Electronic Voting & Counting Technologies - IFES

INTERNATIONAL ELECTORAL DECISION IN STANDARDSPRINCIPLEstage of the feasibility study and willmake sense to divide these componentsand allocate responsibility to severalworking groups or sub-committees(referred to as ‘working groups’hereafter). Again a clear mandate andmembership should be provided to eachworking group established.The membership of these working groupsmay extend beyond the membershipof the Feasibility Study Committee ifspecialized skills (e.g. IT or legal skills)would be useful in the working group andare not available on the Committee.One of the first tasks for each workinggroup is to develop a plan for the conductof its specific work and provide this tothe Feasibility Study Committee. TheFeasibility Study Committee may definethe timeframe for the conduct of workinggroup tasks when it establishes them.“There may be a lotof political interest in thedeliberations of the FeasibilityStudy Committee andany working groups if theCommittee is establishedthrough a governmental orparliamentary process.”• Openness of the Process — TheFeasibility Study Committee will need todecide the extent to which its work willbe open to observation, if not specifiedin the mandate. There may be a lot ofpolitical interest in the deliberations ofthe Feasibility Study Committee andany working groups if the Committee isestablished through a governmental orparliamentary process. The FeasibilityStudy Committee will need to determinewhether its meetings, and those of itsworking groups, are open to observers orclosed. If observers are allowed, then whois allowed to observe and mechanismsfor controlled and fair access to meetingsneed to be specified. Decisions will haveto be made as to whether materials,workplans and interim reports are madeavailable to interested parties.Since steps identified in this guideprovide for significant levels ofconsultation from stakeholders, suchopen access and transparency tothe Committee and working groupsmay not be required. However, if thefeasibility study is in the public orpolitical spotlight there may be greatinterest in the work of the FeasibilityStudy Committee. Providing this accessmay help increase the credibility of theCommittee and its recommendations.• Schedule of Meetings and WorkingGroup Updates — The FeasibilityStudy Committee should establish aregular meeting schedule for itself, andrequire working groups report back atthe first meeting with a workplan andtimeline for their activities. Establishinga regular meeting schedule will assist intransparency in the process if meetingsare open for observers.International Foundation for Electoral Systems 29