ASSOCIATION OF EUROPEAN ELECTION OFFICIALS

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Association of European Election Officials (ACEEEO)

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28th Annual Conference, 24-26 September 2019, Ljubljana, Slovenia

ACEEEO News

30th Anniversary Conference and General Assembly meeting of the ACEEEO

28-30 September 2021, Bucharest, Romania

2021 is a milestone in the history of ACEEEO; this year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of our foundation. This year the Annual Conference will be centered around two themes: Youth Participation, on the one hand, and Campaign- and Party Finance, on the other.

The annual conference... Read more

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The Association of European Election Officials (ACEEEO) and the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania co-organize an event to contribute to the discussion on this topic The symposium explores the relationship between the shared European identity among the youth and European elections, most notably, EP elections. Do young people... Read more

Statement of support for the independent and impartial election administration in Mexico

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ACEEEO together with Democracy International, International IDEA, Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania, and Transparencia Electoral en América latina joined together to congratulate and support the decades-long work of the Instituto Nacional Electoral (INE) in organizing elections that are impartial, transparent and conducted in accordance with internationally... Read more

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Read more about 30th Anniversary Conference, 28-30 September 2021, Bucharest, Romania

30th Anniversary Conference, 28-30 September 2021, Bucharest, Romania

Date of the event:

Tuesday, September 28, 2021 to Thursday, September 30, 2021

30th Anniversary Conference and General Assembly meeting of the ACEEEO

Date: 28-30 September 2021, Bucharest, Romania

Topics: ‘Youth Participation' and 'Campaign and Party Finance'

The annual conference focuses on the following issues:

Youth Participation:

practical aspects: the role of key stakeholders (e.g. EMBs, international organizations and election officials) highlighting best practices in terms of voter education and communications;
theoretical questions: the role and justifiability of the constitutional framework (e.g. the age limit) and the general trends related to youth participation.

Campaign and Party Finance

how money is spent during electoral campaigns;
how campaign- and party finance are regulated;
transparency as a key aspect of campaign- and party finance.

Organizers

Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania

The Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania is an autonomous administrative institution with legal personality and general competence in electoral matters, which has the goal to ensure the proper organization and conduct of elections and referenda, as well as the transparency and control of the financing of political parties and electoral campaigns, in compliance with the Romanian Constitution, the domestic law and all relevant international and European standards.

Vision

The Permanent Electoral Authority carries out its activity in accordance with the principles of independence, impartiality, legality, transparency, efficiency, professionalism, responsibility, sustainability, predictability and legitimacy.

Mission

The Permanent Electoral Authority aims to fulfil the following missions:

Guarantee the organization of periodic, free and fair electoral processes with efficient and transparent use of human, financial and economic resources;
Ensure the correct and transparent financing of political parties and electoral campaigns;
Implement an integrated electoral management;
Ensure and constantly improve the legal and organizational framework of elections and referenda, both at national or local level, as well as the control of the financing of political parties, in accordance with the legal instruments of international law, the acquis communautaire and the constitutional provisions;
Coordinate the unitary application, throughout the country, of the legal provisions in the electoral field and of the fulfilment of attributions and tasks by the other public authorities involved in the electoral processes;
Educate the electorate and other participants to the elections;
Ensure the external representation of the Romanian state, standing as its main vector of image in terms of the democratization status of Romania, measured by the exercise of electoral rights, equal opportunities in political competition and transparency in financing the activity of political parties and electoral campaigns.

Management structure:

Constantin-Florin MITULEȚU-BUICĂ - President

Zsombor VAJDA - Vice-president

Marian MUHULEȚ - Vice-president

Contact: international.affairs@roaep.ro

ACEEEO Secretariat

The Association of European Election Officials, formerly the Association of Central and Eastern Election Officials, was established in 1991. It is a non-governmental organization, an alliance that is independent from political parties. The Association’s main objective is to provide assistance for holding free and fair elections. In order to achieve this mission, the Association supports the operation of permanent election commissions and offices and actively contributes to the establishment of legal standards regarding the requirements for democratic elections. The ACEEEO organizes different meeting points for election professionals – conferences and seminars – and provides professional assistance and guidance for those who require it. By 2021 the ACEEEO counts 25 member-countries and several member-NGOs and keeps good partnership relations with the different international organizations in the field of elections.

Zsolt Szolnoki - Secretary General
István Áhi - Program Manager
János Mécs - Project Manager

Concept Paper

2021 is a milestone in the history of ACEEEO; this year we celebrate the 30th anniversary of our foundation. This year the Annual Conference will be centered around two themes: Youth Participation, on the one hand, and Campaign- and Party Finance, on the other.

First, ACEEEO celebrates by looking forward to the future of democracy and elections – to the youth. Today’s first voters will shape tomorrow’s democracy, it is therefore paramount to understand how the youth think, what attitudes they have, and how their meaningful engagement in the more formal democratic processes might be increased. ACEEEO has been devoted to this topic in the past and dedicates its activities in 2021 mostly to this theme.

