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

Date of the event:

Tuesday, September 24, 2019 to Thursday, September 26, 2019

28th Annual Conference and General Assembly meeting of the ACEEEO

Date: 24-26 September 2019, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Topic: Judicial protection of electoral rights and the transparency of elections

The annual conference focuses on the following issues of protection of electoral rights:

best practices of the EMBs' dialogue with other stakeholders;
most effective ways of the cooperation between the EMBs and the courts;
practical aspects of transparency of elections from the perspective of the EMBs.

Live stream from Day 1:

Live stream from Day 2:

Organizers

State Election Commission of Slovenia

The State Election Commission is a permanent state body responsible for organizing and conducting elections and referendums. The State Election Commission is composed of: the Chairman, Deputy Chairman, 5 Members and 5 Deputy Members. The Chairman of the State Election Commission and his Deputy are appointed from among the judges of the Supreme Court. Two Members and two Deputy Members of the State Election Commission are appointed from among the legal experts. Remaining three Members and their Deputies are appointed on the basis of the proposals made by political parties, taking into account the proportional representation of political parties.

As the highest electoral authority, the State Election Commission performs tasks provided by the National Assembly Elections Act and other acts concerning electoral legislation. Within the scope of its tasks, the State Election Commission in particular:

works to ensure the legality of elections and the uniform application of electoral laws relating to the electoral process;
appoints Members of Electoral Commissions in constituencies and Local Electoral Commissions;
coordinates the work of Electoral Commissions in constituencies and Local Electoral Commissions, and provides technical instructions concerning the implementation of electoral legislation, and supervises their work;
prescribes forms for the implementation of electoral laws;
sets uniform standards for election materials and determines other material conditions for carrying out election tasks;
publishes the outcome of elections;
issues confirmations of election;
ensures ballots are held at diplomatic and consular representative offices of the Republic of Slovenia;
organises training for members of other electoral bodies;
appoints the Director of the Office of the Commission.

The State Election Commission has its own service department or Office. The Office of the State Election Commission performs professional, administrative and technical tasks for the State Election Commission. As part of these tasks the Office performs the following:

performs professional, advisory, organisational, administrative and technical tasks for the duties of the State Election Commission;
performs professional and administrative tasks for the preparation and conducting of sessions of the State Election Commission and its working bodies, international activities and protocol;
performs professional and coordination tasks related to the cooperation of the State Election Commission with other state authorities and organisations;
performs analytical tasks for theState Election Commission;
implements decisions of the State Election Commission and orders of the Chairperson of the State Election Commission;
provides the State Election Commission with opinions on proposed acts and other regulations governing the area of elections and referendums;
ensures the public nature of the work of the State Election Commission in accordance with the rules of procedure of the State Election Commission.

The office of the State Election Commission is headed by a Director, who is appointed by the State Election Commission.

Dušan Vučko - Director
Peter Golob - President
Nina Brumen - Member
Mitja Šuligoj - Member
dr. Saša Zagorc - Member
Nina Mujagič - Director Assistant
Petra Farčnik - Event Manager, SIEVENTS d.o.o.

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 2017 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

Ljubljana Declaradion

on Judicial Protection of Electoral Rights and Transparency of Elections

The participants of the 28th Annual Conference of the Association of European Election Officials (also known as ACEEEO) underline the importance of both effective judicial protection of electoral rights and the transparency of elections. While the participants acknowledge that there is no single model of democracy, they also recognize that there are core normative elements related to elections that should be common in every democratic country. The participants also recognize that the sufficient protection of electoral rights and the transparency of elections form an important part of this normative core, as both ensure the legitimacy of elections and the true observance of electoral rules by the relevant stakeholders. Regarding these two themes, therefore, the relevance of international standards and of the constant exchange of knowledge and best practices is even more prevalent.

Moreover, there is an overlap between the protection of rights and transparency. On the one hand, fundamental rights are tools, with which transparency may be ensured more effectively, with the participation of citizens, who enforce their rights. On the other hand, fundamental rights such as the right of access to information are not just means, but an end in themselves, and thus need to be protected

Based on these deliberations the recommendations of 28th Annual Conference of ACEEEO are the following:

Judicial protection of electoral rights

Elections are processes, and they should be perceived as such. The protection of electoral rights should cover the whole process; effective remedies should be provided from the beginning till the end. The starting point and the end of the process should be determined in a way that enables the effective protection of every fundamental rights related to elections.
There is a tension between fair procedure, on the one hand, and a fast procedure, on the other hand. There should be a balance struck between these two equally important democratic values; none of them can be dropped completely or be rendered meaningless.
Election dispute resolution (EDR) should be accessible by both voters and other stakeholders. Formal requirements should be interpreted in a way that does not prevent any of these stakeholders from enforcing their rights.
EDR should be transparent; decisions should be made in a transparent manner, with ample reasoning and clearly indicating its legal basis. The legislative body should provide a clear legal framework that can be interpreted effectively, and that does not exclude any possible disputes from litigation.

Transparency of elections

Transparency should be ensured throughout the whole electoral process, covering the activities of all relevant stakeholders.
Party finance regulation and its interpretation should ensure that the funding of parties and their spending is transparent to the voters. State actors should not intervene in the electoral process by helping some of the political actors by misusing public resources; the regulation should capture these cases as unlawful funding of parties.
It should be ensured that the whole process is observed by civil society, international and domestic actors. Domestic regulation and actors should help international organization in conducting electoral observation.
Social network platforms should make decisions about their policies and specific cases in a transparent manner.

Download Ljubljana Declaration

Concept Paper

Electoral rights need to be protected as well as the transparency of elections in order to preserve the legitimacy of the whole democratic order.

Judicial institutions play a pivotal role in this task, as they develop and apply a coherent normative framework that ensures that voters can exercise their rights in foreseeable and reasonable circumstances enabling the proper exercise of the right to vote. EMBs and courts work hand-in-hand to provide a sufficient level of protection, and this requires that they are both aware of not just domestic issues, but of international trends and good practices as well. Moreover, protection involves voters, political parties and other right holders – all such categories of electoral stakeholders need to be properly informed and understand the judicial intricacies.

The 2019 annual conference covers the wide variety of activities through which EMBs and courts can step up to protect electoral rights. This involves, on the one hand, the protection of the right to vote itself; both its active and passive aspects. On the other hand, the exercise of the right to vote comes into play as does the disputes resolution systems. Right from the beginning of the electoral process, electoral rights are affected, and the integrity of elections demands a high level of protection. Procedures should be quick and effective; at the same time, mistakes may jeopardize the whole electoral process.

The conference focuses on the role of the EMBs and their dialogue with courts and other stakeholders such as voters and political parties regarding the protection of electoral rights. As adjudicatory bodies of the first instance, EMBs need to keep an eye on the case-law of the courts and to be ready to adapt its jurisprudence accordingly. Moreover, EMBs are required to provide information and genuine help for the voters, political parties and other affected right holders in order for them to be able to enforce their rights effectively. Furthermore, it is not enough to decide quickly and with high legal standards; communication to citizens is also needed through mass- and social media to ensure public trust and confidence in the electoral process.

