24th Annual conference and General Assembly Meeting, Chisinau, Moldova

The 24th Annual Conference and General Assembly Meeting of the Association of European Electoral Officials (ACEEEO) organized on 9-11 September, 2015 in Chisinau by the Central Election Commission of Moldova in cooperation with the Secretariat of the Association reflected on two current topics, both having theoretical and practical aspects and concerning the work of the electoral management bodies.

 

Continuous training of electoral stakeholders

The need for professionally trained electoral officials has long been recognized to increase the efficiency of the electoral process. Having well-trained and highly skilled staff also substantially increases transparency and the public’s confidence in the electoral process, encouraging higher levels of voter participation.

In conducting elections, electoral management bodies (EMBs) are directly assisted by lower-level EMBs that are often ‘invisible’, especially if elections are carried out well. Nevertheless, if there are any drawbacks in the electoral process, everyone will notice the work of these ’invisible’ forces. These bodies participate directly in the planning and conduct of elections. Indeed, although they are not necessarily structurally part of the EMBs, they are effectively the operational arm of the EMB’s in conducting elections.

Planning and conducting elections is a complex and challenging task that places heavy legislative, political, social and logistical demands upon electoral administrators and poll workers within a very short time frame. As failure is not an option when it comes to elections, it is essential that these people have the skills, knowledge, and experience to successfully carry out their complex electoral responsibilities.

Training and certifying help EMBs to rapidly teach a broad range of skills and a substantial body of knowledge in a very limited time frame. Modern training techniques help all-level EMBs to learn and involve far more than lecturing or presenting information. The objective, the models, the materials and the methods also have a strong interconnection. Multi-level trainings can go beyond teaching regulations and processes, it can develop new skills, e.g. communication, leadership, inclusiveness.

The scope of the trainings can either cover all electoral officials, can be provided for the specific level of poll workers or can be targeted to other electoral stakeholders. All these trainings will be designed differently. This has a correlation also with the timing, financial and human resources that the EMB disposes and, ultimately, raises the question whether continuous or occasional trainings are the most cost-effective ones.

Although some EMBs use paper-based materials, online learning is gaining territory in a digital era by spreading information quickly and cost-efficiently.

EMB’s training centres’ or divisions’ activities should be subject to a continuous monitoring and evaluation. Numerous indicators and voluminous amounts of information are generated after each election. It should contribute to the final analysis of the EMB’s performance and find new opportunities for improvements.

The aim of the conference is to become familiar with the latest methods, techniques and organisational training structures within EMBs that can be successfully applied in other countries also.

 

Equality of voters, equality of votes

Equality is one of the basic principles of elections in international documents and national constitutions. According to the generally accepted interpretation, it includes the equality in the number and weight of the votes. After the end of the 20th century’s movements for suffrage equality seems to be a principle that is adhered to in most of the countries with democratic elections. However, its scope is wider than ensuring the principle of ‘one man, one vote’ and even in our days it raises questions in other elements of the elections, namely concerning electoral systems and electoral procedure.

The different forms of electoral systems have different effects on the single votes cast by the voter: lost votes, surplus votes, electoral thresholds, different compensation mechanisms can cause as a result the inequality of votes. Voters abroad or voters belonging to minorities in some systems have less or more votes than others. Additionally, there have been recently a discussion in Europe about the introduction of the children’s’ suffrage that could be practiced by their parents to guarantee sustainability.

Constituency delimitation is another area where equality can be injured. Impartial bodies responsible for drawing the electoral map, fixed time limits, and clear requirements are able to decrease the possibility of political manipulation.

Equality shall be guaranteed also in the electoral procedure but not only by the conditions of voting but also by voter education and electoral campaign. To achieve this goal, some voters need special means and additional efforts  by the electoral management bodies and political parties, especially vulnerable groups like people with disabilities, youth voters, women, voters belonging to minorities, voters in health institutions.

Finally, equality of opportunities shall be guaranteed for candidates and political parties concerning the campaign, the coverage by the media, the public funding and in the whole electoral process. This entails a neutral attitude by state authorities.

