How SMS & Google mapping technologies helped secure free & fair elections
[3-min version]
[12-min version]
For more information about the conduct of Senegal’s elections, contact:
| Pr Babacar Guèye Coordonnateur politique COSCE gbabacarg@yahoo.fr | Mr Valdidio Ndiaye Coordonateur technique opérationnel COSCE valdiofr@yahoo.fr | Mr Moundiaye CISSE Coordinateur stratégique COSCE mc_ruf5000@yahoo.fr |
We all agree on the importance of elections being free and fair. The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for Elections (COSCE) in Senegal has been monitoring elections since 2000, with trained observers reporting on the voting process at hundreds of polling stations around the country. COSCE is independent and regularly publishes its findings in order to help strengthen the electoral process. It is accredited by the Senegalese Ministry in charge of elections to monitor voting throughout the entire nation.
In 2012, OneWorld has provided mapping technology for COSCE’s field operations, enabling over 500 observers to send data directly from the field via text message, providing for the first time ever an initial indication of their findings in real time. It is important to note, of course, that this data is preliminary. The Coalition draws on this data as well as information received from other monitoring efforts and many other sources to make formal assessments of the voting process throughout and after Election Day.
The videos on the right provide more information about how the system worked on Election Day, and the part it played in enabling COSCE to declare that the results proclaimed by Senegal's election commission on 27 March 2012 "faithfully reflect the will expressed at the polls."
The technical platforms developed for Senegal's civil society election monitoring effort are adaptable for use in elections in other countries and for monitoring other issues.
For more information about OneWorld’s text message and mapping technology and its use in other countries and contexts, download the slide deck or contact:
In English:
Jeffrey Allen
Mobile4Good Programme Coordinator
OneWorld UK
jeffrey.allen@oneworld.net
En Français:
Kevin Adomayakpor
Country Manager, Senegal
OneWorld UK
kevin.ado@oneworld.net
The project has been funded by Oxfam Novib, the British Embassy in Senegal, the United States Agency for International Development, and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa.