This leads us to the second topic of the conference, namely, the transparency of elections. EMBs communicate with citizens throughout the electoral process and this plays an important role in maintaining trust in elections. This covers a wide-range of activities from the beginning of the electoral through the publication of results till the end of the electoral period. Moreover, there is an overlap between the protection of rights and transparency, as individual rights embrace the access to information. The conference thus covers transparency not just as an objective value but as a goal that can be reached by providing the sufficient protection of individual rights. The focus is on the practical aspect of transparency, namely, the questions related to the effective exercise of rights related to this aim.

The current conference is the first one in the line of ACEEEO’s newly introduced systemic follow-up procedure. We recognized that the gathered knowledge needs to be systematically reviewed in reasonable intervals, as the rapid evolvement of the electoral field requires so. In 2009 the 18th Annual Conference dealt with the topic of judicial protection of electoral rights, covering not just the legal, but the sociological and personal aspects of the question. The current annual conference serves partly to review the topic and also follows a multi-disciplinary approach as we believe that elections can be understood only from putting together the manifold perspectives EMBs, courts, voters and other stakeholders have.

Agenda, Biographies & Presentations

Please download the Conference Agenda here.

Day 1 24 September 2019 (Tuesday)
15.00 - 16.00	Executive Board Meeting (for Executive Board members)
16.00 - 17.00	Discussion with Senior electoral officials from the ACEEEO region
	Moderator: Zsolt Szolnoki Zsolt Szolnoki currently serves as Secretary General for the Association of the European Election Officials on a voluntarily basis, providing leadership to the Secretariat’s work. He manages the annual conferences, supervises the projects’ preparations, the agendas for the Executive Board and the General Assembly meetings. His areas of expertise include planning for the elections, e-voting, election observations and supervisions, project management and design. He started to work for the ACEEEO in 1995, when he organized the annual conference in Siófok, Hungary. Since this year, he organized and attended all ACEEEO annual conference and Executive Board meeting. At the end of the nineties, he prepared several large observation missions to the Balkan region. In 2000, he worked for the OSCE Mission to Kosovo providing expertise for the preparatory work of the first election in Kosovo. He represented the ACEEEO as an international expert in many conferences and seminars. In his professional capacity between 1993 and 2002 he worked for the Hungarian National Election Office as the Deputy Head of the Election Department. From 2002 to 2005 he served as Head of IT department in the Ministry of Interior. From 2006 till November 2010 he worked for the European Commission as a Seconded National Expert on the area of Home Affairs. In 2011 he was the Chairman of a working group in the Hungarian EU Presidency team. Currently he is a high counselor in the Ministry of Interior of Hungary. He holds a B.A in Public Administration and completed a post graduate course in Business Management. Discussants: Arnis Cimdars Arnis Cimdars has been the Chairman of the Central Election Commission of Latvia between December 1997 and March 2019. During his 21 years of service Mr. Cimdars has managed and administrated six parliamentary elections, five local government elections, three European Parliament elections and several referenda, observed various types of election in around 20 countries, actively participated in numerous international conferences and seminars as participant, moderator and speaker. Mr. Cimdars has also contributed as lecturer, consultant and expert in the fields of voter registration, voter education, election commission training, election observation and IT solutions for elections. He has worked as the election expert of the Venice Commission of the Council of Europe several times. He is the Executive Board Member of the ACEEEO since 2000, former President of the ACEEEO from 2005 to 2007. In 2014 Arnis Cimdars received the highest award in the Republic of Latvia for special merits to the country – The Order of the Three Stars. Csaba Tiberiu Kovacs Mr. Kovacs has been the Secretary General of the Permanent Electoral Authority since November 2004 and before he was a Deputy for a period of 8 years in the Chamber of Deputies of the Romanian Parliament, also following a career as lawyer for the same period of time. His early career started with positions in the public administration and law, as a counselor in the County Counsel, as a Secretary for the Chamber of Deputies, also holding several other positions in the local administration or at the Parliament. His studies are based mainly on law and public administration, with several courses at prestigious institutions abroad, such as the Royal Institute of Public Administration – London, the Faculty of Law of the University of Cincinnati USA, but Mr. Kovacs also has a PhD in Electoral systems, from University of Bucharest, Faculty of Sociology. Mykhailo Okhendovskyi He was born October 27, 1973 in Dubossary, Moldova. In 1997 graduated with honors from the Institute of International Relations of Kyiv Taras Shevchenko University. Master in International Law. His work began in 1991 at the Norilsk Mining and Metallurgical Plant. Since 1993 he had been working with Proxen Law Firm at positions of paralegal, lawyer and deputy director. Since 2002 – Head of Legal Department, later – Vice-President of the National Television Company of Ukraine. Since June 2003 till appointment as a member of the Central Election Commission in February 2004 – Deputy Director at Proxen Law Firm. Member of the Ukrainian Association of International Law. On February 17, 2004 the Ukrainian Parliament appointed Mr. Okhendovskyi a member of the Central Election Commission. On June 25, 2010 Mr. Okhendovskyi was awarded the title Merited Jurist of Ukraine. Between 6 July 2013 and 20 September 2018 Chairman of the Commission.
17.00 - 17.30	Coffee break
17.30 - 19.00	ACEEEO General Assembly Meeting (for ACEEEO members)
19.00 - 21.00	Dinner

