Training for Election Monitoring and Support Centre

On August 17-18, 2020, ECES, through its EU Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria (EU SDGN), supported the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of Nigeria in conducting a two-day workshop for Election Monitoring and Support Centre (EMSC) implementers.

The event was held in Benin, Edo State, ahead of the September 19th off-cycle governorship elections.

Mr Wilson Manji, ECES Deputy Project Coordinator stressed ECES' committment toward supporting the logistical and operational deployment plan for the Edo governorship elections. 

“The essence of this workshop is to provide support toward delivering a transparent governorship election in Edo. It will also help INEC staff to know the operational guidelines, data collection, reporting tools and communication strategy for use in the EMSC during elections,” he said.

He noted that no fewer than 4,500 persons had been trained on EMSC tools usage within the framework of the European Union and INEC collaboration. “We are proud to support this laudable initiative; it will go a long way to show our commitment to innovative electoral management,” he said.

For his part, Mr Johnson Alalibo, INEC’s Resident Electoral Commissioner in Edo, urged the beneficaries to put the knowledge gained during the workshop to use during the ucpoming elections, stating “It is my hope that this workshops will provide participants with requisite knowledge to play their expected roles during the governorship election.” 

The two-day workshop is part of the EU-SDGN's efforts toward: 

• Enhancing participant’s understanding of the goals and objectives of the EMSC and its operational framework;
• Updating participants’ skills on the administration of EMSC tools and platform resources;
• Addressing challenges encountered with data collection and reporting during the General Election in line with EMSC reporting timelines and validation process as well as ensuring the integrity, frequency and quality of reporting;
• Appraising participants on the Commission’s Policy on Elections, the Voters Code of Conduct and Supplementary guidelines thereof under the COVID-19 pandemic within the electoral context. 
• Accquainting participants on the new EMSC reporting and data management protocols in the context of the Commission’s Policy on Elections under COVID-19