The discussion of the topic at the conference can answer the question whether the principle of equality should be reinterpreted to be able to face the challenges of the 21st century.

on the Equal Suffrage and Continuous Training of Electoral Stakeholders

(Conclusions of ACEEEO’s 24th Annual Conference in Chisinau, Moldova, 9-11 September 2015)

1. Bearing in mind that the Association of European Election Officials, also known as ACEEEO, is dedicated to promoting universal and equal suffrage with the assistance of professional election administration;
2. Reaffirming that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees the right to choose the governments via periodic and genuine elections by universal and equal suffrage;
3. Emphasizing that all recognized universal and regional human rights document ensuring the right to vote and the right to stand for election also guarantees the equality of suffrage and that this principle forms the foundation of Europe’s electoral heritage;
4. Recognizing that only dedicated professional election administrators can conduct credible, independent and transparent elections, and that training of election officials at all levels is also important;
5. Convinced that the continuous training of all electoral stakeholders is indispensable for functional democracy.

Now, therefore, the Association of European Election Officials and the participants of the 2015 Chisinau Conference urge countries to consider the following:

 

Article 1 – Equality of Voters, Equality of Votes

1. Equal suffrage is a special expression of the equal dignity of persons and entails two main elements: the principle of one person one vote and the equal weight of each person’s vote. Democratic elections are inconceivable without the rule of this basic principle.
2. The states enjoy a wide margin of appreciation in designing their own electoral system but are bound to the principle of equality. Boundary delimitation should be subject to clear and transparent rules and procedures and should not result in inequality of voting power.
3. The principle of equal suffrage does not exclude special arrangements ensuring the representation of national minorities and the equality of genders.
4. Electoral procedures should be inclusive: special measures and steps are required from the state to ensure the equal participation of vulnerable and special needs groups such as voters with disabilities, internally displaced persons, youth voters, voters abroad, voters in health institutions, in detention or otherwise prevented from being present in the polling station . Electoral management bodies are encouraged to facilitate full voter participation. To achieve this goal may require robust voter education and outreach efforts.
5. The principle of equal suffrage also affects the passive element of voting rights and includes the equal opportunity of candidates and competing parties. A fundamental principle of democratic and transparent elections is the right of parties and candidates to speak and campaign without fear of retribution or imprisonment.  All countries should fully respect the independence of the election process and the importance of electoral management bodies that operate with complete impartiality and transparency. 

 

Article 2 – Continuous Training of Electoral Stakeholders

1. Central electoral management bodies (EMBs) may work towards ensuring that engagement and training of all electoral stakeholders is a major focus of their strategic plans. Sufficient funding is essential to conduct qualitative and modern trainings for stakeholders.
2. Political parties, media, judges, civil society organizations, electoral officials, observers, security forces, religious groups and the electorate are encouraged to enhance their knowledge about elections through electoral training and voter education. All types of electoral trainings should be conducted on a regular and consistent basis. Training curriculum should be standardized and continuous throughout the electoral period and also include training and professional development between election periods.  
3. Electoral management bodies are encouraged to take the leading role in electoral training since they are the most reliable source of information on electoral rules, practice and procedures. Either dedicated training centres or special training departments could be established in order to offer ongoing professional development opportunities and operational training opportunities for electoral administrators and other stakeholders. It is recognized that professional trainers should be used in the first line of training, preferably within the EMB because of their institutional knowledge.
4. Based on the principle that early intervention with young people establishes life-long learning habits, it is vital for governments to consider citizenship education at an early age. The EMBs are urged to partner in this critical effort with the ministries of education and other competent bodies.
5. Cost-efficiency, inclusiveness, accessibility and consideration for the environment are criteria to be taken into account when planning electoral trainings. EMBs shall tailor their training methods and materials to minority group and persons with special needs providing programs in minority language and sign language and via other assistive tools/ technologies that aid learning by persons with disabilities.
6. An EMB shall seek ways for developing complementary training, such as E-learning. However classical cascade training using an adult learning methodology and some type of blended learning techniques remains a sustainable approach. 
7. The EMBs are encouraged to strive to implement rigorous monitoring and evaluation of training programs in the interests of ensuring the effectiveness of those programs and assisting in the wise allocation of limited training resources.
8.  Peer to peer exchanges are an important method to share best practices and good techniques for training of election stakeholders.

