NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ELECTORAL REFORMSIN MALAWI

A PAPER

ON CIVIC AND VOTER EDUCATION: PROPOSED ISSUES FOR REFORM

BY

OLLEN MWALUBUNJUEXECUTIVE DIERCTOR NATIONAL INITIATIVE FOR CIVIC EDUCATION (NICE)

Held at

Golden Peacock Hotel Lilongwe

11th 12th December, 20141.0 INTRODUCTIONThis paper defines civic and voter education besides their intended achievement. The paper also outlines a brief background of civic and voter education initiatives undertaken during pre and post multi-party era. A detailed analysis of key factors that have enhanced or undermined civic and voter education within the work of state and non-state actors will be re-examined. The paper will further explore ways in which service providers capacity building, co-ordination and networking can be enhanced; and how civic and voter education can be attained both a cost effective and sustainable manner. As such, the paper highlights concrete and practical recommendations for consideration by the conference.

2.0 BROADER ISSUES TO BE ADREESED :Herein, two broad themes have been highlighted and could be considered for electoral reform in terms of civic and voter education. These are;

2.1Sustainable Civic and Voter Education: A sustained civic education mechanism could assist in building confidence in the electoral process and enhance peoples participation in public life including elections. However, in the past, intensive civic education has mainly been event based and only undertaken during elections besides the over dependence on donor funding. As such, the paper explores ways in which civic education and voter education can be conducted in a continuous and sustainable manner in between the ballots, in line with the electoral cycle approach.

2.2 Capacity Building of Civic Education Providers. Capacitating civic educators and their institutions in both formal and informal institutions are vital in order to create a pool of skilled and knowledgeable local experts as well as educational resources for effective delivery of civic and voter education that should take into consideration target groups, methodology and geographical outreach among others. Effective co-ordination and networking of state and non state actors is also critical in provision of civic and voter education in order to build complementarity and avoid duplication of activities.

OVERVIEW OF CIVIC AND VOTER EDUCATION3.1 Definition of Terms

3.1.1 Voter Information refers to basic information enabling qualified citizens to vote, including the date, time, and place of voting; the type of election; identification necessary to establish eligibility; registration requirements; and mechanisms for voting.[footnoteRef:1] These constitute basic facts about an election and do not necessarily require the explanation of concepts. Messages will be developed for each new election. These activities can usually be implemented quickly (although sufficient planning is still required). Election officials do provide this type of information, although contestants in the election and society organisations will also do so. [1: see more on http://aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/ve]

3.1.2 Voter education is generally used to describe the dissemination of information, materials and programmes designed to inform voters about the specifics and mechanisms of the voting processes for a particular election. [footnoteRef:2] Voter education involves providing information on who is eligible to vote; where and how to register; how electors can check the voters lists to ensure they have been duly included; what type of elections are being held; where, when and how to vote; who the candidates are; how to identify election malpractices and how to handle them as a voter and how to file complaints. Voter education requires more lead time for implementation than voter information and, ideally, it should be undertaken on an on-going basis. This type of information is most often provided by election authorities and civil society organisations. [2: ibid]

Voter Education must be sufficient for any democracy in order to . to ensure that voters can effectively exercise their voting rights and express their political will through an electoral process. If voters are not prepared or motivated to participate in the electoral process, then questions may begin to arise about the legitimacy, representativeness, and responsiveness of elected leaders as well as institutions. At the same time, voter education is a much focused undertaking. It targets eligible voters and addresses specific electoral events as well as the general electoral processes.

As a matter of fact, voter education needs to be supplemented by on-going civic education efforts in order to achieve the democratic participation and culture that flows from the rationale for periodic elections.

