AID-182-C-16-00002 Support to the Central Election ...pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00N283.pdf ·...

iVote 2/4 Majakovski, Skopje, 1000 Macedonia

AID-182-C-16-00002

Support to the Central Election Commission (CEC) in Albania

Final Report

September 1, 2016 – August 31, 2017

Summary

The Support to the Central Election Commission (CEC) in Albania project began on 1

September 2016 for a period of 12 months. The project involved the modification and expansion of existing CEC software to manage several election administration processes, including campaign

finance reporting and oversight, political party and candidate registration, election staff

management, election configuration, budgeting and financial management of lower level commissions, ballot design and production, and election reporting. The project also sought to

provide capacity building of key election staff and technical support during peak electoral periods. The activities advanced the goals of strengthening democratic processes through elections, an

overarching strategic goal of the US Mission in Albania and USAID more broadly.

The project consolidated gains made by the CEC and USAID in IT-based election administration

in Albania. In 2013 USAID supported a results transmission and tabulation software solution. The system played a significant role in peaceful elections and a smooth transition of power by

providing reliable, real-time results, and was critical in the CEC’s investigation of complaints. In

advance of local elections in 2015, USAID provided support to modify the existing results transmission and allocation modules and to provide on-site support for software and hardware

issues during the results transmission process. The updated module helped assure that the local election results were collected and reported accurately and quickly. Following these elections, the

CEC requested help from the international community in the period before the 2017 parliamentary

elections to further develop the CEC’s election administration software and management tools.

Specifically, and per the contract section C3, the project had the following goals, objectives, and expected results:

The Contractor must perform and complete the following tasks within a 12-month period:

1. Revise and further adopt the following existing modules: • Module 1: Management of registration of electoral subjects. This module already exists

for local elections and the Contractor must adopt and implement the module f or

Parliamentary Elections. • Module 2: Reporting of political party expenses during electoral campaigns. The

Contractor must revise the module to track political party expenses beyond electoral campaigns to include their annual activities.

2. Develop and deploy the following modules: • Module 3: Management of ballots

• Module 4: Management of information from administrative divisions


• Module 5: Management of election administration data • Module 6: Budgeting and financial management of lower level election commissions

• Module 7: Oversight of parliamentary seat distribution and history • Module 8: Preparation of reports for the election bulletin

3. The Contractor must provide training to the CEC staff to ensure the proper functional use of the new and revised modules. All modules and the system as a whole will be owned and maintained

by CEC.

4. The Contractor must provide technical assistance in the use of the entire system during the 2017

Parliamentary Elections, which are expected to happen by June 2017. This assistance is expected to last for 3-4 weeks.

Ultimately, the project produced long-term, sustainable improvements in election management in

Albania. During the parliamentary elections iVote providing key technical support with the

election software systems in the peak election period. Political events in the run-up to these elections, including the ongoing boycott of electoral processes by the opposition, largely did not

impact the work of iVote. This included the compromise reached in May, which moved the election back one week and replaced the chair of the CEC. The CEC did have some turnover in

the IT department following the 2015 elections, which remained unaddressed throughout much of

the project. This posed small challenges to the project, mainly in the ability of the CEC to respond to questions from iVote, approve specifications, etc. However, the existing IT team were very

accommodating and provided iVote all assistance needed to complete the project on schedule.

At the start of the project iVote, in close consultation with the CEC IT staff, developed a

comprehensive System Requirements Specifications (SRS) which defined the functionalities of all modified and new software modules. iVote and the CEC IT staff also re-defined specifications for

the political finance module, following changes in the reporting template which took place shortly before the elections. Upon completion of the software modules, iVote installed and tested the

software at the CEC in Tirana, Albania.

iVote provided the CEC with 9 user manuals on the new and revised modules. These manuals are

designed to be easy to understand and provide the different users with instructions on how to use the key functions of the election management system. Similarly, iVote developed a set of 8 quick

reference guides to assist the CEC staff in their work. iVote provided training of CEC IT staff on

using all new modules both remotely via webinars and on site during installation and support.

