IEMSA

AN UNPARALLELED RESERVOIR OF KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, SKILLS AND EXPERTISE IN THE ELECTORAL PROCESSES

Institute of Election Management Services in Africa (IEMSA), established in 2018, and officially launched in 2019, is a one stop shop rendering election management services and providing capacity to Election Management Bodies (EMBs), businesses and community organizations in South Africa, the African continent and elsewhere in the world.

No other election management organisation in the world offers all independent, professional Election Management Services under one umbrella. Through its in-house capabilities and a partner network of experts in various fields of the election value chain, IEMSA offers strategic advice on elections by collating and analysing

all election data relevant to its clients. This data includes population statistics, voter participation information, and population profiles for each area. This data is supplemented by research as well as relevant information drawn from election surveys and information on the performance of various political parties. As part of its commitment to deepening electoral democracy, IEMSA supports Election Management Bodies, political parties, the electorate, observer missions and any other interested party in administering and managing elections. IEMSA has a pool of electoral experience and expertise to cover all aspects in the value chain of elections. These include democracy education, party agent training, geographic information systems, electoral operations and result systems.

During the 2019 National and Provincial Elections of South Africa IEMSA entered into a relationship with the South African Council of Churches (SACC) in terms of which IEMSA would train SACC Election Observers. After the elections, this programme was extended to cover democracy education. This partnership saw IEMSA facilitating the training of more than 5000 Election Observers.

The political parties play an important part in the life of a democratic project, and to this end IEMSA has played a prominent role in the training of party agents, who when well trained and knowledgeable about electoral processes, make it easier for an Election Management Body to deliver on its mandate.

Ahead of the 2019 National and Provincial Elections in South Africa the Inkatha Freedom Party requested IEMSA to train its party agents. This program was so successful that the leader of Inkatha Freedom Party, Prince Buthelezi, lauded IEMSA for its professionalism and declared that “We were deeply impressed by the standard of training provided and believe that it made a tremendous difference to the successful work of our Party Agents.” IEMSA has further used the extensive

experience and expertise of its functionaries to organize, manage and deliver elections for organizations that decide their leadership through democratic processes. Almost all of its managers and leaders have managed National, Provincial and Municipal elections for almost 20 years. This makes IEMSA an unparalleled reservoir of knowledge, experience, skills and expertise in electoral processes. Since its establishment IEMSA has managed elections for professional bodies, trade unions, community organizations as well as political parties.

The fact that the third biggest Political Party in South Africa, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) requested IEMSA to manage its elections is testimony to its expertise, experience and influence. IEMSA is a preferred service provider for those institutions that want their electoral processes to be managed with integrity and professionalism.

IEMSA has made innovation and digitization a key element in its processes

These innovations include digital gaming for grades 3 to grade 6 on democracy education which was introduced during the launch of IEMSA. More solutions are being developed with our partners in order to empower our clients to make informed and effective decisions. More apps will be developed going forward.

Whereas many organisations focus on manual systems in their processes IEMSA has invested enormous resources investing in new technology and digitization. This has positioned the organisation to be able to tackle challenges associated with the 4th Industrial Revolution and artificial intelligence. By developing algorithms and analytics that enable political parties and interested parties to be able to shape their operations, IEMSA is at the cutting edge of new technologies and innovation in electoral processes.

Towards the end of 2019 IEMSA launched a digital game to reinforce Democracy Education for Grade 3 to Grade 6 learners. Kids’ favorite characters were further used as a representation of Political Parties in a ballot during a mock election. Learners came from Ekukanyisweni Primary School in Alexander Township and Montrose in Sandton.

The choice of these two schools was deliberate. The intention was firstly, to close a digital divide between a poor under resourced school from Alexander township and a well-resourced school from Sandton. Secondly this would provide a platform for access to democracy education for learners who are at an elementary level reinforcing

IEMSA’s belief that democracy education should be about enabling and empowering people to understand their role, responsibility and obligation in a democratic society.

This programme will be extended to cover more schools in South Africa. Research and Training is crucial in the electoral processes, therefore IEMSA has pursued a relationship with the University of Johannesburg (UJ). This relationship will enable both institutions to play a meaningful role in training election officials as well as developing new knowledge in the elections field. The establishment of an Election Leadership Programme at the University will enable election officials across the continent to increase their knowledge and expertise in the field of election management. The programme will be structured around the Integrity Wheel - another IEMSA innovation which is used to assess the integrity of the elections.

IEMSA is an institute offering election management services but also has consultants that specialize in the prevention, detection and prosecution of electoral fraud across all spheres of public and private enterprises.

During his career at the Electoral Commission of South Africa, Terry oversaw 4 National and Provincial Elections, 4 Municipal Elections and hundreds of by-elections making him one of the most experienced election officials in the world. This record remains unmatched not only in South Africa but in many parts of the world.

Its team of electoral experts include members of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Institute of Internal Auditors, Compliance Institute of SA, the Institute of Commercial Forensic Practitioners, the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Independent Regulatory Board of Auditors.

IEMSA’ executive management includes industry professionals who possess over 100 years’ experience between them in the areas of Election Management, Internal and External Audit, Governance, Compliance, Risk Management, Corporate Training, Management Consulting, Legal Services, Forensic Investigations and Conflict Resolution.

Terry Tselane, the founder of IEMSA, has extensive experience and a proven track record in election management. Tselane has served as a Commissioner and the Vice Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of South Africa for just under 20 years.

Prior to being appointed as a Commissioner he had served for four years as both the Municipal Electoral Officer of Pretoria (Tshwane Municipality) as well as the Provincial Electoral Officer for Gauteng.

Its offerings to clients are results driven and focused on expediting any investigation, prosecution and recovery where practically possible.

CONTACT DETAILS

Tel: 083 653 6913

Website: www.iemsa.co.za

Email: info@iemsa.co.za

Address: 35 Ballyclare Drive

Bally Oaks Office Park

1st Floor Silky Oak Building Bryanston, Johannesburg, 2074