Day 2 25 September 2019 (Wednesday)
9.30 - 10.00	Official opening of conference and the exhibition
	Chair: Dušan Vucko, President of ACEEEO, Director of the Secretariat of the State Election Commission of Slovenia Born in 1964 in Ljubljana. He began his career in the police force in 1983. In 1994 he graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Ljubljana, having studied there while working. In 1995, he was appointed director of the Bohinj municipal authority. In 2000, he was elected member of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, which he performed until November 2004. From 2004 to 2009 he was a secretary of a parliamentary group in the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia, and in 2009 he was appointed general director of the Internal Administrative Affairs Directorate at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he performed his duties until 2011. During his professional career, he carried out tasks as a secretary of a municipal electoral commission (1995-2005), and the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia appointed him as member of the National Electoral Commission from 2005 to 2009 and from 2009 to 2011. In 2011, the National Electoral Commission appointed him as director of the National Electoral Commission service, the tasks of which he is still performing today. In his free time, he engages in leisure activities and loves jogging and cross-country skiing. He also completed the full marathon. He is also a motorbike enthusiast and a major fan of travelling with a motorbike around Europe and the Balkans. Speakers: Rudi Medved, Minister, Ministry of Public Administration Republic of Slovenia Rudi Medved, was born on 28 December 1959 in Trbovlje and has a BA in Journalism. From 1992 to 2005, he was the editor on Radio Slovenia and TV Slovenia on the editorial board covering politics and the economy. In 2005 and 2006 he was the editor-in-chief of the Kum Trbovlje Radio, and in 2007 and 2008 the editor of the programme 24 ur on POP TV. In 2004, he became the director of the Culture Centre Delavski dom Zagorje, and since 2012 the director of the municipal authority of Zagorje ob Savi. He was elected twice to the municipal council of Zagorje ob Savi. Rudi Medved was elected from the ruling political party- the List of Marjan Šarec to the National Assembly at the last elections to the National Assembly, which were held in June 2018. However, in September 2018 he was elected as a Minister of Public Administration. William J. Hybl, Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors, IFES Bill Hybl serves as Vice Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Public Diplomacy, appointed by President Obama and has previously served as Chairman, appointed by President George W. Bush. He is Chairman Emeritus and a member of the board of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. He is President Emeritus of the United States Olympic Committee having served as President during four Olympic games; Alberville, Barcelona, Nagano and Sydney. In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Hybl as U.S. Representative to the 56th General Assembly. He is also Chairman of The Air Force Academy Foundation. A native of Colorado, Hybl is Chairman of the El Pomar Foundation Board of Trustees. Zsolt Szolnoki, Secretary General, ACEEEO Zsolt Szolnoki currently serves as Secretary General for the Association of the European Election Officials on a voluntarily basis, providing leadership to the Secretariat’s work. He manages the annual conferences, supervises the projects’ preparations, the agendas for the Executive Board and the General Assembly meetings. His areas of expertise include planning for the elections, e-voting, election observations and supervisions, project management and design. He started to work for the ACEEEO in 1995, when he organized the annual conference in Siófok, Hungary. Since this year, he organized and attended all ACEEEO annual conference and Executive Board meeting. At the end of the nineties, he prepared several large observation missions to the Balkan region. In 2000, he worked for the OSCE Mission to Kosovo providing expertise for the preparatory work of the first election in Kosovo. He represented the ACEEEO as an international expert in many conferences and seminars. In his professional capacity between 1993 and 2002 he worked for the Hungarian National Election Office as the Deputy Head of the Election Department. From 2002 to 2005 he served as Head of IT department in the Ministry of Interior. From 2006 till November 2010 he worked for the European Commission as a Seconded National Expert on the area of Home Affairs. In 2011 he was the Chairman of a working group in the Hungarian EU Presidency team. Currently he is a high counselor in the Ministry of Interior of Hungary. He holds a B.A in Public Administration and completed a post graduate course in Business Management.
10.00 - 10.15	Presentation the State Election Commission of the Republic of Slovenia
	Presenter: Peter Golob, President, State Election Commission of the Republic of Slovenia Peter Golob, born in 1964 in Ljubljana. Graduated from the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana in 1988. Took oath as a judge in 1992. Supreme Court judge as of 2007. Prior to appointment as president of the National Electoral Commission, he was deputy president in two mandates of the same authority.
10.15 - 11.15	Plenary session I.
	Judicial Protection of Electoral Rights and Transparency - Theoretical perspectives Chair: Peter Golob, President, State Election Commission of the Republic of Slovenia Peter Golob, born in 1964 in Ljubljana. Graduated from the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana in 1988. Took oath as a judge in 1992. Supreme Court judge as of 2007. Prior to appointment as president of the National Electoral Commission, he was deputy president in two mandates of the same authority. Speakers: Jadranka Sovdat, Former President of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia Jadranka Sovdat holds a PhD in legal sciences. She is an assistant professor for constitutional law at the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, where she holds occasional lectures as an external contractor in constitutional procedural law and parliamentary and electoral law. She served as a judge until the end of the previous year and is also the president of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia. She is the author and co-author of several scientific literary works and contributions in the area of constitutional law, electoral law, international and European law, and the protection of human rights. dr. Bruna Žuber, Assistant, Department of Administrative Law at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana Bruna Žuber, PhD, Bachelor of Laws, born 16 February 1989, is an assistant at the Department of Administrative Law at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana. In 2012, she graduated with honours from the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana, while in 2017, she received her doctorate degree with honours and gained her title of doctor of legal sciences in the field of constitutional law. Prior to her employment at the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana, she was employed as a judicial intern at the Higher Court in Ljubljana, and after her successfully completed state legal exam, she was employed in a lawyer’s office. In addition to her regular employment at the Faculty of Law, she has been working as a senior judicial adviser at the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia since 2018. Bruna Žuber is the author of several scientific and professional articles and other works in the field of constitutional and administrative law. She often participates, with her articles, at scientific and professional conferences at home and abroad, in the area of constitutional and administrative law. She also advises on the preparation of national legislation. Gaël Martin-Micallef, Legal Adviser at the Division of Elections and Political Parties, Venice Commission Gaël Martin-Micallef has been working as a legal advisor at the Secretariat of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (better known as the Venice Commission, www.venice.coe.int) for 17 years. The Venice Commission is a consultative body of the Council of Europe (www.coe.int) specialised in constitutional engineering. In this respect, Gaël Martin-Micallef is specialised in constitutional law and more precisely in electoral law and law dealing with political parties and financing of political parties and electoral campaigns. He graduated from Paris and Strasbourg universities with Masters’ degrees in law and political science. Former Rapporteur for France’s National Commission for Campaign Accounts and Political Financing (http://www.cnccfp.fr/presse/kit/cnccfp_en.pdf), Gaël Martin-Micallef is also a former elected municipal councillor and publication Co-ordinator of a handbook on elections in France issued in 2007. He lectures in various French and international institutions and universities. Online profile: https://fr.linkedin.com/in/gael2m Presentation of Gaël Martin-Micallef Speech of Gaël Martin-Micallef Presentation of the results of the ACEEEO EMB survey Presenter: János Mécs, Project Manager, ACEEEO Secretariat János Mécs is project manager at ACEEEO since 2017. He has graduated from law and political science at Eötvös Loárnd University (ELTE), Budapest, and received an LLM degree in comparative constitutional law at Central European University, Budapest. Currently he is a PhD student at ELTE. His field of expertise is electoral law and participatory rights. He has publications in this field both in English and in Hungarian. As a practitioner, he is a legal adviser of political parties in electoral matters. Presentation of János Mécs A Q&A session follows the presentations
11.15 - 11.45	Coffee break, group photography and visiting the exhibition
11.45 - 12.45	Plenary session II.