All software modules were delivered on time and used by the CEC for the 2017 parliamentary election. Offsite technical support took place upon finalization of modules, increasing through to

the election period, to address a number of issues in the installation and rollout of modules, such

as network and communication issues, importing of data sets, passwords and security measures, and other issues. Onsite technical support took place primarily during the last phase of the project,

which was designed to support the CEC in using the software throughout the peak election period. This included resolving network issues, reimportation of certain data, changes to the language

resource files, generation of various reports and queries, and website presentation.


Key Accomplishments and Results

• Project Workplan drafted and received USAID approval

• Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Plan drafted and received USAID approval

• System Requirements and Specifications developed and received CEC approval

• Completion of adjustments to existing political subject registration software module

• Completion of adjustments to political finance reporting software module

• Development of new software for election configuration and management of information

from administrative divisions

• Development of new software module for the management of ballots

• Development of new software for the management of election administration data/personnel

• Development of new software for the budgeting and financial management of lower level

election commissions

• Development of new software for the oversight of parliamentary seat distribution

• Development of new software for the generation of the election bulletin

• Development of nine user manuals and eight quick reference guides for the CEC staff

• Online and in-person training for the CEC IT staff and temporary workers

• Continuous offsite technical support and troubleshooting for the CEC IT department

• Onsite technical support to CEC before, during and after 2017 parliamentary elections

Objective 1: CEC election management software is fully developed prior to the 2017

parliamentary elections with an expansion of existing modules and integration between all

modules.

Activity 1.1: System Requirements and Specifications Design

Timeline: September 2016-October 2016

After receiving the contract from USAID in September 2016, iVote began immediately to work

on the required project documents and to plan for redevelopment and expansion of the modules in

the CEC’s election management system. iVote submitted the project Workplan and Performance Monitoring and Evaluation Plan on 20 September. Approval was received on 21 September from

USAID. USAID proposed several revisions to the PMEP, mostly for the sake of simplification and ease of tracking project performance. These revisions were made and the PMEP resubmitted on

29 September. USAID gave formal notification on the acceptance of the PMEP on 17 October.

Upon approval of the Workplan, iVote representatives travelled to Tirana, Albania (21-23

September) to begin the System Requirements and Specifications (SRS) design. During this trip iVote met with representatives of the CEC IT department to discuss and map out the needed

functionalities within the new and updated modules. iVote also held meetings with representatives

of USAID to discuss the overall project plan and requirements, provide a briefing on progress and talks with the CEC, and other administrative details of project implementation. iVote was also

invited and participated in a panel on election technology at a regional conference hosted by the


Albanian CEC. During the panel discussion, Dr. Ljupco Antovski of iVote discussed current practices and challenges from the implementation of state of the art information technology in

elections, as well as highlights of the work done together by USAID, iVote and the CEC in recent years, including the current project. iVote also briefly met with USAID Mission Director Catherine

Johnson who attended the panel session.

During the month of October iVote developed the SRS per the USAID contract and the

requirements received from the CEC. The SRS defined the 8 modules to be created or modified, and how these modules must function within Albania’s electoral legislation, practices and

organization. It also defined the different user roles for the system (e.g., Administrator, EAZ

Administrators, Data Entry staff, Political Party users and so on). Clarifications to the specifications and needs of the CEC were made through electronic communication. The SRS was

completed on schedule and delivered to the CEC at the end of October. Upon reviewing the SRS, the CEC formally accepted and signed the document together with iVote in early November. See

Attachment 1.

