Effective Electoral Assistance (EEA)

The Effective Electoral Assistance training course focuses on the recent policies and developments in the field of electoral assistance and election observation. Organised on an annual basis by ECES and the Istituto per gli Studi di Politica Internazionale (ISPI), the ISPI Advanced Diploma on Effective Electoral Assistance introduces participants to the evolution of electoral support, from its very beginnings to its latest developments. This cursus provides, among other things, an opportunity to emphasise some of the main features of electoral support, such as the ‘electoral cycle approach’, ‘electoral observation’ and ‘media monitoring'.

Given the many years of experience that ECES experts have in strategic, operational and contingency planning to ensure the smooth running of electoral processes, the EEA training course offers a comprehensive overview of lessons learned along the way. By relying on the ‘electoral cycle approach’, the course further provides a valuable insight into the guiding principles currently under discussion within the international community. The training programme in Effective Electoral Assistance has been developed to maximise the learning outcomes using interactive and participatory learning techniques for adults.

The course is adapted to electoral administration and electoral support. Elections have in fact been widely accepted as an essential part of democratic processes to the point that an effective management of the electoral process is considered crucial for fostering democracy and preventing the outbreak or recurrence of conflict and violence.