3.1.3 Civic education is a broader concept which refers to a process of conveying knowledge of a countrys political system and context. It might include information on the system of government; the nature and powers of the offices to be filled in an election; the principal economic, social and political issues facing the nation; the value of democracy; the equal rights of women and men; and the importance of peace and national reconciliation. [footnoteRef:3] [3: ibid]

Civic Education is therefore, an important means for capacity development on the societal level of empowering people for effective civic engagement. It is an essential dimension in strengthening a societys ability to manage its own affairs besides its complementary capacity to development on individual and institutional levels.[footnoteRef:4] It aims at creating individuals with the capacity to go beyond citizens, who are passive subjects of the state, to those who are well informed and responsible.[footnoteRef:5] [4: UNDP Democratic Governance Group (2004): Civic Education. Practical Guidance Note, p.5] [5: M Katusiimeh: Civic Education and the Promotion of Participatory Democracy in Uganda, p. 4]

Civic education is a permanent and long-term process in any democratic society. It can target both the adult citizens (through all kinds of adult education measures) as well as the young generation (mainly through incorporation in school curricula).

It is the primary responsibility of the state (government) to provide civic education for its citizens. However, civil society actors play a complementary and often equally important role in this cause. Through civic education, government is reminded of its obligations to its people and the general public is sensitised to take the same government to task and demand their rightful services[footnoteRef:6]. [6: Kings M. Phiri& Kenneth R. Ross (Ed), Democratisation in Malawi: A stoke taking, 1998, p.237.]

3.2 The link between Civic and Voter Education

Civic education in its wider definition has to be distinguished from voter education. Sometimes both terms are used interchangeably. However, some significant distinctions have to be made: Civic education employs a broader perspective than voter education. Civic education targets the whole society to participate in all aspects of democratic spheres, while voter education only focuses on those eligible to vote. G U E F O R C I V I C E D U C A T I O N A Civic education is a continuous process, not tied to the electoral cycle and it is supposed to take place permanently, while voter education usually takes place towards elections and it may be part of larger civic education endeavours. Civic education has a wider range of topics and aims at promoting general democratic values, while voter education is often limited to aspects directly related to elections (importance of elections, technical procedures, principles of free and fair elections etc.) Thus, it can be noted that civic education goes beyond voter education whereas the latter is a key component of the wider approach of civic education.

3.3 Forms of Civic and Voter EducationOne of the ways in which civic education is carried out is through the formal education system (primary and secondary schools, universities etc.). In addition, comprehensive long-term government programmes can provide civic education as well as short-term projects or campaigns (e.g. around elections). Apart from state institutions (Ministries, Electoral Commission, Human Rights Commission etc.) there is a wide range of other actors involved in the conduct of civic education, such as non-governmental and civil society organisations (e.g. community organisations, religious groups etc.), international development organisations and the media. Civic education measures can take different forms, such as: Government programmes Democratic governance institutions Voter education initiatives Curricula development in schools and higher learning institutions General awareness campaigns through publicity and public events Media programmes, e.g. radio and TV shows Use of ICT and new media (blogs, social networks etc.) Public dialogues and debates Publications and training/information handouts Training programmes and seminars for different target groups Training-of-trainer and peer-to-peer programmes Creative arts, music, songs and drama performances

4. CONTEXT OF CIVIC AND VOTER EDUCATION IN MALAWI Prior to 1992, there was virtually no civic education outside the formal school curriculum imparted through a subject called Civics, while in secondary schools it was the Malawi Young Pioneers lessons that attempted to fill this gap[footnoteRef:7]. During elections (general or local) the radio (Malawi Broadcasting Cooperation - MBC) was used to civic educate the masses on the importance of voting and the procedure of voting. Apart from the limited radio usage, posters were also used to enlighten the people about election processes. [7: Kings M Phiri and K.R. Ross (ed). Democratisation in Malawi a stoke taking, 1998. P. 239]

The advent of multi- party politics (1992-1994) ushered in a dramatic period in the development of civic education in Malawi. During this period, there were efforts which aimed at raising awareness among the general population throughout Malawi on the importance of influencing the political changes that were underway, but the main focus was on voter education. Since it was narrowly focussed on voter education with regard to the 1993 Referendum and the 1994 General Elections, it did little to stimulate thought on the kind of society Malawians sought to build[footnoteRef:8] because it lacked clarity in definition. [8: Kings M Phiri and K.R. Ross (ed). Democratisation in Malawi a stoke taking, 1998. P. 240]