Continuous training of electoral stakeholders

and

Equality of voters, equality of votes

Chisinau, Moldova

9-11 September 2015

Side event

Interactive workshop on training methods

Chair: Zsolt Szolnoki, Secretary General, ACEEEO

Moderator: Anna Sólyom, External Expert, ACEEEO

Thuleka M. Kholisa, Program Officer, A-WEB

 Training of electoral officials on countng of votes and recording of results

Thuleka M. Kholisa’s presentation

Natia Zaalishvili, Director, Centre for Electoral Systems Development, Reforms & Trainings, Georgia

Code of Conduct for Electoral Stakeholders

Natia Zaalishvili’s presentation

Catherine Barnes, Consultant, IFES

Electoral Leadership

Catherine Barnes’s presentation

Natalia Iuras, Director, Center for Continuous Electoral Training, Republic of Moldova

Reinventing Leadership and Gender Equality Trainings through Art

Natalia Iuras’s presentation

The side event of the conference offered a unique opportunity for election practitioners to observe and experience those different training methods that can be used to support the personnel of election commissions both on temporary and permanent basis. The event was supported by the Association of A-WEB and took facilitators around the clock.

Particpants, who have come from various organisations and countries enjoyed the demonstrated particpatory methodologies which served as the base of continuous training for election stakeholders. They learned that besides the professional content and a professional facilitator who guides its pupils it is very important to engage participants in activities where their experiences and knowledge can be part of the solution of a given task. With the usage of different approaches, such as: brainstorming, teamwork, icebreakers, moving people in the room, drawing and reporting back either for smaller groups or to everyone, and by experiencing how art can be part of a leadership training they also had the chance to try to conduct an orchestra. Thanks to the skillful and well prepared guidance of the facilitators, participants could have had a comprehensive understanding of the different methodologies which can complement other training approaches in the continuous training of electoral stakeholders. 

 

Plenary session I.

Continuous training of electoral stakeholders

Moderator: Natalia Iuras, Director, Center for Continuous Electoral Trainings, Republic of Moldova

Speakers: Natalia Iuras, Director, Center for Continuous Electoral Trainings, Republic of Moldova

Bringing passion to Electoral Training

Natalia Iuras’s presentation

Planning and conducting elections is one of the most complex and challenging exercises for a country. CEC Moldova, as the biggest employer in the Country, created the Center for Continuous Electoral Training (CCET) which became the only specialized organization in the region that trains and certifies Electoral Officials, in order to make elections more credible. CCET means less classic lectures, more motivational trainings through art, public lessons for youth, informational promo buses, and E-learning platform - all that to convince our beneficiaries that we have solutions for any electoral gap they face and feel. CCET believes that a faultless work of the electoral officials is one of the objectives to ensure the right to free choice of Moldovan citizens. CCET also trains the civil society, to raise the competency to analyze and observe electoral processes. In order to make the training methods more comprehensive and inclusive, an E-learning platform was launched. Their next step is the mandatory certification practice of all electoral officials. Another priority is developing and expanding the contact with the world outside Moldova, as the Moldovan CCET experience is one that deserves to be shared and replicated.

 

Tamar Zhvania, Chairperson, Central Election Commission of Georgia

Overview of Electoral Training Programs in Georgia

Tamar Zhvania’s presentation

Georgia set up Electoral Culture development as a strategic goal which could be achieved through trainings, seminars, conferences, workshops, grants to political parties. Preconditions for an effective and productive trainings are involvement of professional board of trainers, well-designed training materials, well-chosen structure and delivery styles and meeting interests of target groups (EMB, political parties, media, NGO, voters). Georgia has implemented already many successful innovative projects, but still there is room for new ideas targeting to increase electoral awareness.  

 

Dan Vlaicu, Vice Chairman, Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania

Training electoral stakeholders – the need for a specialized body of electoral experts: Romania’s experience

Dan Vlaicu’s presentation

The text is available here

According to the law, one of the Permanent Electoral Authority’s main tasks is training the persons with responsibilities in elections. Depending on eachtype of stakeholders, electoral  training  is provided not only when elections are organized and conducted, but also in the period between elections. Some of the training programs have a permanent character, but others have a periodic one.Recently two major reforms that were introduced in the new electoral law of Romania: the creation of a specialized body of electoral officials trained on a permanent basis by PEA’s specialized center for training, namely the Electoral Expert Centre and the computerization of polling stations. Training is a major component required to manage electoral processes effectively. Over the years, Romania got to the conclusion that without the existence of permanent training programs it is very difficult to train participants that have different levels of education and experience. The Electoral Expert Centre is seen as a solution to fill this gap.

