The Election Monitoring Network Internship Experience
South Africa national elections have just ended. During the past month and a half I’ve had the privilege of interning at the Election Monitoring Network.
Here’s a quick intro to the history behind South Africa politics and the Election Monitoring Network. South Africa as a nation hasn’t seen a democratic political atmosphere until 1994 when the National Party and along with it apartheid (segregation policies) were removed from government. The new atmosphere enabled people to openly question their democratic governance more, “how are you as my elected party going to address this problem my community has?” Questions of accountability weren’t able to be asked by the majority of the population before 1994. From 1994 to 2008 the one party that received the majority of votes was the ANC (African National Congress). Discontent of undelivered promises cultivated from 1994 to 2008. In 2009 the environment the political parties contested in changed again as citizens became more educated and experience about their rights. Places that used to be ANC dominate were now split between other parties for some reason or another due to discontent with the way the nation was being ran, i.e. lack of undelivered promises by the government over the past 14 years. A more competitive democratic environment emerged because of this – a type of environment South Africa has never seen before in its history.
The Election Monitoring Network’s mission is to ensure peaceful elections. The EMN deploys 500 monitors across the country among the nine provinces. The monitors keep their ears and eyes open for potential conflict hotspots and call their provincial coordinators to have the conflict resolved if one does arise. The EMN was formed by a multitude of civil society organizations across South Africa and is independent of government.
My role at the EMN has been to organize the information the monitors report and to assist my coordinator’s assistant with an assortment of duties – excel sheets, phone calls, setting up materials. Regardless, everyday was exciting and held a new challenge to be dealt with.
Some days were especially different from others. I’d find myself at the Archbishop of the Anglican Church’s house setting up for a briefing on the election related conflict that has occurred so the Archbishop could make a speech to the media afterwards. I’d find myself acting as an observer at a live televised political debate between the ANC, ID, DA, AZAPO, and COPE political parties. And I’d find myself having conversations about democracy and global affairs with election related international workers from other countries like Uganda and Kenya.
Becoming immersed in a fast paced neutral national election related environment was one of the most exciting things I have ever been a part of. What I learned outside of a classroom was the actual dynamics of an organization whose mission was to ensure peaceful democratic elections. My coordinator Derrick, who is the national coordinator of the EMN, took me closely under his wing and involved me in all of the issues at the forefront of the organization. By the end of the internship I had received a 360 degree view of the election landscape and how an organization organizes itself to scan for and respond to election related conflict and then communicate this to other organizations, eminent persons, the media, and the public to ensure peace during the tender and delicate period of elections the nation goes through.
I will be taking so much with me back to the United States from my internship experience. Before the study abroad program I had never been educated or involved with any type of political, governmental, or electoral related affairs – but here I found myself at an internship three days a week where I met with admirable people all united with a common goal of creating a peaceful and fair democracy for South Africa and Africa as a whole. I have the highest respect for the people I worked with when I look at the type of past South Africa and Africa as a whole have been through. The work that they do contributes to creating a peaceful atmosphere where problems are negotiated peacefully rather than by force and disregard for others. I would have never had this learning experience if it wasn’t for the study abroad program and its amazing connections – thanks to everyone involved. I know I will be able to add a unique perspective to many of the initiatives that await me back in the United States. Most of all I’ve learned that I have A LOT to learn and that I’ll never know everything or solve every problem, but I hope to hit the ground running and continue the learning experience once I return.