It should therefore be noted that during the transition, there were two groups of civic educators those advocating for a one party and those advocating for a multi-party system of government. Nonetheless, both groups grappled with one major common problem which to some extent persists to date in civic education processes - they were not neutral. They were openly partisan in their approach and this hindered their type of civic education[footnoteRef:9]. This challenge still persists today among groups of civic educators, as a result, civic and voter education is somehow failing to achieve a more positive change of mind set and political will within democratic political environment which should be able to contribute positively to achieving economic prosperity and poverty reduction[footnoteRef:10]since some are partisan in their civic education quest to the general population and this somehow confuses the electorate contributing to voter apathy as partisan civic educators i.e. political parties tend to offer promises they cannot fulfil (empty promises). [9: Kings M Phiri& Kenneth R. Ross, Democratisation in Malawi: A stoke taking, 1998, p.24] [10: Malawi Government, MGDS II, 2011 -2016. Chapter 5]

It is unfortunate that these partisan groups more often than not, outnumber the neutral educators as evidenced in the 2004 Presidential and Parliamentary Elections where political parties got first position (73 per cent)[footnoteRef:11] in the provision of civic and voter education while NICE came second (33 per cent) with all its outreach structures across Malawi. However, it is the information from credible non-partisan civic and voter educators that will contribute more positively to the improvement of democratisation process in Malawi, since there are no strings attached to it. And this will also help Malawians of voting age to participate in the electoral processes at all levels. [11: MEC&NICE, Study Report into the reasons for non-voting during 2004 PPE in Malawi, 2008 pVii]

Although some of the major reasons are partisan and insufficient, the challenge is compounded by other factors i.e. lack of sustainable and adequate funding, lack of a civic education policy, unbiased and unholistic information, lack of mainstreaming civic education (lack of sustainable and affordable Civic Education strategies as well as poor co-ordination Most civic education providers do not use readily available structures such as ADCs, VDCs, which are easy and affordable to engage with. Elections are treated as a one off event rather than a process in order to benefit the electoral management functions like preparedness, management of logistics, and finances. Of course, there are also other non-civic education challenges that contribute to voter apathy such imposition of candidates, unfulfilled promises, political intimidation etc. Despite these challenges and factors, civic education is one of the key areas which heralds or acts as a precursor to the whole process to properly function and bring out fair results.

5. ANALYSIS OF KEY ISSUES IN CIVIC AND VOTER EDUCATION

Since multi-party democracy, efforts have been made by state institutions such as the Malawi Electoral Commission and the Malawi Human Rights Commission among others besides groups such as, MESN, NICE, CCJP, PAC etc. Reasonable progress has been made so far, but there is still room for improvement. On the basis of efforts made, a number factors have been observed for analysis that have either enhanced or undermined civic education. . These include;

5.1 Co-ordination of civic and voter education initiativesExperience has shown that co-ordination and networking of civic education providers has been considerably infective. As such, this has led to duplication of efforts. Complementarity and collaboration on content and curricula development, methodological approaches, target groups, focus and geographic outreach have also been a challenge leading to a thin spread of resources on the ground besides not ably reaching the hard to reach areas, and disjointed messages. Furthermore, sharing of human, financial and material resources has been a challenge on short and long term civic education and voter education initiatives. On the other hand, during voter education, attempts have been made by MEC through accreditation of service providers to encourage civic education providers to network at both national and district levels. Proper co-ordination for civic education initiative is therefore vital, hence, the need to put in place an effective mechanism that would facilitate collaboration and networking among civic education providers on one hand, and the state and its institutions on the other.

5.2 Clear legal and policy frameworks for civic educationDuring the political transition period, the focus of civic education was to influence political changes that were under way at that time. So, the civic education that was provided was to sensitise the general public on real national issues that were prevailing at the time political change through the power of the vote. The objective was civic educating the general population on the benefits of democratic government as opposed to one party system[footnoteRef:12]. This was a narrow focus of civic education as it was not clearly defined, hence, some of the challenges are still being faced today such as not having clear systems and lack of policy and legal framework for civic education.. [12: Kings M. Phiri& K. R. Ross (ed). Democratisation in Malawi: a stoke taking, 1998. P.243.]

