Elections and Political Processes 

A Woman Voting

IRI

USAID supported Mali’s 2013 presidential and legislative elections, which were viewed by both Malians and the international community as transparent, credible and participatory.  As part of its Country Development Cooperation Strategy, 2015-2019, USAID is supporting the electoral and political processes as a means to strengthen democratic reconciliation and increase public trust in governance.  In order to continue to capitalize on past democratic gains, USAID is supporting communal and regional elections and strengthening the capacity of newly elected local government officials. 

Activities

Supporting the 2015 national, regional and communal elections through:

• Providing technical assistance and mentoring to Malian Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs)
• Supporting domestic observation efforts
• Strengthening the capacity of political parties to represent citizens’ priorities in policy platforms
• Assisting the Government of Mali to plan, manage, and execute elections, ensuring robust citizen participation and oversight
• Improving the quality and transparency of voter registration
• Providing direct support for electoral materials and equipment
• Expanding civic education and political inclusion

Strengthening leadership capacity of youth activists in political parties:

• Helping citizens to understand and participate in Mali’s efforts to reform various sectors that include justice, decentralization, reconciliation, and the security sector
• Supporting women leaders to increase inclusion in political processes
• Producing and broadcasting radio programs to increase citizen understanding of the political process

Increasing citizens’ understanding of and participation in local governance:

• Producing “citizens scorecards” for local governments

Increasing citizens’ understanding of the functions and structures of the newly-established regional level of government.

Results To Date :

Mali held successful presidential and legislative elections with historically high levels of citizen participation (49% and 39% respectively):

• Distributed voter education materials to 227,000 Malians
• Trained 11,000 poll workers
• Trained 2,000 political party representatives from 60 political parties to observe legislative elections.