisor in Guyana and presently an independent consultant to UNDP and other international organizations.

Funding of Political Parties and Election Campaigns

Designing for Equality Best-fit, medium-fit and non-favourable combinations of electoral systems and gender quotas