5.3 Utilisation of existing structuresExperiences have shown that existing structures, formal or informal have not been fully utilised in civic education and yet they could be cost effective in an environment of dwindling donor funding. For example, structures such as ADCs and VDCs; external workers in forestry, agriculture, education and health as well as farmers clubs, cultural ceremonies and faith based structures among others have not been seriously utilised in civic education initiatives yet they can be accessed easily, they are affordable to engage with and permanently available in communities.

5.4 Civic education curriculum and Malawi-specific Reference for Use by stakeholdersIt has been observed that there is a civic education knowledge in the nation which has been at variance with the goal of civic education, namely to inform and empower citizens to enable them make informed choices on issues, largely due to the lack or the absence of a civic education curriculum and a Malawi-specific reference for use by stakeholders. Most organizations have tended to concentrate on specific catchment areas such being preoccupied with civil liberties with a few delimiting their catchment areas. The only time these finely divided lines have been whittled down has been during elections when most of them transform their activities towards governance and elections with the assistance of MEC though without clear budgets that support such activities; just to demonstrate their lack of own curriculum only to duplicate the MEC strategy and implementation plan.

While progress has been made to include civic issues in the education curriculum; social and environmental science for primary schools and social studies for secondary schools , efforts should be made to reflect on the curriculum in order to ensure that all key issues have been integrated for sustainability.

5.5 Adequate and sustainable fundingAdequate and sustainable funding is very important[footnoteRef:13] for a successful civic and voter education campaign as it would assist in reaching people in all areas including geographically disadvantaged groups like those in hard to reach places like Chisi in Zomba, Likoma and Chizumulu Islands. However, adequate and timely funding for civic education has been a challenge from both the state and development partners. This has to a greater extent undermined the quality and outreach of civic and voter education. Adequate, timely and sustainable funding from both the state and development partners would help in the provision of quality civic and voter education on a continuous basis and contribute to the reduction of high number of null and void votes[footnoteRef:14] in any election as well as increased turnout. [13: Martin Ott& Edge Kanyongolo (ed), Democracy in Progress: Malawis 2009 PPE, p. 98] [14: Martin Ott& Edge Kanyongolo (ed), Democracy in Progress: Malawis 2009 PPE, p. 110]

5.6 Social exclusion of marginalised groupsIn Malawi, the area of social inclusion in the electoral process seems not to have been well exploited. For instance there has been much effort to have braille materials for civic and voter education for the blind. Equally, there are no specially trained individuals on civic and voter education to work with the deaf. Lest we forget such minorities are also human with full rights who equally need information same as their abled counterparts. Therefore, adequate and sustainable funding would contribute more to the promotion of social inclusion of supporting the disadvantaged groups like the deaf and the blind to equally access good civic and voter education messages through Braille and sign language through specialised training of some civic educators..

5.7 Specialisation among civic and voter educators Not all CSOs who are involved in voter education are specialised in civic and voter education. A number of them are involved in advocacy where they speak for the people there by posing a non-partisan challenge as they are unable to mount broad based debates that aim to promote a more just society that is able to make informed decisions and choices[footnoteRef:15]. This confusion comes in, because civic education is not equal to advocacy. Civic education takes the route of walking with the people by creating an enabling environment so that the populace can raise their own voices, and make free will decisions and choices, while advocacy pursues a route of speaking on behalf of the voiceless. [15: Martin Ott& Edge Kanyongolo (ed), Democracy in Progress: Malawis 2009 PPE, p. 319]

If the two are combined to address on an issue, in this case, the electoral processes, confusion becomes the end result which could lead to voter apathy besides null and void votes as people may lose interest in voting which is one of the key areas of enhancing a democratic culture.

5.8 Delivery without regard of the contemporary context The danger of delivering civic education that does not resonate with contemporary problems of the nation is the tendency to leave matters unattended or worsen the problems i.e. security, environmental degradation, national budget scrutiny in addition to the lack of accountability by public officials and political parties e.g. Members of Parliament implementation plans without consultation with the people, the too powerful to account individuals, cash-gate issue etc. Equally, there are a multitude of civic education providers who do not have concerted plans on the current issues and have at times resulted to reactionary responses e.g. mass demonstrations as a way of seeking attention if not popularity which in most cases have resulted in loss of lives and destruction of property.