Activity 1.2 Updates and Enhancements to Core Modules

Timeline: October 2016 – April 2017

After the SRS signoff, iVote commenced with the upgrade of Module 1: registration of political

party subjects and Module 2: reporting of political party incomes and expenditures. The former

was created for the 2015 local elections (first past the post for mayors and proportional representation at the council level) and had to be reconfigured for the parliamentary electoral

system (regional proportional representation based on the Albania’s 12 Qarku, or districts). The latter was created within the framework of the financial rules and reporting obligations for election

subjects, and was to be revised to reflect changes in the electoral financing rules and obligations

stemming from the reform of the electoral legislation and the tracking of political party expenses beyond electoral campaigns to include their annual activities.

These modules were completed in Quarter 2

of the project, with some changes to the

finance module requiring a redevelopment of the module during the third and fourth

quarters. iVote tested and installed the completed software modules and continued

to provide support throughout the end of the

contract period and beyond.

For details of the specifications, user roles and functionality of these modules please

refer to the attached SRS, in particular pages

20-61.

Figure 1 Dashboard view of registration of political party subjects module


The registration of political subjects module was successfully reconfigured

for the parliamentary electoral system, and political parties and their lists

within each of Albania’s 12 Qarku,

could be registered for the election by the CEC per the approved SRS. The

political finance module was updated to incorporate the required expenses

and reporting forms as defined in the

SRS phase of the project. However, additional changes were later needed

due to changes in the reporting template that the political parties use to report campaign financing to the CEC, an initiative

supported by NDI and USAID, and the Council of Europe. This change required amendments to

the software interface for data input, the data fields, the import function of the software, the reports in the system, and presentation of the data and graphs on the public web site of the module. iVote

was in regular communication with the CEC and USAID regarding this issue. The CEC adopted the new template shortly before the parliamentary elections and iVote delivered the completed

module according to the revised schedule agreed upon by all parties.

Activity 1.3 Development of New Election Management Software Modules

Timeline: November 2016 – April 2017

iVote began development of the new modules following the adaption of the existing modules, and completed the work prior to the parliamentary elections. These six modules include the

management of the ballots, management of information from administrative divisions, management of election administration data/personnel, budgeting and financial management of

lower level election commissions, oversight of parliamentary seat distribution, and the generation

of the election bulletin. All modules were completed as per the SRS. A description of these modules follows:

Module 3: Management of ballots.

Previous elections in Albania have

been marred by simple mistakes in the creation of ballots, such as

assigning the wrong party number, coalition or position on the ballot.

Such mistakes at best undermine the

public’s confidence in the electoral process, at worst they can damage the

process to an extent to invalidate results. The potential for mistakes in

printed ballot papers has been mitigated with the creation of a

Figure 2 Dashboard view of party finance entries

Figure 3 Design of ballot


partner module to the current candidates module that includes the ballot management function. This software allowed the CEC to assign positions of the candidates on the ballot, as well as create

the overall design of the ballot. The software also enabled electronic approvals by the CEC and preparation of files for the printing houses, as opposed to printing houses developing the basic

layout themselves which has in past provided an opportunity for human error.

Module 4: Management of information from administrative divisions. Last minute changes in the

organization of the electoral units, due to court rulings or CEC decisions, can create difficulties and mistakes in the organization of the elections in terms of drawing electoral boundaries,

assigning voters or allocating correct numbers of mandates (based on populations). The new

module on administrative division management enables the CEC to make any such changes directly with the software and avoid a process where they must re-import the data according to the

new organization, as was the case previously. Automating this process saves time and eliminates the opportunity to introduce mistakes through data entry and the import process.

Module 5: Management of election administration data/personnel. A key

gap in the CEC’s ability to prepare for and manage elections was in the

administration of election personnel.

The entire process of managing and training tens of thousands of temporary

personnel at the zonal, counting and voting commissions was previously

done using a combination of software

tables and other systems. This module integrated the election administration

data within the CEC, and enabled the CEC staff to manage and track different aspects of Albania’s tiered system of election

administration regarding the recruitment, nomination, appointment and training and education of

officials. The module also allowed the CEC to register all observers and issue accreditations, a process that was previously done by hand and took staff of the CEC weeks due to the large number

of observer applications. The module also has the potential to assist the CEC in the management of certain logistics, such as site location selection and readiness, materials delivery and other

functions.