	Judicial Protection of Electoral Rights - Practical perspectives Chair: Peter Golob, President, State Election Commission of the Republic of Slovenia Peter Golob, born in 1964 in Ljubljana. Graduated from the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana in 1988. Took oath as a judge in 1992. Supreme Court judge as of 2007. Prior to appointment as president of the National Electoral Commission, he was deputy president in two mandates of the same authority. Speakers: dr. Erik Kerševan, Supreme Court Judge, Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia Erik Kerševan holds a PhD in legal sciences. From 1999 to 2018 he was employed at the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, Department of Administrative Law as an associate professor, where he held lectures in Administrative Procedure. He also participated at many scientific and research projects and in the preparation of the new framework legislation in administrative law both at home as well as abroad (EU, UNDP, OECD projects). In the framework of his scientific and research work, he published many works as author and co-author (Upravno procesno pravo, Sodni nadzor nad upravo, The Principle of Effective Legal Protection in Administrative Law, etc.) and also participated at various conferences in Slovenia with posters. In addition, he was also an invited lecturer at several conferences abroad, organised by European and international organisations: Council of Europe, the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the National School of Public Administration in Warsaw, etc. In addition to his education and scientific works, he was also an advisor to the President of the Republic for legal issues (2008-2010) and general secretary on the basis of the appointment by the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Slovenia (2010-2012). In 2015 he was appointed to the position of Supreme Court Judge at the administrative department of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia. In 2018 he was elected as member of the Judicial Council, where he became chairman in April 2019. Presentation of dr. Erik Kerševan Andrej Kmecl, Judge, Administrative Court Republic of Slovenia Judge since 1991, initially in the area of criminal law, in 1995 promoted to a position of a District Court Judge and seconded to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Slovenia. Besides work for the Criminal Chamber of this court, also active in the areas of IT support to courts and judicial training. Responsible for planning and execution of training the country's judiciary in EU law prior to accession, also active as a trainer. Since 2006 judge of the Administrative court of the Republic of Slovenia, from 2010 to re-organisation in 2016 head of the Department for Environment, Spatial Planning and Construction. Regularly lecturing and publishing in the areas of competence. Chair of a district electoral commission, vice-president of the European Association of Administrative Judges (AEAJ) and member of Europäische Rechtsakademie (ERA) Board of Trustees. Ingrid Bicu, National Expert at International IDEA Ingrid Bicu is currently serving as national expert on strategic communications and elections at the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), seconded by the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania. Her position within the Romanian EMB is director of Communications and International Affairs, also responsible for coordinating the development and implementation of Romania’s international assistance projects in the electoral field. Previous affiliations include the Romanian National Intelligence Academy and the Open Source Centre within the Romanian Intelligence Agency. Ingrid also contributed as lecturer and expert in the fields of knowledge management, competitive intelligence, collaborative solutions. She participated in various national and international events and training programs on topics related to elections, international cooperation, strategic communication, regional and global security as well as in many election observation missions. Presentation of Ingrid Bicu Giorgi Sharabidze, Deputy Chairperson, Central Election Commission of Georgia Giorgi Sharabidze is a Deputy Chairperson of the Central Election Commission of Georgia since December 2013. On April 6, 2019 Giorgi Sharabidze was elected as the Deputy Chairperson for the second term. In 1996, he has graduated from the State University of Tbilisi, faculty of Jurisprudence. Giorgi Sharabidze is a BRIDGE workshop facilitator awarded by the United Nations, International IDEA and Australian Electoral Commission. He also holds the certificates of the Central Election Commission of Georgia, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and United National Development Programme (UNDP) for conducting trainings for the election administration staff (2006-2008). He Speaks English and Russian Languages; Giorgi Sharabidze was a training officer in the following projects: “Promoting Credible and Sustainable Electoral Institutions and Processes” (2012-2013) within the framework of the UNDP Georgia Electoral Project; “Regional Resource Centers of Election Administration for Enhanced Capacity of Electoral Actors” (2011) and “Promoting Dialogue and Capacity for Effective National Electoral Processes” (2010-2011). For years Giorgi Sharabidze was an international consultant (including Turkmenistan 2011-2012 and also BRIDGE facilitator; IFES Georgia in 2012; UNDP Georgia 2009); in 2009-2010 he was a Specialist of the CEC training office. In 2008 -2009 Giorgi Sharabidze was the Head of Legal Department of the Red Cross Society of Georgia; during the different periods he was training Officer of the UNDP-Georgia and the CEC. In 2000 – 2008 Giorgi Sharabidze was an invited specialist at the faction of the Parliament of Georgia; in 1996-1998 he was a Member of the Central Election Commission of Georgia. Presentation of Giorgi Sharabidze A Q&A session follows the presentations
12.45 - 13.45	Lunch
13.45 - 15.15	Plenary session III.
	EMBs and Courts - dialogues and cooperation Chair: Nina Brumen, Member, State Election Commission of the Republic of Slovenia Born in 1975 in Celje. In 1999 she graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, where she received recognition for an outstanding academic success. She started her career at the Celje Higher Court and successfully passed the bar exam with distinction in 2001, after which she started working as an associate at the District Court of Celje. In 2003 she started working at a law firm as an articled clerk and at the start of 2007 she took an oath as a lawyer. During vocational training she successfully passed the post-graduation programme of civil and corporate law at the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana in 2006. Prior to the appointment to the National Electoral Commission, she was active in various electoral commissions as deputy president and member at a local electoral commission and deputy president at a municipal electoral commission. Speakers: Mayya Grishina, Secretary, Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation Maya Grishina graduated from the Lomonosov Moscow State University in 1992. In 1992 – 1993 she was a leading specialist of the Constitutional Commission Secretariat, and later – the Constitutional Legislation Committee of the Supreme Council of the Russian Federation. Then from 1993 to 2007 she was a legal executive, Deputy Head of Department, Head of the Legal Department of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. On 12 March 2007 she was appointed a member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation by the decree of the President of the Russian Federation. On 14 March 2011 she was reappointed a member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation. From 2011 to 2016 she was responsible for analysis of practice of conducting elections and referendum in the Russian Federation, monitoring the law enforcement and preparation of suggestions for refinement of law enforcement practice and legislation. On 10 February 2016 she was appointed a member of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation and on 28 March 2016 appointed a Secretary of the CEC of Russia. Ms Grishina is awarded with the Order of Honor, the Order of Amity, the medals of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland of the I and II degrees, and an honorary badge of the Central Election Commission of Russia “For merits in organizing the elections”. Honored lawyer of the Russian Federation. Presentation of Maya Grishina in English Presentation of Maya Grishina in Russian Speech of Maya Grishina in English Speech of Maya Grishina in Russian Beata Martin-Rozumiłowicz, Regional Director, IFES Dr. Beata Martin-Rozumiłowicz is currently the Director for Europe and Eurasia at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). Before starting in February 2016, she headed the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (OSCE/ODHIR) Election Department in Warsaw, Poland since 2011 and previously served as its Deputy from 2009 to 2011. From 2005 to 2009, she worked on dozens of OSCE/ODIHR election observation missions across the 57 OSCE participating states as Deputy Head of Mission or as Political Analyst, including in Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine. In 2005, she served as Election Adviser to the OSCE Centre in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan and from 2003 to 2005 was Political/Media Officer at the OSCE Centre in Almaty, Kazakhstan. From 2000 to 2002, Beata acted as Human Dimension Officer at the OSCE’s Advisory and Monitoring Group in Minsk, Belarus. She has also previously consulted for IFES in Armenia and Kyrgyzstan on various aspects of electoral reform. During the course of her work and travels, Beata has visited more than 75 countries around the world. Beata holds a D.Phil. (Ph.D.) and M.Phil. (Masters) in politics from the University of Oxford, United Kingdom and a B.A. in political science from Rutgers College (Phi Beta Kappa). She has specialized in political party and electoral development in post-communist countries, Latin American transitions, and political theory. From 1999-2000, she was research fellow for Oxford’s Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy, publishing a book on media law reform in transitional democracies. She has also published various articles on political party and electoral development, election observation, media freedom, and political party and campaign finance issues. Presentation of Dr. Beata Martin-Rozumiłowicz Ana Rusu, Senior Election Adviser, OSCE /ODIHR Ana Rusu, currently serves as Senior Election Adviser with Election Department at the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. Lawyer by background, she occupied several positions with the Council of Europe including lawyer to the Groupe of States against Corruption (GRECO), programme manager for the development of a School of Magistrates in Georgia (2004 - 2005), Co-secretary of the Consultative Council of European Prosecutors and Secretary of the Lisbon Network in Strasbourg (2006 - 2009), referendaire to the European Social Charter (2009 – 2010) and programme manager for electoral assistance in the countries of Eastern and South Eastern Europe (2012 - 2017). On behalf of ICON INSTITUTE (Germany) she was also involved in consultancy activities in Kazakhstan in the field of judiciary reform and in Uzbekistan in the field of parliamentary democracy (2010 - 2012). In her current position, she is responsible for several thematic areas including, election dispute resolution, voter registration, out of country voting and women’s participation in elections. Ana is Department’s gender and youth focal point and is involved in the working group on professional working environement in election observation missions. She also coordinated the drafting of the ODIHR Handbook for the Observation o fElection Disputes. Ana holds a Law degree from the Faculty of Law of the State University of Moldova and a postgraduate diploma (DEA) in the Administration of Elections from the Faculty of Law of Université Paris 1 Panthéon – Sorbonne. She is fluent in French, Romanian, Russian and English. A Q&A session follows the presentations
15.15 - 15.30	Coffee break
15.30 -	Cultural program and dinner - Bled