 

Lefterie Luzi, Chairperson, Central Election Commission of Albania

Education of Voters. Vote education

Lefterie Luzi’s presentation

In Albania, the consideration that voters’ education runs only at the time of elections, widely prevails. In 2014, CEC Albania organized specific voters’ education programs in a broader concept which implied the education of all citizens in the country showing that between democracy and elections it is a strong and direct relationship. One of the opportunities that is used between elections to raise voter awareness is the Global Election Day when CEC Albania organize training sessions with various groups of interest such as young people and people with disabilities. A special focus for civic activities are persons with disabilities, minority groups, women and young voters. Customized materials and information programs are designed for each category. Future plans of CEC Albania include: strengthen and enhance the training capabilities, increase organizational and managerial effectiveness in planning the training and educational activities, increase training efficiency.

 

Francois Friederich, Head of the Division of Electoral Assistance, Council of Europe

Council of Europe and civic observers: training for democracy

Francois Friederich’s presentation

Division of Electoral Assistance of the Council of Europe has been working to enhance the monitoring capacities of domestic observers all over Europe and ACEEEO members can benefit from their experience and co-operation. Election observation is aimed at ensuring the conformity of the conduct of elections at different levels with national and international norms and practices. EMBs can benefit from civic observers’ input when it comes to enhancing the efficiency and transparency of the electoral process. The Division of Electoral Assistance stance ready to cooperate with those national election administrations interested in enhancing the capabilities of domestic observers and their contribution towards building better democracies in Europe.

 

Sergey Danilenko, Member, Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation

Continuous training of members of precinct election commissions: Russian experience

Sergey Danilenko’s presentation

In the Russian Federation, precinct election commissions (PEC) have a 5 years mandate. All members of these commissions should have a minimum knowledge in the field of election law and the election procedures. The “Russian Election Technologies Training Centre at the Central Electoral Commission of the Russian Federation” is the institution responsible for designing the training programs and materials. In the process of organizing and conducting the trainings, the CEC actively interact with higher educational establishments of the regions, including organizing trainings on the site of the universities, attracting faculty to conduct classes on the basis of superior election commissions or specialized training centers, as well as joint development of teaching materials.  The permanent PECs are a historically significant and unique practice in world that allows Russian CEC to create truly professional polling station commissions that have the necessary qualification to conduct elections at all levels.

 

Armen Smbatyan, Secretary, Central Election Commission of Armenia

Continuous training of electoral stakeholders

Armen Smbatyan’s presentation

The Armenian Electoral Code provides that only those citizens who completed professional training courses on the administration of elections and have been awarded qualification certificates may be involved in the composition of precinct electoral commission. The observers who want to carry out observation mission in the polling station shall have also the qualification certificate for observers. In Armenia there are two types of trainings organized: trainings organized by the Central Electoral Commission and trainings organized by the Political Parties and NGOs. The CEC holds trainings for already formed PEC members. The CEC periodically organizes training for members of the Territorial Electoral Commissions. CEC members, CEC Staff and independent electoral experts conduct the training sessions. Political parties and candidates organize trainings for their proxies and NGOs organize trainings for observers. The CEC publishes the Electoral Code, manuals of CEC decisions, and guidebooks for the members of Precinct and Territorial election commissions. For raising voters’ awareness, during the National Elections the CEC prepared social rolls and cartoons on voting day procedures which were broadcast on State and private TV channels.

 

Plenary session II.

Equality of voters, equality of votes

Moderator: Andrei Volentir, Secretary, Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova

Speakers: Andrei Volentir, Secretary, Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Moldova

A modern, efficient and accessible electoral process - guarantee for voter's equality

Andrei Volentir’s presentation

In Moldova persons with disabilities represent 5% of the population that means a real challenge for the electoral management bodies. The Law on Social Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities stipulates the legislative safeguards that were completed by the regulations adopted by the Central Election Commission. Polling stations were equipped with special ramps, for persons with visual disabilities different alternative voting and information materials are provided. People with hearing disabilities were able to participate in the electoral observation mission.

 

Rokas Stabingis, Member, Central Election Commission of Lithuania

Case study: equal voting power and boundary delimitation in Lithuania

Rokas Stabingis’s presentation

The parliamentary election system in Lithuania includes 71 single-member constituencies. According to the electoral law, following the requirements set by the Venice Commission, the number of voters in constituencies must be from 0.8 to 1.2 of the average number of voters in all single-member constituencies. However, 55% of the constituencies do not fit into range from 90% to 110% so the need of the boundary delimitation is obvious so the Central Election Commission is in front of a major reform. CEC employs geographers and launched an information system in the process. 

