On 14 December 2005, Tanzania held presidential, parliamentary and local elections, and for the first time it was possible to follow the outcome of the election online.
Before the elections began, COWI developed a WEB Geographic Information System (WEB GIS) for the National Electoral Commission's (NEC) website. As well as making the results available as they came in, the WEB GIS solution provided information about the different constituencies and candidates. It was also possible to search the site for information such as which party gained most votes in each constituency.
In parallel with the development of the GIS solution, COWI assisted local staff at the NEC in setting up a GIS unit. Staff were trained to handle more GIS assignments after the general election was over. In the future, the GIS unit will maintain the Tanzanian administrative boundaries associated with elections and subsequently inform the public of the results.
The WEB GIS solution is based on open source GIS technology. The solution links administrative and geographical data demarcating the constituencies with data on the numbers and distribution of votes.
Peter Ritzau EigaardProject ManagerTel.: +45 45 97 12 90pre@cowi.dk
Develop a WEBGIS solution able to visualise the election results on the Internet, and train the local staff in handling future GIS assignments connected with elections.
Development of a WEB GIS solution and establishment of a GIS unit.
GIS training of the local staff.
National Electoral Commission in Tanzania
June 2005 - February 2006