Day 3 26 September 2019 (Thursday)
9.30 - 10.30	Plenary session IV.
	Transparency of Elections – putting transparency into context Chair: dr. Janez Pogorelec, Member, State Election Commission of the Republic of Slovenia Dr. Janez Pogorelec is a Doctor of Constitutional Law and a public official with extensive experience in the Office of Legislation of the Republic of Slovenia, where he served as Deputy Director and Director for many years. He has been a lecturer at a number of faculties and remains an examiner for state examinations in law, as well as a long-standing lecturer at the Administrative Academy, where he shares his considerable experience with new generations of public officials. He has published a number of expert articles in which he responds to a wide range of theoretical and current constitutional and legal issues, from elections to referendums, the constitutional position of the President of the Republic, political responsibility, issues in legislative procedures and the role of legislative offices, constitutionality and legality, and more. He is a long-standing Member of the State Election Commission. As a member and head of a number of expert groups for the Constitutional Commission of the National Assembly, he has contributed to many proposals initiating procedures to change the Constitution, from changes to the constitutional requirements for referendums, the formation of the government, as well as the proposed supplement to the constitution with a new Article 70.a related to the right to drinking water. Additionally, he has been part of a number of government commissions for the preparation and redaction of numerous laws and legal emendation of EU Acts, especially the Slovenian translation of the European Constitution, and he headed the project to translate historical judgements of European Courts into Slovenian. Speakers: Simon-Pierre Nanitelamio, Deputy Director, United Nations Electoral Assistance Divison Simon-Pierre Nanitelamio is the Deputy Director of the Electoral Assistance Division (EAD) of the United Nations Department of Political Affairs (DPA). With more than 26 years of field experience, he is an expert in international electoral assistance with a strong background in election programmes management, electoral needs assessment, programme formulation, strategic and operational planning. Prior to his appointment in New York as the Deputy Director of EAD in February 2017, Simon-Pierre NANITELAMIO was EAD’s Principal Electoral Affairs Officer at the United Nations Office to the African Union (UNOAU) in Addis Ababa for 2 years (February 2015 – January 2017), where he provided senior level electoral expertise to DPA/UNOAU and the entire UN system, including undertaking electoral prevention initiatives, throughout the African continent. Prior to joining EAD/DPA, Mr. NANITELAMIO has worked across the United Nations System (from peace operations to UNDP/development settings) at senior level in such places as Madagascar, Cameroon, East Timor, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cambodia, Mozambique, Chad, Malawi. Guinea-Bissau, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, São Tomé and Principe, Central African Republic, Angola, etc. He has led an electoral advisory mission to Comoros (April-May 2016), an electoral pre-assessment mission to Somalia (July 2015) and several electoral needs assessment missions: Central African Republic (October 2016), Madagascar (March-April 2016), Zimbabwe (May-June 2015), Guinea-Conakry (April 2015), Benin (February 2015 and September 2015), Comoros (August 2014), Burkina Faso (February 2012), Chad (2000). He has also participated as NAM team member in various others (Côte d’Ivoire, 2014 and 2000), Madagascar (April 2012), Cameroon (2011), Benin (2010), etc. Simon-Pierre NANITELAMIO is graduated in political science, in history, in diplomacy and management of international organizations from the Universities of Paris I-La Sorbonne, Paris XI-Sceaux and Paris VII-Jussieu, in France. He is fluent in French, Portuguese and English. Presentation of Simon-Pierre Nanitelamio Speech of Simon-Pierre Nanitelamio Vid Tomič, Transparency International Slovenia Vid is a Secretary General of Transparency International Slovenia. He has been working in TI Slovenia since 2016, focusing on anti-corruption, public integrity, integrity in sports and strengthening of civil society. Before joining TI Slovenia, he has been active in the NGO sector in Slovenia for several years, working on different aspects of democracy, human rights and good governance issues. He holds a master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Ljubljana. Presentation of Vid Tomič Anika Geisel, Public Policy Lead for elections in Europe, Facebook (Silver Sponsor of the Conference) Anika Geisel is Facebook’s public policy lead for elections in Europe, Middle East and Africa. Together with her team, she manages elections across 40+ teams at Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. That includes developing elections strategy across the company, in particular around civic engagement and election integrity products, such as the political ads transparency features. She is also responsible for developing and executing policies around elections and is working with policymakers on shaping regulation of elections online. Presentation of Anika Geisel A Q&A session follows the presentations
10.30 – 11.00	Coffee break and visiting the exhibition
11.00 – 12.15	Plenary session V.
	Transparency of Elections – Practical Perspectives Chair: Paul DeGregorio, Honorary Member, ACEEEO Commissioner Paul DeGregorio was an inaugural member of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) from 2003 to 2007, and during his tenure at the EAC served as chairman. At the EAC, Mr. DeGregorio oversaw federal election reform, such as the implementation of the Help America Vote Act and the establishment of the first federal certification of voting systems. He has over 30 years of election experience and was Director of Elections for St. Louis County, Missouri. DeGregorio is an international election expert and has worked in over 35 countries. He has held significant policy-making and top management positions in prominent institutions that have advanced the cause of democracy and elections, including his service as Executive Vice President of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and as a leader of several international election assessment missions for various institutions. He was named a lifetime member of election official organizations iGO, ACEEEO and AEOBiH, and served as a senior advisor to the Association of World Election Bodies (AWEB). DeGregorio is frequent lecturer and has authored numerous publications on elections, including serving on the Scientific Board of the Electoral Expert Review and as a Senior Fellow with the Democracy Fund. In 2018 DeGregorio participated in the 2018 U.S. National Election Security Summit and was appointed as a director of Smartmatic USA. A graduate of the University of Missouri with a B.A. in Political Science, Mr. DeGregorio was honored by his alma mater with the Distinguished Alumni Award. Speakers: Alexander Shlyk, Head of Elections Department, ODIHR Alexander Shlyk is the Head of the Election Department of the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR). He manages and oversees election-related activities across the OSCE region. Alexander is responsible for management of programmatic as well as financial and operational issues in the department. Alexander leads needs assessment missions, expert and follow-up visits. Alexander joined ODIHR in 2010 as an Election Adviser and since then organized election observation missions to a number of countries, contributed to developing and