5.9 Methodology skilled personnel and civic education resources In many cases, materials for conducting grassroots civic education have been inadequate and where available, they have simply not been user friendly for some marginalised groups e.g. the illiterates. Standardised materials are scarce and might also not be useful in the local context. For example, most of materials produced have not been in the respective local languages.

Generally most people who have been conducting grass-root civic education, ideally, have come from the respective local area because of their understanding of the local languages, they have lacked adequate training skills and often they have not had access to comprehensive methodological guidelines

5.2 Other factors to consider in civic and voter education Another major factor to consider in civic education is to effectively reach out to target groups. This is important for grassroots civic education, where the target group includes people who may be marginalised, hard to reach, and who might have a general negative attitude towards political issues. They are often not very conducive realities on the ground and need to be acknowledged as such in order to design effective civic education measures. Some of these include;

5.3 Poverty: high poverty levels could make the people less available and receptive for civic education activities. Given the daily struggle for survival, civic education may just appear as a luxury. More pressing priorities may prevent people, particularly the often already overburdened women from setting aside time to participate in civic education activities. People living in poverty will often emphasise their economic needs over issues of democracy, good governance and participation. It is therefore paramount that the link between civic education and improved living conditions is made very explicit. Thus, those who conduct civic education more especially at grassroots level will need to emphasise how active participation in the democratic system can contribute to improving the living conditions and how good governance can bring development and better service delivery.

5.4 Illiteracy: Low literacy levels , particularly in the rural areas, makes the use of standardised training methods and education materials very difficult. In addition, many people might have enjoyed only basic or no formal education. Thus, the methodology to be applied needs to be adjusted to the given context, so that, for example, the training does not require reading or writing skills. The content of the training needs to be explained in simple terms, so that the people can easily understand the cardinal message.5.5Attitude: A lack of general exposure can affect the openness of the people for civic education activities, particularly if conducted by outsiders. In addition, the experience of marginalisation or even a perception of exploitation or oppression can cause apathy or cynicism and a general mistrust in the goals and intent of civic education activities. In some cases, the people might also have a perception of risk (whether justified or not), which makes them reluctant to discuss freely and openly express their opinions and concerns. For the trainer, this means that the training needs to be done in a very transparent manner and the purpose needs to be clearly explained to all stakeholders. The set up of the training should ensure an environment in which people feel safe and free to interact without fear.[footnoteRef:16] [16: UNDP Democratic Governance Group (2004): Civic Education. Practical Guidance Note, p.8]

5.6 Cultural barriers: The attitude of the target groups towards the civic education activities can also be influenced by cultural factors. Cultural beliefs and practices may for example affect the active participation of women, youth and other vulnerable groups. The methods and materials need to be harmonised with the cultural context in order to be accepted and effective. At the same time, problems resulting from cultural practices, e.g. gender inequality should be addressed in the trainings in a pro-active but sensitive manner. In order to enhance the acceptance of the training, it might be important to network with and actively involve opinion leaders and traditional authorities.A

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D E F O R C I V I C E D U C A T I O N A T G R A S T S L E V E6. RECOMMENDED AND PROPOSED ACTION FOR REFORM Based on the re-examination of factors that can enhance or undermine civic and voter education, the paper makes the following recommendation and proposed action for consideration on civic and voter education reform;

(a) A national civic education curricula and civic education resource book based on a human rights framework, and delivery approaches suitable to various target groups should be developed for standardization of civic education.Proposed Action: A team of experts in IEC and curricula development, and adult learning education should be identified for the development of the curricula and civic education resource book.

(b) Incorporate civic education in media and art training institutionsProposed action: Lobby media and art training institutions for inclusion of civic education issues into their training curricula.

(c) Civic and Voter Education should be integrated into social-cultural fabric of society such as traditional dances and songs, initiation ceremonies, (chinamwali, Jando) and prayer services in order to make it more sustainable and institutionalised in the communities.Proposed Action: Establish district cultural/civic education task teams to develop strategies of incorporation of civic issues into social fabric.

(d) Civic and voter education should be localised by focussing on utilisation of existing structures and institutions such as extension services, traditional authority and faith based structures, local government system structures (ADCs, VDCs etc), health education, forest etc, co-operatives and farms clubs, and others which are easy and affordable to engage. Proposed Action: A comprehensive training package and methodology should be designed and district training of trainers teams be established to conduct TOTs within the existing structures for a wider outreach.