The Conference approaches this complex topic from multiple angles, focusing, on more practical aspects, such as the role of key stakeholders (e.g., EMBs, international organizations and election officials) highlighting best practices in terms of voter education communications, youth engagement and involvement. For youth involvement to increase it is crucial to reflect on the gap of understanding and usage of media platforms that is often present between key stakeholders and first voters. Therefore, those involved in communication with the youth will discuss questions, such as what the most effective style and platform of communications are, or what the biggest challenges, most effective best practices are, what resources are needed to engage in an effective youth outreach campaign and how these resources might be procured. Furthermore, theoretical questions should be discussed as well, such as the role and justifiability of the constitutional framework (e.g. the age limit) and the general trends related to youth participation, such as the apparent divide between youth participation in activism, involvement in informal democratic processes and youth participation in elections, which has been highlighted by the emergence of globe-spanning youth movements.

The Conference’s background assumption is that speaking about the youth is only fruitful if the youth themselves are included in the discussion, therefore young speakers will present, and the event will offer an opportunity to exchange experiences with young voters.

Second, the Conference deals with the topic of campaign- and party finance. In the modern political contest money and politics cannot be disentangled. The question how political actors receive funds, how they spend it, and how they need to report it is of utmost importance in any democracy. The Conference focuses on the question of how money is spent during electoral campaigns, either from dedicated campaign fund or from the general resources available to parties.

The Conference approaches the topic from a regulatory perspective as well; one key question from a comparative angle is how campaign- and party finance are regulated. Political parties may use various funds ranging from state subventions to micro-donations, but it often differs from country to country that from whom and in what amount parties and candidates may receive money. There is no single way to regulate money and politics, however, there are good practices to borrow, historical failures to avoid, and important trade-offs to recognize. Finally, a key aspect of campaign- and party finance is transparency. Different monitoring institutions, including state authorities and watchdogs from the civil society may help each other in protecting the integrity of the political process. Moreover, social media and the internet are both a challenge and an opportunity; they introduced new activities that should be regulated, however, they may also make the spending in the virtual space more transparent. These key stakeholders – state authorities, the civil society and companies – might learn from each other by exchanging best practices, as well as complement each other’s efforts, thus, providing equal opportunities in the competition and preventing malpractice.

Agenda and presentations

28 September 2021 (Tuesday)
12.00 – 13.00	Lunch
14.00 – 15.00	General Assembly Meeting (for ACEEEO members)
	Chair: Constantin-Florin Mitulețu-Buică, President of ACEEEO, President of the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania
15.00 – 15.30	Coffee break
15.30 – 17.00	ACEEEO 30: Leader’s forum (roundtable discussion)
	Moderator: Zsolt Szolnoki, Secretary General, ACEEEO Leaders of International/Regional Organizations: ACEEEO A-WEB Seung Kim, Advisor to the Secretary General, A-WEB ArabEMBs Hisham Kuhail, Executive Board Chairman, ArabEMBs Council of Europe – Venice Commission Pierre Garrone, Head of the Division of elections and political parties, Venice Commission, Council of Europe EISA Baidessou Soukolgue, Head of the Elections and Political Processes Department, EISA IFES Anthony Banbury, President and CEO, IFES INE Mexico Dr. Lorenzo Córdova Vianello, President, National Electoral Institute of Mexico International IDEA Massimo Tommasoli, Director of Global Programmes and Permanent Observer for International IDEA to the United Nations OSCE-ODIHR Meaghan Fitzgerald, Head of Election Department, ODIHR UNEAD Hassan K. Sesay, Senior Electoral/Political Affairs Officer, Team Leader - Strategic Partnership Cluster, EAD, UN DPPA
17.15 – 18.30	ACEEEO 30: The Honorary Club
	Moderator: Paul DeGregorio, Honorary Member, ACEEEO Moderated discussion with the Honorary Members of ACEEEO Ivilina Aleksieva-Robinson, Former Chairperson of the Central Electoral Commission of Bulgaria Richard Soudriette, Former Chairman of IFES Iurie Ciocan, Former Chairman of the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova
19.00 –	Dinner

29 September 2021 (Wednesday)
9.30 – 10.00	Official opening of conference and the exhibition
	Chair: Constantin-Florin Mitulețu-Buică, President of ACEEEO, President of the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania Speakers: Ovidiu-Alexandru Oproaica, General Manager of the Computerization of Electoral Processes Department, Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania Anthony Banbury, President and CEO, IFES Zsolt Szolnoki, Secretary General, ACEEEO
10.00 – 11.15	Roundtable Discussion I.
	They vote for the first time, but not the last – General trends, Theoretical Considerations, Institutional Background of Youth Participation Chair: Kristine Berzina, Chairperson, Central Election Commission of Latvia Speakers: Augusta Featherston, Associate Democratic Governance Officer and Youth Focal Point, OSCE/ODIHR Speech of Ms. Featherston Slaven Hojski, Member, State Electoral Commission of the Republic of Croatia Erton Sinani, Director of Commissioner’s Cabinet, Central Election Commission of Albania Speech of Mr. Sinani Evegny Barkov, Business Development Manager, Polys Presentation of Mr. Barkov Mohamed Mansour, Sales Director for EMEA, Smartmatic Presentation of Mr. Mansour
11.15 – 11.45	Coffee break, partially online- and/or hybrid group photography and partially online visiting the exhibition
11.45 – 13.00	Youth Inclusion
	Discussing youth participation with young voters from around the ACEEEO region in a world café format Moderator: Dr. Beata Martin-Rozumilowicz, Director for Europe and Eurasia at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) Participants: Marina Butaru, counsellor of the President of the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania Young Representatives from around the ACEEEO region
13.00 – 14.00	Lunch
14.00 – 16.00	Roundtable Discussion II.
	Money and Politics – Trends and the most important changes in the last two decades related to campaign finance Chair: Dr. Irena Hadžiabdić, Member, Central Electoral Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina Speakers: Constantin-Florin Mitulețu-Buică, President of ACEEEO, President of the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania Presentation of Mr. Mitulețu-Buică Valbona Ballgjini, Director of Internal Audit and Monitoring of Party Finance, Central Election Commission of Albania Speech of Ms. Ballgjini Lina Petronienė, Head of Political parties and political campaigns funding control unit of CEC of Lithuania Peresentation of Ms. Petroniene
17.00 –	Cultural program, dinner