refining ODIHR’s election observation methodology, developed and refined the curricula for election observer training activities, and led the development of the ODIHR e-learning courses for election observers. Prior to joining the ODIHR in 2010, Alexander worked with the World Bank in the area of economic development and research, including in Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda. He holds an MA in Political Science from the Central European University, Hungary, and an MSc in International Development and Management from Lund University, Sweden. Alexander is a Belarusian citizen from Minsk. Dr. Annette M. Fath-Lihic, EUSR Chief Political Adviser/Executive Coordinator, European Union Office in Kosovo/EU Special Representative Dr. Annette Fath-Lihic (German) is an expert on electoral processes, policy work in post-crisis areas, good governance and international humanitarian law, human rights and international relations. She has worked in many conflict zones such as the Balkans, Sudan, Liberia and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, since 1994 for IOM, EU, OSCE, and the UN. From 2011 to 2017 Annette was the Senior Programme Manager with International IDEA, Sweden. Afterwards she joined the EU Special Representative/EU office in Kosovo as Chief Political Adviser/Executive Coordinator (seconded by the German Foreign Ministry). Annette is also an Assisting Professor and she has extensively published in her field of expertise. She has for example initiated a Master on Electoral Policy and Administration (MEPA), which is implemented by the Scuola Superiore Sant Anna, Italy, and UNITAR. She has also written a Policy Brief on "Elections and Peacebuilding: Why the timing and sequencing of transitional elections matter" for the Kofi Annan Foundation. Presentation of Dr. Annette Fath-Lihic Nazarali Aripov, Member, The Central Commission for Elections and Referenda of the Kyrgyz Republic Presentation of Nazarali Aripov Speech of Nazarali Aripov A Q&A session follows the presentations
12.15 – 13.15	Lunch
13.15 - 14.30	Roundtable - discussion - Lessons learned from the 2019 European Parliament elections
	Moderator: dr. Janez Pogorelec, Member, State Election Commission of the Republic of Slovenia Dr. Janez Pogorelec is a Doctor of Constitutional Law and a public official with extensive experience in the Office of Legislation of the Republic of Slovenia, where he served as Deputy Director and Director for many years. He has been a lecturer at a number of faculties and remains an examiner for state examinations in law, as well as a long-standing lecturer at the Administrative Academy, where he shares his considerable experience with new generations of public officials. He has published a number of expert articles in which he responds to a wide range of theoretical and current constitutional and legal issues, from elections to referendums, the constitutional position of the President of the Republic, political responsibility, issues in legislative procedures and the role of legislative offices, constitutionality and legality, and more. He is a long-standing Member of the State Election Commission. As a member and head of a number of expert groups for the Constitutional Commission of the National Assembly, he has contributed to many proposals initiating procedures to change the Constitution, from changes to the constitutional requirements for referendums, the formation of the government, as well as the proposed supplement to the constitution with a new Article 70.a related to the right to drinking water. Additionally, he has been part of a number of government commissions for the preparation and redaction of numerous laws and legal emendation of EU Acts, especially the Slovenian translation of the European Constitution, and he headed the project to translate historical judgements of European Courts into Slovenian. Speakers: Dimitar Dimitrov, Member, Central Election Commission of the Republic of Bulgaria Presentation of Dimitar Dimitrov Damir Kontrec, Vice-President, State Electoral Commissionof the Republic of Croatia Damir Kontrec graduated from Zagreb Law School in 1989 and passed the bar exam in 1991. During his career he passed all levels of the court system in Croatia, starting with the municipal and county court level up to the Supreme Court of the Republic of Croatia. He has been serving as a Supreme Court Judge since 2011. 2017 he was appointed as President of the Supreme Court Civil Department. He is involved as an active member in several professional associations and serves as representative of the Republic of Croatia at international associations and authorities. Along with his judicial career, Mr Kontrec has also been involved into elections as member and president of the county and city level electoral commissions since mid-1990s. Since 2018 he is the Vice-President of the State Electoral Commission of the Republic of Croatia. He is an renowned author of numerous expert papers and books mainly dealing with civil law as well as a regular panellist and teacher at expert conferences and expert courses. Presentation of Damir Kontrec Ritvars Eglājs, Secretary, Central Election Commission of Latvia Ritvars Eglājs is the Secretary of the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Latvia since 2012. In this position, he has experience of organising two rounds of general, local, and European elections. Mr. Eglājs is keeping an eye on Latvian electoral laws, has wide knowledge of electoral statistics and has represented the CEC in the Saeima (Parliament) of Latvia and other state institutions. He observed various elections in more than a dozen countries ranging from Kyrgyzstan and Belarus to the US and the UK. Mr. Eglājs has participated and represented the CEC in many international conferences and events including electoral expert meetings of the EU and the Council of Europe. Being a human geographer, he realised his long-standing interest in elections through becoming a member of Riga City Election Commission in 2005 and a member of the CEC in 2011. Presentation of Ritvars Eglājs Kristina Ivanauskaite-Pettinari, Head of Training and Communication Unit, Central Election Commission of Lithuania She is the Head of the Training and Communication Division of the Central Electoral Commission of the Republic of Lithuania. She is responsible for strategic communication and for the Strategy on Publicizing Elections. Also, she is coordinating relations with media and NGOs which take part in ensuring the activity of different groups of voters and the transparency of elections. She is also responsible for organizing trainings for all the involved interest groups (candidates, members of electoral commissions, voters and so on). She has started and continued her career as a lawyer in different institutions of the State. In 2008 she has been employed, as a lawyer, in the Central Electoral Commission. During her career she held different positions in the Central Electoral Commission, working 11 years in election field. She received a doctoral degree (PhD) in Law, discussing a thesis on “The Development of Legal Status of Political Parties in Lithuania in 1918–1940‘‘. She is author of some articles, mainly dealing with the status of political parties. Presentation of Kristina Ivanauskaite-Pettinari Zsombor Vajda, Vice-President, Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania Mr. Zsombor Vajda graduated from the University of Administrative and Legal Sciences Christian University "Dimitrie Cantemir", Bucharest. In addition to this degree he is since 2005 Associate member of the College of Legal Advisers. He is also an expert in Public-Private Partnership within the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection / Ministry of