Module 6: Budgeting and financial management of lower level election commissions. This module

has provided the CEC with a budgeting and financial management system for the zonal (KZAZ) temporary commissions for payments needed by these commissions during an electoral period.

Module 7: Oversight of parliamentary seat distribution and history. In the cases of resignations and election of new representatives (or appointments from the lists), the CEC previously used a

paper archive of electoral data that is difficult and time consuming to update, and created manually a new certification for the representative. This module will now keep track of each candidate status

through the terms of the elected bodies. The CEC can use the module to easily update the status of any candidate and print official certifications for the newly elected officials.

Figure 4 Observer registration function of the election personnel module


Module 8: Preparation of reports for the election bulletin. By law, the CEC must prepare and

submit to the legislature on official bulletin upon the conclusion of each electoral cycle. This publication contains all data and statistics from any given election. Previously, the preparation of

all the types of data and reports for the election bulletin was done ad-hoc, piece by piece, and

requires months even up to a year of preparation. This new module allows the CEC to source the data in a single place and publish the bulletin with minimal effort and editing.

iVote was in regular communication over the course of the project with the CEC IT department

chair to further adapt modules per the SRS and also develop a comprehensive list of reports for

the modules and system. While most module development was completed entirely offsite, some

additional inputs and design assistance was required from the CEC. In mid-March, iVote team

traveled to Albania to consult CEC staff on additional requirements needed to complete the module

on budgeting and financial management of lower level election commissions. The module was

later finalized per the software requirements and additional discussions with CEC.

iVote then successfully tested and installed the new modules at CEC prior to the parliamentary election period.

Objective 2: CEC staff has requisite IT skills to manage election processes and effectively

employ new and updated election management software

Activity 2.1 Development of User Manuals and Guides

Timeline: February 2017 – May 2017

Per workplan, iVote developed a number of manuals for different users to operate the new and

revised modules. These manuals include: 1) Administrator Manual; 2) EAZ Administrator

Manual; 3) EAZ Operator Manual; 4) Electoral Bodies Admin Finance; 5) Electoral Bodies

Finance Manual; 6) HR Administrator Manual; 7) HR Operator Manual; 8) Political Party Admin

Finance Manual; 9) Political Party Finance Manual. These manuals were delivered to the CEC for

printing and distribution to different staff as needed. Copies of these manuals are attached.

iVote also prepared quick reference guides for several different user types. These guides are for 1)

EAZ Administrator; 2) EAZ Operator; 3) Electoral Bodies Admin Finance; 4) Electoral Bodies

Finance; 5) HR Administrator; 6) HR Operator; 7) Political Party Admin Finance; 8) Political

Party Finance. Copies of the quick reference guides are attached.

Activity 2.2 Implementation of Training Programs

Timeline: May 2017 – August 2017

Training of CEC staff began following the completion of the modules, and included both remote

webinar trainings and onsite trainings. The following table summarizes the training dates, topics


and number of participants from the CEC. iVote also trained staff as part of the onsite support

provided for the entire system, such as on administering the system for turnout and results.

When On What Participants

15.03 System configuration 3

Module 1: Registration of electoral subjects

Module 4: Management of information from administrative divisions

Module 5: Management of election administration data/personnel

Module 7: Oversight of parliamentary seat distribution and history

10.04 Module 1: Registration of electoral subjects 3

Module 3: Management of ballots




Module 8: Official election bulletin

14.06 Turnout 5

Results

13.07 Module 2: Reporting of political party expenses 3

Module 6: Budgeting and financial mgmt. of lower-level election commissions

CEC staff, once trained by iVote, in turn also trained additional staff on an as needed basis:

When On What Participants






Module 3: Management of ballots




Module 8: Official election bulletin

19.06 Turnout 90 (1 per EAZ)

Results

17.07 Module 2: Reporting of political party expenses 10

Module 6: Budgeting / financial mgmt. of lower-level election commissions


iVote has also continued advising the CEC IT department on using and making adaptations to a

number of modules, including in the post-award period.