30 September 2021 (Thursday)
9.30 – 11.15	Workshops (Interactive session with moderation)
	*Workshop A – How to do it in practice? Voter Education and Communicating with the Youth* Moderator: Dr. Ádám Nagy, Associate Professor
	*Workshop B – A Practical Guide to Campaign Finance and COVID-19* Moderator: Dr. Iurie Ciocan, Honorary Member, ACEEEO
11.15 – 11.30	Coffee break
11.30 – 13.00	Lessons learned – What will remain after COVID19?
	Special Voting Arrangements in ACEEEO member states – Experiences of the past, Future of SVAs Moderator: Zsombor Vajda, Vice-President, Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania Speakers: Manuel Carillo Poblano, Chief of International staff of the National Electoral Institute of Mexico (INE) David Levine, Elections Integrity Fellow, Alliance for Securing Democracy Ivana Belec, Member, State Electoral Commission of the Republic of Croatia Pavel Andreev, Member, Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation Indrė Ramanavičienė, Spokesperson, Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Lithuania Kateryna Sharag, Head of the Secretariat, Central Election Commission of Ukraine Presentation of Ms. Sharag
13.00 – 14.00	Lunch
14.00 – 15.30	Recapitulation speeches, conference findings. Official closing of the 30th Conference
	Chair: Zsombor Vajda, Vice-President, Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania Speakers: Kristine Berzina, Chairperson, Central Election Commission of Latvia Dr. Beata Martin-Rozumilowicz, Director for Europe and Eurasia at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) Dr. Irena Hadžiabdić, Member, Central Electoral Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina Dr. Ádám Nagy, Associate Professor Dr. Iurie Ciocan, Honorary Member, ACEEEO
16.00 –	Cultural program, dinner

The Association of European Election Officials gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following organizations in 2021:

Smartmatic

Smartmatic is the world leader in secure, auditable election technologies. Election management bodies (EMBs) have used our devices to process 5 billion votes in elections on five continents—all with zero security breaches. And our project management and support services help EMBs streamline operations to improve efficiency so they can stay on budget and on time.

Smartmatic technology has been audited and acclaimed by international organizations including, The Carter Center, the Organization of American States, the European Union and the United Nations (UNDP).

AN INDUSTRY PIONEER

Smartmatic pioneered voting machines that produce both electronic records and human-readable paper ballots, which is now the de facto gold standard in verifiable voting. Today, this dual function is standard on every Smartmatic voting machine, to ensure voter intent and auditability.

From voter registration, to vote tabulation, to results reporting and auditing, all our technologies use human-centered design principles to simplify operations. Our voting machine designs make it quick and easy to cast a ballot and improve accessibility for citizens with disabilities.

Our systems’ security is designed using a principle known as Defense in Depth. More than implementing a single impregnable security measure, Defense in Depth adds multiple layers of security and control mechanisms that protect data across the system.

RECENT DEPLOYMENTS

Los Angeles: Manufactured and deployed a custom voting system for the largest election jurisdiction in the US for the 2020 elections. Provided full support and logistics services, including design and construction of a central operations center.
London: Working with IT consulting services firm CGI, delivered end-to-end services, software and technical infrastructure for electronic vote counting in 2021.
European Union: Verifiable, secure voting in Belgium, Estonia and Bulgaria for European Parliament elections.

DEDICATED TO ELECTIONS

Smartmatic is incorporated in the US and headquartered in the UK. The company was founded in Florida, US, to create technologies to help improve societies around the world. Inspired by the US 2000 election 'hanging chad' incident in Florida, Smartmatic began research on developing advanced voting technology that could bring elections into the modern era.

Unlike competitor companies that serve multiple industries, Smartmatic is dedicated exclusively to the success of our clients’ elections. Smartmatic professionals are dedicated, day and night, to ensure clients achieve the highest levels of efficiency and transparency.

Whether you need faster returns, a simpler voting process, better security, or a smart biometric identity management solution, Smartmatic can help. Email us at info@smartmatic.com or visit www.smartmatic.com.

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