(e) A content gap analysis in the curricula for social and environmental science and social studies should be undertaken in order to ensure that civic education issues are adequately addressed.. Proposed Action: The Ministry of education and the Malawi Institute of Education should be engaged by civic education providers to identify any gaps for intervention

(f) Civic and voter education should be undertaken within the framework of electoral cycle approachProposed action: MEC and civic education service providers should liaise to ensure that the civic education provided also takes an electoral cycle approach.

(g) Government should develop a civic education policy that would provide a framework for a national coordinated effort and guidance for state and non-state actors. Proposed action: A civil society task team should be established to work with government in the development of a civic education policy.

(h) State and non-state actors should effectively co-ordinate and network in provision of civic education at national, regional and local levels in order to avoid duplication of efforts ,increased sharing of ideas and skills and ensure that all parts of the country and all people, especially the marginalised groups are reached with relevant and adequate information.Proposed action: A Civic and voter education network/forum should be formed for effective collaboration and co-ordination on civic and voter education issues.

(i) Government and Development Partners should provide adequate and timely funding to state and non-state actors for civic and voter education providers in line with the electoral approach cycle.Proposed action: Government should be lobbied to provide budget allocation for civic education to respective institutions in its annual budget for civic education. A basket funding should be established for both state and nonstate actors for funding. Also a tripartite forum of civil society government and development partners should be established for increased dialogue on sustained funding.

(j) Existing government structures for disseminating information such the Ministry of Information, Ministry of Education, MBC etc should be adequately funded and utilised for civic education as government has a responsibility to ensure that its citizens are well informed and educated for sustainable development.Proposed action: A consultative forum of civil society and all government agencies that facilitate the dissemination of information should be established for a wider dissemination of information

(k) Special civic education for the excluded groups such as the blind, the deaf, women and youth among others should be developed and appreciative skills and methodology of delivery should be developed. Proposed Action: State and non-state actors should design special program for the excluded groups and build specialized skills of mobilization.

CONCLUSION Without civic education, democracy cannot succeed in the world since its consolidation largely depends on the existence of the general public that is well enlightened about political and civic rights and the corresponding responsibilities. Hence, civic education equips the general public with right information and skills necessary to make democracy work. It develops competences in the citizenry to enable responsible ways of thinking, believing and making decisions. The resultant knowledge and skills are the bedrock of civic education as it is expected to form the basis of choice for the citizenry to participate, think rationally and critically; and to monitor and correct the policies and rules of a given society or country. Civic education boils down to a manifestation that citizenship is the basis of all other forms of social, economic and political activities.

Therefore, a sustained civic education mechanism can help build confidence in the electoral process and enhance peoples participation in public life including elections. However, in the past, intensive civic education has mainly been event based and undertaken during election period with over dependence of donor funding. As such, serious reforms should be made in order to ensure that civic education is not conducted as an event but rather continuously and intensively in between the ballots, in line with the electoral cycle approach. To this end, there is need to comprehensively integrate civic education in the formal and informal education system so that civic education becomes ourpart of life. Hence, the development of a CVE Curricula becomes then a necessity. Equally, comprehensive capacity building of state and non-state actors should be in order to ensure quality control, harmonisation of civic education materials and delivery approaches, geographic and target group reach among others are effectively taken into consideration.

REFERENCES1. ACE: https//aceproject.org/ace-en/topics/ve Accessed 3rd December, 20 142. Katusiimeh K, Civic Education and the Promotion of Participatory Democracy in Uganda3. Malawi Government, MGDS II, 2011 -20164. Malawi Electoral Commission and National Initiative for Civic Education, Study Report into the reasons for non-voting during 2004 PPE in Malawi, 2008 5. Ott M.& Kanyongolo E.(ed), Democracy in Progress: Malawis 2009 PPE, 20096. Phiri K.M& Ross K. R. (ed). Democratisation in Malawi: a stoke taking, 1998. 7. UNDP Democratic Governance Group: Civic Education. Practical Guidance , 2004

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