 

Rumiana Stoeva-Siderova, Member, Central Election Commission of Bulgaria

Some special aspects of ensuring the equality of voters laid down in the Bulgarian legislation. Legal voting privileges for school and university students ensuring their active involvement in the electoral process

Rumiana Stoeva-Siderova’s presentation

In Bulgaria, various methods of facilitating and guaranteeing the equal suffrage are provided for people with reduced mobility, in medical institutions, elderly people health facilities and social service institutions; for persons engaged as election commission members. Equality of voters is expressed by the boundary delimitation, by the measures provided for the persons with disabilities. Central Election Commission puts emphasis on the voter education, targeting especially school children and students.

 

Subhi Jakupi, Vice-president, State Election Commission of Macedonia

The Principle of Equality of Votes: Challenges in Macedonia

Subhi Jakupi’s presentation

The text is available here

Since gaining its independence until today, the Republic of Macedonia has been faced several times with the challenge of finding an adequate model to fully respect equality of voting. Electoral acts of 1990 and 1998 established single-member constituencies and the State Election Commission determined the number of mandates in the multi-member constituencies. As there were no provisions for the permitted deviation thresholds relation to the number of voters from one constituency to  another, very high deviations were notices. This system was abandoned by the electoral law of 2002 that stipulated that the number of voters in the electoral districts may deviate from -3% to +3% in relation to the average number of voters in the electoral districts. Act in 2006 increased the percentage to 5. At the last parliamentary elections in 2014, the deviation varied from -4,07% to +4,55%. The Republic of Macedonia continually aims to not only establish, but also maintain respect for the equality in voting principle.

 

Marian Muhulet, Director of Communication and International Affairs Department, Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania

Voter equality in Romania: logistical and legislative challenges

Marian Muhulet’s presentation

The text is available here

In 2014 Romania held presidential and European parliamentary elections and several by elections. Some modifications in the electoral law enabled the computerization of polling stations. Permanent Electoral Authority successfully implemented an SMS-based turnout monitoring system and operated an effective voter register. To enable the participation of vulnerable groups, PEA established partnerships with NGOs working on issues concerning persons with disabilities, national minorities, women, youth. All these measures have one objective: to ensure voters democratic framework in which they can freely decide and have equal voting rights and equal voting power.

 

Sarsembayev Marat Aldangorovich, Member, Central Election Commission of Kazakhstan

The principle of equality of voters in Kazakhstan and European Law

Equal suffrage forms also part of the Constitution of Kazakhstan and it is completed by the principle of the personality of voting by the electoral law. Under the constitution more than 30 elections were held. The Central Election Commission provides several supportive measures to enable the voting rights of the persons with disabilities such as a call center.

 

 

Workshops

A. Continuous training of electoral stakeholders

Moderator: Doina Bordeianu, Deputy Director, Center for Continuous Electoral Training, Republic of Moldova

Keynote speakers: Paul DeGregorio, Honorary Member, ACEEEO

It’s Complicated: Managing Elections in Modern Times

Paul DeGregorio’s presentation

There are some reasons that make elections complicated in modern times: computerized polling stations; out of country, early, mail-in and absentee voting; voting devices for people with special needs; use of the internet to provide voter information, registering to vote and transmission of ballots; determination of voter eligibility with different standards for different elections.

There are new institutions to serve new needs as the Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, International Foundation for Electoral Systems, Venice Commission, Council of Europe, etc.

Some of the recommendations for nowadays and for the future are: stronger minimum qualifications for election officials, requirements for election administrators to participate in on-going qualified programs that would enhance their skills, partnerships with academic institutions or recognized election official organizations to provide programs and training in new innovations and new technology.

 

Suad Arnautovic, Member, Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Methods for continuous education of election stakeholders – experiences of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Suad Arnautovic’s presentation

Importance of continuity of election stakeholders’ education is undoubted. In that light, continuous training of all participants in the election process in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a strategic commitment. CEC BiH finds this issue to be of high importance. As one of the way for continuity maintenance in training is the decision to establish the Centre for education within CEC BiH, which will be seated in the CEC BiH building, in the center of Sarajevo. Task of the Centre will be to develop training curricula for all participants in the election process, such as eligible voters, political party members, election implementation body members, journalists, observers, etc.  That will be the hub in election education in BiH, sort of an election academy with possibility of election experts from outside of BiH as lecturers.