Education, Research, Youth and Sport. Mr. Vajda served as member of the Central Electoral Bureau for the 2016 Local Elections and Parliamentary Elections and 2014 European Parliament Elections and Presidential Elections. Since 2018 he has served as Vice-president of the Permanent Electoral Authority of Romania. He has extensive experience in drafting electoral laws and regulations and more than 15 years of experience in public administration and electoral domain. Manja Toplak, Head of Office, European Parliament, Directorate-General for Communication, EP Liasion Office in Slovenia Manja Toplak is the Head of the European Parliament Liaison Office with over 17 years of experience within European institutions. In this capacity Toplak diligently ran three European Parliament election campaigns aimed at mobilizing citizens to vote. In 2019 Toplak ran a well-considered election campaign in Slovenia by taking on courageous and innovative approach which succeeded in not only reversing the trend of declining turnout, but also reaching the highest level recorded in Slovenia thus far. Toplak completed her language studies at the Karl-Franzens University in Graz and obtained Master's degree in European studies at the University of Applied Sciences in Berlin. Presentation of Manja Toplak A Q&A session follows the presentations.
14.30 - 15.30	Recapitulation speeches, conference findings. Official closing of the 28th Conference
	Chair: Zsolt Szolnoki, Secretary General of ACEEEO Zsolt Szolnoki currently serves as Secretary General for the Association of the European Election Officials on a voluntarily basis, providing leadership to the Secretariat’s work. He manages the annual conferences, supervises the projects’ preparations, the agendas for the Executive Board and the General Assembly meetings. His areas of expertise include planning for the elections, e-voting, election observations and supervisions, project management and design. He started to work for the ACEEEO in 1995, when he organized the annual conference in Siófok, Hungary. Since this year, he organized and attended all ACEEEO annual conference and Executive Board meeting. At the end of the nineties, he prepared several large observation missions to the Balkan region. In 2000, he worked for the OSCE Mission to Kosovo providing expertise for the preparatory work of the first election in Kosovo. He represented the ACEEEO as an international expert in many conferences and seminars. In his professional capacity between 1993 and 2002 he worked for the Hungarian National Election Office as the Deputy Head of the Election Department. From 2002 to 2005 he served as Head of IT department in the Ministry of Interior. From 2006 till November 2010 he worked for the European Commission as a Seconded National Expert on the area of Home Affairs. In 2011 he was the Chairman of a working group in the Hungarian EU Presidency team. Currently he is a high counselor in the Ministry of Interior of Hungary. He holds a B.A in Public Administration and completed a post graduate course in Business Management. Speakers: Peter Golob, President, State Election Commission of the Republic of Slovenia Peter Golob, born in 1964 in Ljubljana. Graduated from the Faculty of Law in Ljubljana in 1988. Took oath as a judge in 1992. Supreme Court judge as of 2007. Prior to appointment as president of the National Electoral Commission, he was deputy president in two mandates of the same authority. Nina Brumen, Member, State Election Commission of the Republic of Slovenia Born in 1975 in Celje. In 1999 she graduated from the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana, where she received recognition for an outstanding academic success. She started her career at the Celje Higher Court and successfully passed the bar exam with distinction in 2001, after which she started working as an associate at the District Court of Celje. In 2003 she started working at a law firm as an articled clerk and at the start of 2007 she took an oath as a lawyer. During vocational training she successfully passed the post-graduation programme of civil and corporate law at the Faculty of Law, University of Ljubljana in 2006. Prior to the appointment to the National Electoral Commission, she was active in various electoral commissions as deputy president and member at a local electoral commission and deputy president at a municipal electoral commission. dr. Janez Pogorelec, Member, State Election Commission of the Republic of Slovenia Dr. Janez Pogorelec is a Doctor of Constitutional Law and a public official with extensive experience in the Office of Legislation of the Republic of Slovenia, where he served as Deputy Director and Director for many years. He has been a lecturer at a number of faculties and remains an examiner for state examinations in law, as well as a long-standing lecturer at the Administrative Academy, where he shares his considerable experience with new generations of public officials. He has published a number of expert articles in which he responds to a wide range of theoretical and current constitutional and legal issues, from elections to referendums, the constitutional position of the President of the Republic, political responsibility, issues in legislative procedures and the role of legislative offices, constitutionality and legality, and more. He is a long-standing Member of the State Election Commission. As a member and head of a number of expert groups for the Constitutional Commission of the National Assembly, he has contributed to many proposals initiating procedures to change the Constitution, from changes to the constitutional requirements for referendums, the formation of the government, as well as the proposed supplement to the constitution with a new Article 70.a related to the right to drinking water. Additionally, he has been part of a number of government commissions for the preparation and redaction of numerous laws and legal emendation of EU Acts, especially the Slovenian translation of the European Constitution, and he headed the project to translate historical judgements of European Courts into Slovenian. Paul DeGregorio, Honorary Member, ACEEEO Commissioner Paul DeGregorio was an inaugural member of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) from 2003 to 2007, and during his tenure at the EAC served as chairman. At the EAC, Mr. DeGregorio oversaw federal election reform, such as the implementation of the Help America Vote Act and the establishment of the first federal certification of voting systems. He has over 30 years of election experience and was Director of Elections for St. Louis County, Missouri. DeGregorio is an international election expert and has worked in over 35 countries. He has held significant policy-making and top management positions in prominent institutions that have advanced the cause of democracy and elections, including his service as Executive Vice President of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and as a leader of several international election assessment missions for various institutions. He was named a lifetime member of election official organizations iGO, ACEEEO and AEOBiH, and served as a senior advisor to the Association of World Election Bodies (AWEB). DeGregorio is frequent lecturer and has authored numerous publications on elections, including serving on the Scientific Board of the Electoral Expert Review and as a Senior Fellow with the Democracy Fund. In 2018 DeGregorio participated in the 2018 U.S. National Election Security Summit and was appointed as a director of Smartmatic USA. A graduate of the University of Missouri with a B.A. in Political Science, Mr. DeGregorio was honored by his alma mater with the Distinguished Alumni Award.
16.00 -	Cultural program and dinner - Ljubljana

