Since independence in 1980, elections have been held in the Republic of Vanuatu periodically, with results that have been accepted as credible. Until 1991 the country experienced political stability, with a reasonably robust party system centered around a few pro-independence parties, which were originally linked to a francophone image. Since then, however, the governance system has been weakened by almost chronic political instability following political party splits. Vanuatu inherited a Westminster style system, which requires strong political parties; unfortunately, that is currently far from being the case. As a result, forming and retaining a coalition government has become a complex process of negotiation between fragmented political groups and independents.

As part of a political reform process launched following the inauguration of the government issued from the 2015 “snap elections”, the Prime Minister of Vanuatu requested in May 2016 UN assistance in preparations for a potential referendum to approve the constitutional reforms, as well as medium- and longer-term assistance to develop the capacity of the Electoral Commission (EC) and the Vanuatu Electoral Office (VEO). In response, and building on the recommendations of a scoping mission deployed to Vanuatu in June 2016, the UN approved the provision of support in various areas of the electoral process.

The Vanuatu Electoral Environment Project (VEEP) was approved and signed off by the UNDP Pacific Office in Fiji and the Vanuatu Electoral Office (VEO) in August 2017. VEEP was the first systematic effort to provide international electoral assistance in the country. The project eventually included four outputs – 1) strengthening of the electoral administration, 2) enhancing the integrity of the voter register, 3) supporting voter education and information and 4) supporting the political reform efforts through the development of the legal and operational framework regarding political parties’ registration. UNDP/VEEP thus provided electoral operational support to elections held during this period, supported a countrywide joint civil & voter registration process in the run-up to the General Elections 2020, as well as comprehensive voter information and public awareness campaigns – along with supporting adaptation to COVID-19 and TC Harold challenges. Looking at the voter turnout in Vanuatu from independence in 1980 to 2020 there has been a continuous increase in trend in the total number of votes cast since 1983, and it is noteworthy that the total votes cast in 2020 was the highest ever in the Vanuatu electoral history despite COVID-19 and TC Harold challenges and restrictions.

This project successfully ran from 2017-2020, and from 1 January 2021, VEEP phase II started up to continue the work that VEEP phase I had started.

VEEP accordingly continues to aim at contributing to the democratic development in Vanuatu. It will do so through the continued strengthening of the institutional and operational capacities of the electoral authorities, both the Electoral Commission (EC), the policymaking, oversight body, and the Vanuatu Electoral Office (VEO), the corresponding executive, operational arm. The project will support the electoral authorities to fulfil its mandate to conduct all direct elections in the country, including general, local council (provincial) and municipal elections, as well as any eventual national referendum, and improve its capacity to manage the political change process through credible and genuine electoral processes. VEEP II will further support the successful transition to the future voter registration model, where the electoral authorities will derive the voter register from the civil registry database, and use National ID for voting identification, with the aim of increasing the integrity and accuracy of the voter register, as well as increasing participation, reducing certain irregularities and strengthening public confidence. The project will continue to support improvement of institutional capacities to initiate and maintain longer-term voter education efforts and to strengthen the capacity of the electoral authorities to plan, implement, monitor and evaluate voter information and awareness efforts. Finally, the project will support electoral reform initiatives, including the capacity of the electoral authorities in developing and presenting viable changes and providing technical advice on the possible options to manage reforms dealing with complex aspects of the electoral processes.

The specific outputs for VEEP phase II are:

Output 1: Institutional Capacities of the Electoral Authorities Strengthened

Output 2: Integrity and Accuracy of the Voter Register Enhanced

Output 3: Ability to Conduct Voter Education and Raise Public Awareness strengthened

Output 4: Legal Electoral Framework Improved and Capacity Building on Electoral Reform to Key Stakeholders provided

VEEP II will run for a period of 3 ½ years, culminating with the General Elections in 2024. This allows for the continuity of progress made under the UNDP/VEEP Phase I and a smooth transition of the initiatives to mainstream practices within the Vanuatu electoral authorities and the Civil Registry and Vital Statistics department.

Under output 3, the Graphic Designer will support the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the electoral authorities and civil registration and identity management department, and UNDP/VEEP project with creating visual concepts, awareness material development and communication of ideas that inspire, inform, or captivate citizens/voters of Vanuatu, including development of overall layout and production design for key messages, brochures, billboards, social media, and corporate or high level reports.

Interested individual consultants must submit the following documents/information to demonstrate their qualifications in one single PDF document:

1. Duly accomplished Letter of Confirmation of Interest and Availability using the template provided by UNDP (Annex II).
2. Personal CV, indicating all past experience from similar projects, as well as the contact details (email and telephone number) of the Candidate and at least three (3) professional references.
3. Portfolio of past work (link to website or attachment) included in CV under separate heading demonstrating variety of prior work;
4. Financial proposal that indicates the all-inclusive fixed total contract price, supported by a breakdown of costs, as per template provided (Annex II)

Individuals applying for this consultancy will be reviewed based on their own individual capacity. The successful individual may sign an Individual Contract with UNDP or request his/her employer to sign a Reimbursable Loan Agreement (RLA) on their behalf by indicating this in the Offerors letter to Confirming Interest and Availability using Annex II.

Annexes

• Annex I - Individual IC General Terms and Conditions
• Annex II – Offeror’s Letter to UNDP Confirming Interest and Availability for the Individual IC, including Financial Proposal Template

Proposal Submission

• All applications must be clearly marked with the title of the consultancy (Graphic Designer-IC) and submitted by 13th Of March 2022 (Suva Time)
• For further information concerning this Terms of Reference, please contact UNDP Pacific Office by email: abhishek.prasad@undp.org

Incomplete applications will not be considered, and only candidates for whom there is further interest will be contacted.