 

Jean-Pierre Kingsley, Honorary Member of ACEEEO

Training: a Critical Approach

By the end of the day, the Election Management Body is responsible for the training of election officials. Efficient training process involves development of the curricula, testing the training program, evaluation of the trainings and keeping the record of trained persons. Nowadays, the expectations from election administration are very big. This is why the training of electoral stakeholders is a must. Knowing the legal provisions and the electoral procedures is not enough. Moral principles and ethical behavior should be added in order to have election officials able to conduct credible and transparent elections.

 

Fabio Bargiacchi, executive director, European Center for Electoral Support

Delivering Cascade Training for Sustainability and Peer Exchanges

Fabio Bargiacchi’s presentation

The Leadership and Conflict Management Skills for Electoral Stakeholders (LEAD) course was developed by European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) with funding from the European Union together with the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL).The LEAD training program is inspired by one key objective: the sustainability of all knowledge transfers. LEAD focuses on contents ‘appropriation through the implementation of a comprehensive training cycle, which includes different stages of certification.Since February 2012, the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) has signed more than 60 contracts in support of transparent, credible and inclusive electoral processes in more than 35 countries, with activities concentrated in Europe, Middle East and mainly Africa.

 

Gavin Weise, Chief Technical Advisor Elections, UNDP Albania

eLearning: Applications in Training of Election Officials

Gavin Weise’s presentation

E-learning is used in almost all corporate environments, extensively in some cases, and widely known in higher education. UNDP has e-learning courses on electoral assistance, ODIHR and COE have courses on electoral observation, and Secretaries of state in the US states have eLearning on electoral management and polling. Some of the CECs have begun to migrate some teaching and training to eLearning based applications as well. Learning Management Systems (LMSs) software application platforms used to facilitate a learning process. LMSs provide an instructor a way in which to create and deliver content, monitor learners' participation, communicate with learners and assess their performance.E-learning is a modern tool that helps overcoming the existing challenges in training and education for EMBs and presents the following advantages: higher retention, self-paced learning, instructional quality consistency, adaptive-interactive technologies, instant feedback and progress, etc.

 

B. Roundtable about the international standards on the equal suffrage

Moderator: Eszter Bodnár, Legal Adviser, ACEEEO

Participants: Gaël Martin-Micallef, Legal Officer, Secretariat of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission)

Steven Martin, Senior Adviser on New Voting Technologies, OSCE/ ODIHR

Andrey v. Baranov, Director, International Institute of Monitoring Democracy Development, Parliamentarianism and Suffrage Protection for the Citizens of the IPA CIS

Equal suffrage is one of the basic principles of democratic elections and forms a part of the European electoral heritage. It is included in the most important human rights documents and is part of almost every constitution. After the case studies of the plenary session, the workshop provided an opportunity to discuss with panelists representing the most important election-related regional organisations in Europe the international standards of equal suffrage.

With the help of their experiences and the indispensable contribution of the panelists, participants discussion covered the following subtopics: electoral systems’ effect on the equality; problems of constitutency delimitation; right to vote of voters abroad and voters belonging to minorities, discrimination based on nationality, national origin, ethnicity and residence; right to vote of vulnerable groups (people with disabilities, youth voters, women, voters in health institutions, voters in detention) and the methods of inclusive electoral procedure and the responsibility of electoral management bodies

 

Some current issues from the world of elections

Chair: NerminNisic, Chief of Party, IFES Georgia

Speakers: Giancarlo Defazio, Policy Officer, European Commission, DG Justice and Consumers, Unit ‘Union Citizenship rights and free movement’

The European elections: principles and best practices in the 2015 report of the European Commission

Giancarlo Defazio’s presentation

Badrieh Bilbisi, Secretary General, Organization of Arab Electoral Management Bodies

The Organization of Arab Electoral Management Bodies (ArabEMBs) - An Overview

Badrieh Bilbisi’s presentation

Catherine Barnes, Consultant, IFES

More Effective Training Through M&E

Catherine Barnes’s presentation

Peter Wolf, Technical Manager, International IDEA

Recent IDEA Publications on Elections and Technology

Peter Wolf’s presentation

Thuleka M. Kholisa, Program Officer, A-WEB

Recent & Upcoming AWEB activities

Thuleka M. Kholisa’s presentation

 

This session provided an opportunity for the participants to get an overview on the recent issues in the world of elections including the newest project of election-related global and regional organisations.