| Overview : Zambia will hold the next general election on the 12th August 2021 to elect the President, Parliamentarians, Mayors, and Town and Village Councils as provided for in the Constitution. This election is expected to be a critical milestone to consolidate the country’s democratic governance and mainstream citizen’s role in public decision making.
Based on the recommendations of the Needs Assessment Mission (NAM) conducted by the United Nations in 2018 including the need for increased voter education, overall institutional strengthening for the Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) and other national institutions with an electoral mandate, and promoting peace ahead of the 2021 elections, UNDP established the Democracy Strengthening in Zambia (DSZ) Project. The latter is a three-year multi-donor project which is aligned and supportive of Zambia’s Sustainable Development Partnership Framework, UNDP Strategic Plan and Country Programme and the 7th National Development Plan 2017-2021 (7th NDP). The Government of Zambia, through the 7NDP pledges to “promote transparency, accountability, citizen participation as well as strengthen governance institutions". The DSZ project consists of two interlinked result areas:
1) Electoral institutions and processes strengthened; and
2) Programming for peace in support of the Zambia 2021 electoral cycle. These two result areas are expected to achieve the following results:
1. Inclusive and participatory decision-making,
2. Responsive and accountable institutions,
3. Improved access to information,
4. Enhanced technical and organizational capacities of national electoral stakeholders,
5. Integrity in the work of credible and legitimate institutions, and
6. Improved conflict prevention and mitigation mechanisms. Besides the aforesaid electoral NAM and also UNDP evaluation of past electoral assistance to Zambia, other election reports including those of both international and domestic observers have pointed out the need for improved legal framework for elections to ensure elections are transparent, inclusive and peaceful and that their outcome enjoy public and stakeholder confidence and legitimacy. Similarly, past election observer findings and recommendations pointed to the need for sustained support to build the capacity and credibility of specifically domestic observers ensure their conduct and reporting engenders public and stakeholder confidence in the electoral process including the outcome of an election. The national will work with an international consultant (separate ToR) and will be required to consult widely, conduct a literature review, stakeholder interviews and produce a comprehensive report (one joint report) that captures gaps between constitutional/legislative framework and procedural/regulatory framework in the Zambian electoral process; also, review, analyse, and consolidate observer recommendations with the view to foster the integrity of elections in Zambia and promote inclusion of all citizens in the electoral processes. The expert report should highlight the major gaps in the existing legal and regulatory framework based on existing global and regional instruments and the recommendations of past observer missions. The findings and recommendations of the consultants will be discussed and validated at a workshop of key electoral stakeholders including both state and non-state actors. DSZ will facilitate the publication and dissemination of the consultancy report.
Based on the scope of work outlined above, the consultant will be expected to deliver the following outputs: |
