Eva Palmans is Senior Advisor Programme at the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES), Board Member, and in the frame of an technical assistance programme, Project Manager within the General Secretariat of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC). She has more than 20 years of experience in governance, democracy support, electoral processes, conflict prevention and peacebuilding in Africa and the Indian Ocean region.
Eva holds both a Master’s degree in Governance and Development and a PhD from the University of Antwerp. Her doctoral research, “Media and politics in crisis situations: the case of Burundi”, analysed the role of media and political communication in fragile electoral contexts.
She has held senior positions in international cooperation programmes funded by the European Union, the OIF, the World Bank and other international partners. Her responsibilities have included project formulation, strategic and operational management, monitoring and evaluation, technical assistance, political analysis and coordination with electoral management bodies, government institutions, parliaments, civil society organisations and regional organisations.
As Head of Programmes at ECES (2013–2021), she coordinated multi-country electoral support and governance programmes in Madagascar and SADC member States countries, Senegal and other African countries. She carried out project identification missions, supervised capacity-building activities for electoral stakeholders, and represented ECES in international networks including the African Union, RECEF, SADC, OIF, IOC and several EMBs.
Since 2022, in the frame of a technical assistance programme, she serves as Project Manager for the IOC’s Governance, Stability and Peace programme, where she is responsible for supporting the IOC for project implementation, political and institutional analysis, comparative studies of national assemblies and electoral management bodies, creation of regional networks and youth parliaments, and coordination with UN, AU, APF, COMESA and the OIF.
A part from her experience at ECES, Eva held several management and coordination positions. For two years (2008-2010) she was the regional coordinator in Central-Africa (Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda) for a Belgian NGO (Coalition of the Flemish North South Movement – 11.11.11) managing projects with local organisations in the field of elections and democracy (civic education, election monitoring and observation).
Eva has also worked as Senior Electoral Expert and political/country analyst in several EU and EISA election observation missions, including in Mozambique, Togo, Ivory Coast, Seychelles, Tunisia and Burundi, both as long-term observer and as Core Team political analyst. She has conducted conflict analysis screenings for the EU in Senegal and Madagascar and governance/conflict prevention evaluations for the World Bank in Guinea and the Gulf of Guinea region.
She is an accredited BRIDGE facilitator and certified trainer in Leadership and Conflict Management, with extensive experience delivering capacity building to EMBs, political parties, civil society, media and election observers.
Eva Palmans is the author of several publications such as:
• Using International Standards. Council of Europe Handbook for Domestic Election Observers (2013)
• Elections, Political Instability and Failure of Democratization in Madagascar (with J. Ramasy)
• Burundi’s 2010 elections: Democracy and Peace at Risk? (ARRF Conference, 2012)
• Madagascar: Finally a way out of the political impasse? (2011)
• Les élections de 2010 au Burundi : Quel avenir pour la démocratie ? Journal of African Elections, 2011
• Médias et politique en situation de crise: le cas du Burundi, PhD, University of Antwerp (2008)
• La société civile au Burundi, in L’Afrique des grands lacs 2005-2006, L’Harmattan (2006)
• Burundi, in Africa Yearbook 2005, Brill (2006)
• Les médias face au traumatisme électoral au Burundi, Politique Africaine (2005)
• La liberté de la presse au Rwanda et Burundi, L’Harmattan (2003)
• Senior editor for Global Integrity (Madagascar reports, 2015–2017)
• Senior editor and reviewer for Bertelsmann Stiftung BTI (Mauritius and Madagascar reports, 2017–2019)
• Contribution to ECES publication on electoral assistance and prevention of electoral violence
Languages: Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish, English.