Slovenia

It may not be easy to find Slovenia on a map, but you’ll have a hard time finding a place so small offering so much. Everywhere and any time you go you’ll always run into something that reflects your unique taste and view of the world.

Mingle with the locals at various musical, culinary and cultural happenings. Explore UNESCO heritage sites and discover the perfect mix of traditional and modern in cosy world-class restaurants.

In Slovenia, sustainable is the way to go. Living and working with nature has been a hallmark of our culture for generations and we strive to keep it that way. That’s why this is a place where you can still find ancient forests, crystal-clear waters, unspoiled ridges, and diverse wildlife. We marked the most sustainable destinations with the Slovenia Green label so that you can enjoy a truly green holiday.

Everywhere you go, you’ll always find something that reflects your taste and view of the world. What will be your way of feeling Slovenia?

Slovenia at a glance:

Currency: The Slovenian currency is the Euro.

Communication: In addition to Slovenian, most people in Slovenia speak English.

Distances: In Slovenia, you can swim in the sea in the morning and climb mountains in the afternoon.

Population: 2,080,908

Ljubljana

A lively green city combining the charm of a small capital and the self-confidence of large European cities.

Ljubljana is the green capital of a green country. The image of the town by a river with picturesque bridges and a marketplace was designed by the famous architect Jože Plečnik. The town of a thousand events is surrounded by parks and natural protected areas.

Ljubljana at glance:

The National Gallery: The National Gallery, Slovenia's foremost museum of historical art, holds the country's largest collection of fine art from the High Middle Ages to the 20th century.

Plečnik house: Get to know the life and work of the famous architect Jože Plečnik, who left an indelible mark on the cityscape of Ljubljana. At Plečnik House you can see the architect's home exactly as it was in his lifetime and view a permanent exhibition showcasing his work.

Dragon Bridge: The Dragon Bridge, adorned with famous dragon statues, appears in the most recognizable images of Ljubljana.

Central Market: Ljubljana's Central Market is more than just a place to shop. Traditionally, it has also been a place for the locals to meet and enjoy themselves together.

Ljubljana Castle: Ljubljana Castle, standing on a hill above the city for about 900 years, is Ljubljana's main attraction.

Bled

Bled is an image of paradise. This tourist gem of global dimensions on the edge of the Triglav National Park was nominated one of the seven new wonders of the world. It is distinguished by a mild, healing climate and thermal springs of lake water.

Lake Bled and its surroundings invite you to experience unforgettable adventures. Pamper yourself in the water of its thermal springs. Enjoy local flavours, magnificent view from Bled Castle, enjoy the view of the Slovenia’s only island

Bled at glance:

Bled Castle: Climb up to the Castle and enjoy the finest view of the lake with its island.

Bled cream cake: The only true cream cake is the Bled cream cake. Come taste it!

The Bled Island: A challenge for your eye and your body awaits you on the island where a temple of the ancient Slavic goddess of love Živa used to stand in the location of today's glorious Gothic church.

The Vintgar gorge: Experience the most intact nature of Bled in the first touristically arranged gorge in Slovenia.

The Pletna boats: Take a trip across the lake in the traditional Pletna boat and relax in the atmosphere.

The Association of European Election Officials gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the following organizations in 2019:

Facebook Inc.

Democracy Counts

Democracy Counts recognises that the democratic process is crucial to our way of life. We will provide high quality niche products and services that save time, and cost, whilst increasing both security and transparency to our clients' business process.

Democracy Counts is a business that truly understands the end to end business processes that affect the Democratic and Elections Cycle. Consequently, our products and solutions are aimed at driving efficiencies in the processes through continuous improvement, whist providing fully audited management information, and subsequent security. We will leverage the experience of our clients and our staff in order to provide excellence in Customer Service and innovative development in order to achieve our aspirations of ‘World Class’ status."

We provide professional electoral services and state of the art electoral management software to UK Local Authorities and UK Central Government as well as managed referendums and ballot services to public, private and community organisations.

We have the systems, processes, breadth and depth of knowledge, skills and experience to deliver a "closed loop" solution to support you through the election cycle. We already provide both print and mail production of election stationery as well as election management and postal vote software to UK local authorities, NHS Trusts and Private business.

Our Elector Centre suite of products, the software underpinning our electoral services, has been developed using market leading technology. They are modular, scaleable and fully integrated, providing the most extensive range of democratic software solutions available in the world.

Minsait

Modern Democracy

Modern Democracy is an award-winning leader in the delivery of elections software and services. We work with Local and National Governments to reduce the associated risks with running elections.

Our Modern Polling solution has been designed in partnership with our customers. Providing real time information throughout polling day, it gives greater control and visibility of all polling stations. Automated reporting gives 100% accuracy and simplifies the job of the Poll Clerk.

This secure, fully compliant, cloud-based platform is cost effective, easy to deploy and streamlines manual election processes for the voter and the elections team.

Polys

Polys is a secure online voting platform based on blockchain technology. It is a reliable, and easy-to-use service for elections of all levels.Polys is designed to change the way people vote. It is easy to set up and use and is a product that provides maximum safety and transparency for its users. We believe that Polys is what elections should look like in our hi-tech on-demand world.Polys can be used for elections of different levels for several reasons. First, the blockchain and crypto algorithms that we use make the voting extremely secure and, as a consequence, it is suitable for elections of the highest level. Polys comprises an admin panel for poll deployment and a client application for casting votes. No specific training or IT literacy is needed. Polys is a flexible application and can be easily customized for your particular needs. Voters can vote online via desktop computers or smartphones. Another key feature of the Polys system is the availability of voting machines. Obviously, the switch from paper to online voting cannot happen instantly, but to make the transition as smooth as possible, Polys has designed voting machines that are also based on blockchain technology.

SLI Compliance

About SLI ComplianceSM

In today’s world, system security is a top priority in any voting and election program. So, how can you be sure that your voting systems and technologies are secure? Fortunately, there’s SLI Compliance.

SLI ComplianceSM is a globally recognized, independent voting system test lab with more than 17 years of independent testing experience in voting systems and process. We offer end-to-end security test methods designed to validate the security and privacy of all of all aspects of your voting system. In addition, SLI Compliance performs security analysis of the source code using automated tools to identify vulnerabilities and security weaknesses.

With SLI Compliance, you can be confident in the accuracy and quality performance of your voting systems and components.

Our Services:

Security Testing
Source Code Review
Voting System Standards & Requirements Development
Configuration Verification
Document Review
Functional Testing
Hardware Testing
Electronic Poll Book Testing
Election Procedures Assessment

WHY SLI COMPLIANCE?

SLI is an accredited Voting System Test Laboratory (VSTL) under the auspices of the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP Lab Code 200733-0: TESTING) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in partnership with the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC). SLI is also recognized as an International Certification Entity (ICE) by the Republic of the Philippines. Additionally, under our ISO/IEC 17025 accredited and ISO 9001:2015 certified status, our voting methodology has been audited for compliance against strict NIST NVLAP standards and is utilized uniformly across our many projects.

For more information please visit www.slicompliance.com.

Contact:

Traci Mapps, Director – SLI Compliance

tmapps@slicompliance.com or 1-844-754-8683

Voatz

Voatz is an award-winning mobile elections platform backed by military-grade security and cutting-edge technology (including biometrics and a blockchain-based infrastructure). Voatz enables voting via compatible smartphones and tablets to increase accessibility and security in elections. Since 2016, Voatz has run 40 elections with states, cities, towns, state political parties, colleges and universities, and unions. Voatz ran the first mobile blockchain vote in U.S. Federal Election history in partnership with the State of West Virginia to empower deployed military personnel and overseas citizens to vote in the 2018 Primary Elections and the 2018 Midterm Elections.
Voatz is focused on making the voting process more accessible and secure by offering an additional voting method for those voters who are unable to vote conveniently using the traditional voting methods. Voatz strongly believes that all citizens must be able to vote regardless of their circumstances.