How to produce an effective manifesto

With six months still to go before Namibia’s National Assembly and Presidential elections, political parties have started to issue their manifestos. The Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP) and Swanu have already launched their manifestos. The Namibia Democratic Movement for Change (NDMC) has previewed the contents of its manifesto while promising to launch it at a public rally soon. Meanwhile, Swapo has launched a review of its 2004 manifesto analysing its achievements in the past five years.
The early production of some manifestos and the start of review processes is an encouraging sign that parties are taking their policy platforms seriously and that, in 2009, policy debates will feature more prominently during the election campaign.
A manifesto is a public statement of a party’s intentions if it is elected as the government. Very few parties in Namibia produce extensive manifestos detailing policy positions on most of the issues of the day. Most are rather short and lack detail, in particular as to how policies would be paid for. This leaves such documents open to criticism that they are not much more than a rather unrealistic wish list instead of a properly researched set of policy alternatives.
Another problem with manifestos is that they are often not accessible. They are not distributed widely, they are only in English, and they are not available on web sites (if the party has a website).
Very few parties appear to consider undertaking consultation and research before writing a manifesto. Often manifestos appear to be the product of a small committee of the party elite rather than being discussed at membership or branch level. Sometimes, it would seem that the manifesto is put together by one or two people just so that the party can say it has one. There seems to be little or no consideration as to whether the manifesto is accessible, understandable, or coherent.
Parties may argue that manifestos are not important in African or Namibian elections and therefore it is not worth investing much time or money in preparing them. Recently, several commentators argued that manifestos had very little influence on the electorate in the South African elections. However, there are good reasons why parties should put serious effort into preparing a manifesto. A party that does not have a well-argued and well-presented policy platform is probably a party that is not aiming to ever implement policies as a government one day or to influence the policies of the incumbent government. It may be that such a party exists for other reasons: providing jobs for its elite, representing a particular ethnic community, or advancing a single issue.
The policy platform articulated in a manifesto should not be forgotten once an election is over. Rather, its concerns should be a constant focus of the party’s campaigning and participation in public discourse.
It has been said that previous Namibian elections have been largely fought over personalities and history rather than policy issues. However, the Namibian electorate is becoming better educated and more literate, while the history of the liberation struggle is inevitably receding in importance. As a result well-presented policies, in the form of a manifesto, are likely to have more influence over the electorate in the future.
Detailed manifestos may not be read by many members of the public, but they are used by the media and policy-watchers to assess a party’s potential and credibility. To reach the broader mass of voters see the tips on making the manifesto more accessible below.
Tips for producing effective manifestos:
1. Use the research that is available on policy matters – both locally and globally – to prepare the positions and proposals of the party. Parties should develop their own research units or ‘think tanks’ to investigate policy options and keep abreast of relevant research findings and international trends between elections
2. Consult the party. Ensure manifesto proposals are discussed at meetings that are representative of the party membership, especially grassroots activists.
3. Consult the voters. Listen carefully to what those outside the party are saying, particularly potential floating voters. Consider holding ‘focus group’ discussions with groups of potential voters to gauge their views on possible policy options.
4. Presentation is crucial. Avoid dry academic, bureaucratic and technical language. At the same time ensure the language is not flowery or emotional. Rather concentrate on communicating the party’s ideas and proposals clearly and directly.
5. Ensure the final document is edited and proof-read. It is surprising how many manifestos are full of basic spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.
6. Include costings and explanations as to how policies, particularly ones requiring a large amount of public expenditure, would be financed. For a party to have credibility it must show that if in government it could deliver on its promises.
7. In an addition to a detailed manifesto, the party should produce an attractive leaflet summarising its main manifesto positions. This should be translated into as many Namibian languages as possible. The points in the leaflet can also be reproduced in media adverts.
8. Hold training workshops for party activists and candidates to ensure they are fully conversant with the contents of the manifesto and are able to use it as a campaign tool.
9. Ensure there is a distribution strategy for both the detailed manifesto and the leaflet summarising its main points.
10. Hold a manifesto review meeting after the election as part of the party’s post-election assessment of its performance, with a view to improving the processes before the next election.