Objective 3: CEC IT, Election Commissions and other departments have professional and

technical support during electoral preparations through to the certification of results.

Activity 3.1 Remote IT support and Technical Assistance

Timeline: May 2017 – July 2017

iVote provided support to the CEC staff beginning with the installation process for the new

modules at the CEC. Requests were responded to promptly by iVote, including server performance

issues, import of data, network connection issues between the Election Night Reporting and

election modules, issues with modules on HR, observers and political candidates, configuration of

voting centers, security codes and others. Additional support was provided post-election, mainly

concerning the generation of reports (content, layout and other issues) through the system.

Please see Attachment 2 (Service Log) for details of requests and dates.

Activity 3.2 Onsite Technical Support and Troubleshooting

Timeline: May 2017 – June 2017

Onsite IT support and assistance took place in two main phases: during the module development

on an as-needed basis, and continuously in the weeks prior to and after the June 25 election.

In addition to the March visit to discuss features of the module on budgeting and financial

management of lower level election commissions, iVote technical team travelled to Albania April

9-10 to discuss CEC feedback on the existing and new modules, install updates and conduct other

routine inspections and inquiries of the

CEC IT capacity. On 19-20 June iVote

travelled to Albania to complete

installation, dry run and setup of the final

version of all software. From 19 June – 1

July iVote provided onsite support

throughout the parliamentary elections for

using the election management system,

including through to the generation of

mandates.

All software modules functioned without issues and results were continuously transmitted from

the counting centers to CEC and presented live in the press center and on the public results web

site results2017.cec.org.al. The site had over 4 million page views in the period after Election Day.

Figure 5 Screenshot of module for allocation of mandates


An issue emerged with the results web site that are hosted by government servers. For a period of

one hour on election night all infrastructure of AKSHI was not accessible by the public (not only

the results site, but all other governmental web sites). AKSHI managed to resolve the issues, and

iVote provided technical recommendations in resolving the link issues between CEC and

AKSHI. iVote is recommending the CEC develop alternative or back-up plans for hosting its

results website for future elections.

Please see the attached Service Log for details of requests and dates.

Future Recommendations

The election management modules are fully operational and require no further maintenance under

existing rules for parliamentary elections. The CEC can use the modules with minimal external

support (iVote still provides some support free of charge while the CEC becomes more familiar

with the modules). However, there are additional features that the CEC would like in the existing

modules, as well as some changes required to allow the modules to function for local elections.

Module 1: Registration of electoral subjects. The module should allow internet publication of the

self-declaration form and CV of the candidates.

Module 3: Management of ballots. This module has been developed and used for parliamentary

elections. Local elections will be far more complex as there will be different ballots for each

municipality, with a total of 122 ballot types (61 for mayor and 61 for municipal councils). In

previous local elections there were problems in the printing of ballots with incorrect information

– a problem that could have been prevented with a ballot management module.

Module 7: Oversight of parliamentary seat distribution and history. This module would need to

be adapted to use in local elections which have different and higher dynamic characteristics, and

also the gender criteria are different in municipal council elections.

Module 8: Official election bulletin. This module needs adaptation for local elections where there

are two different elections (the municipal council and the mayor).

As mentioned, to ensure transparency in results and timelines of publicly available information,

iVote also recommends developing plans for a back-up server for the results website in the case

the government servers fail during critical periods.

AID-182-C-16-00002 Support to the Central Election ...pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00N283.pdf ·...

Documents

Transcript of AID-182-C-16-00002 Support to the Central Election ...pdf.usaid.gov/pdf_docs/PA00N283.pdf ·...