ELGIA has a wealth of experience in the area of providing technical assistance in all the processes of the electoral system design, management, operations and other forms of complementary processes. ELGIA works with Electoral Management bodies and technical leaders in many countries in the support to managing elections and referenda by striving for excellence at legal framework design, boundaries delimitation, structures and management process for election management, election budgeting, polling operations, ensuring accessibility and suitability of voting facilities and processes; managing results; maximising electoral justice for all stakeholders in the electoral process; enhancing the credibility of the voters’ roll; ensuring compliance with legal provisions; and continuously improving the legislative framework. This programme also focuses on the strategic goal of strengthening a cooperative relationship with political parties by deepening interactions with represented and unrepresented political parties and independent candidates; convening consultative forums with registered political parties; processing nomination of candidates for various electoral events; administering party registration processes.
 
ELGIA’s work focuses on support to election integrity processes, election campaign and political funding processes, disclosure and reporting by political parties and candidates.

Key programmes on electoral management include:

• Electoral legal framework development and review;
• Election system design and boundaries delimitation;
• Election management framework;
• Inclusion of women and other special groups;
• Support to political parties, political and campaign financing;
• Technical support through the entire election cycle administration including integration of technology;
• Working with electoral stakeholders and election observation;
• Support to Political Parties.
• Election security and conflict mitigation.

This strategic plan recognises that while credible elections is a necessary element in democratization, a comprehensive approach must take account the challenges in governance, rule of law, engagement of the people, accountability, respect for human rights including socio economic rights. Many countries recognise the interrelation between the deeper governance challenges in developing sustainable democratic societies. However, the steps taken to remedy long history of bad governance and unaccountability have been weak. Deeper governance issues and underlying weaknesses of the society require constitutional reengineering. These must be followed up with painstaking work in developing strong accountable institutions, and continuing genuine public participation and engagement.

An important component under this programmatic pillar is to work with continental and sub regional economic communities to develop and review regional instruments on democratic governance and elections as well as developing compliance tools with key normative framework for elections. The foregoing entail work with the AU, PAP, EAC and other sub regional bodies.

Key programmes under this strategic goal include:

• Constitutional development and implementation;
• Judiciary and rule of law;
• Support to the Judiciary on resolution of   electoral disputes.
• Support to devolved/decentralised or federal units of governance.
• Economic governance and Anti-corruption
• Support to human rights institutions
• Inclusivity and public participation – establish a pan-African citizens exchange (PACE) through technical assistance to local organisations.
• Assist African Union in reviewing compliance with the AU regional benchmarks for democratic elections.
• Support African Union Election Observation Mission, and AU member states to monitor compliance with the legal and constitutional framework governing elections.

The overarching objective under this programme pillar is to support national and regional mechanisms for economic governance. 

Key activities include;

• Provide technical assistance to the establishment and implementation of national anti-corruption and economic governance mechanisms.
• Support regional and continental bodies to develop and enact high level policy and international instruments on anti-corruption.
• Support citizens and non-state actors’ initiatives to monitor and facilitate accountability.
• Document lessons on economic governance.
• Support budget making and accountability processes.
• Enhance citizens participation in the economic governance processes.

The strategic objective under this programme area is to strengthen governance at the devolved and local government levels. Increasingly, majority of countries in Africa have embarked on devolution power (political and fiscal) to the lowest levels.

Specific activities include;

• Support to federal and county governments.
• Support federal legislatures and local assemblies on legislative process, representation and oversight.
• Strengthe citizens participation in the county governance processes.

African parliament have a significant role to play in the democratisation process. Legislative bodies have unique challenges in both parliamentary and presidential political systems. Many African countries evolved from elite consensus endorsed by the former colonial masters. This gave legislative bodies significant leverage in the initial phases of independence. However, over time, legislative bodies have largely been undermined by dominant executives.   In many jurisdictions they have lost their counterweight as the democratic coordinate organs to the executive. In terms of representation they embody the widest popular mandate that can counterbalance charismatic powerful presidents. At independence they represented the elite upon whose consensus the new nations were founded. The interplay of the balance of power between the executive, the executive and the accountability to the citizens have defined the progress of democratisation in most African states. Well-functioning parliaments are fundamental to promoting good governance.
Governance goals of greater accountability, transparency and participation are directly related to parliament’s three primary functions: legislating; overseeing the executive and representing citizens. Parliament, the executive and the judiciary, together with wider society, provide the overall governance framework of a given country.

Key programmatic areas include;

• Support to parliament to carryout their legislative, oversight and representation roles.
• Induction workshops to members of parliament.
• Enhance the capacity of parliamentray committees.
• Support parliament in budget making roles and monitoring effective utilisation of public funds.
• Support sub regional assemblies particularly the East African Legislative Assembly.

The strategic objective is to build a respectable and premier organisation in constitutional and electoral democracy in the in Africa through effective and sustainable programme development, organisational leadership and implementation.The transformation of ELGIA in cutting edge knowledge in policy and practice on electoral democracy, constitutionalism, the rule of law and good governance is also envisaged.