ECES is proud to announce the signature of a four-year Financial Framework Partnership Agreement (FFPA) with the European Commission, Directorate-General for International Partnerships (DG INTPA), for the Support to Electoral and Political Processes (SEPP).
Following a competitive selection process, ECES has been selected as one of five Framework Partners with which the European Commission wishes to establish a relationship of lasting cooperation in this field.
The Framework Partnership reflects a shared commitment to supporting partner countries in strengthening inclusive, transparent and credible electoral and political processes, while enabling the rapid and effective delivery of high-quality assistance in response to identified needs and drawing primarily on the recommendations of EU Election Observation Missions as guidance.
The FFPA is concluded for 48 months and covers six interconnected domains reflecting the evolving nature of electoral and political process support:
• Electoral governance, legal frameworks and institutions;
• Participation, civic space and election-related violence prevention;
• Political parties, parliaments and broader democratic institutions;
• Oversight, accountability and observation;
• Information integrity, media and the digital environment;
• Political transitions and democratic resilience.
For ECES, this represents an important institutional milestone and recognition of more than sixteen years of specialised work in electoral and political process support, democratic governance, conflict prevention and democratic resilience.
Building on EURECS
The priorities of the Framework Partnership are closely aligned with EURECS – A European Response to Electoral Cycle Support, ECES’ strategic vision, implementation philosophy and operational architecture.
Developed progressively since ECES’ establishment, formally codified in 2016 and comprehensively updated in 2026 following sixteen years of operational experience and institutional learning, EURECS has evolved from the Electoral Cycle Approach into a broader framework connecting electoral and political process support with democratic governance, institutional strengthening, conflict prevention, mediation, information integrity, leadership development and democratic resilience.
EURECS is operationalised through an integrated suite of 22 copyrighted methodologies, management systems, digital applications and operational tools, enabling ECES to translate European values, policies and international standards into practical support adapted to diverse political and institutional contexts.
Sixteen years of European electoral and democracy support
Since its establishment in 2010, ECES has implemented programmes and activities in more than 70 countries across Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Latin America, mobilising more than EUR 155 million, including over EUR 113 million entrusted directly by the European Union.
Over the same period, ECES has worked with more than 11,000 collaborators representing over 70 nationalities and contributed to strengthening the capacities of approximately 800,000 democratic stakeholders and beneficiaries worldwide.
ECES has also built an extensive ecosystem of partnerships with continental and regional organisations, networks of electoral management bodies, democratic institutions, civil society organisations and international partners. This approach places local ownership, peer-to-peer cooperation, institutional sustainability and regional partnerships at the heart of ECES’ work.
A partnership for an evolving democratic landscape
The new Framework Partnership comes at a time when electoral and political processes face increasingly complex challenges.
Democratic backsliding, shrinking civic space, political transitions, election-related violence, disinformation and foreign information manipulation, together with the rapidly growing impact of artificial intelligence and digital technologies, are reshaping the environment in which democratic institutions and citizens operate.
The FFPA therefore moves beyond a narrow understanding of electoral assistance and embraces the wider democratic ecosystem in which credible elections, accountable institutions, political participation, information integrity, peaceful political competition and democratic resilience are interconnected.
Fabio Bargiacchi, Founder and Executive Director of ECES, stated:
“The signature of this Framework Partnership represents an important milestone for ECES and recognition of sixteen years of work dedicated to developing and implementing a specialised European approach to electoral and political process support.
Since ECES was established, we have believed that credible elections cannot be supported in isolation. Electoral assistance must be connected with democratic governance, institutional strengthening, political dialogue, conflict prevention, information integrity and, above all, long-term partnerships based on local ownership.
Being selected by the European Commission as one of five Framework Partners gives us both great pride and an important responsibility. We look forward to working closely with the European Commission, EU Delegations and EU Member States to translate this partnership into concrete support for democratic institutions, electoral stakeholders and citizens worldwide.”
The Framework Partnership provides the strategic basis through which the European Commission may subsequently award grants for specific actions within the agreed Strategic Plan. It is established in the context of an initial financial envelope of EUR 28 million, with the broader perspective of encouraging further European engagement and resources, including from EU Member States.
For ECES, the signature therefore represents both recognition and responsibility: recognition of the organisation’s accumulated experience, partnerships and methodological innovation, and responsibility to continue developing practical European responses to the increasingly complex challenges facing democracy worldwide.
With the FFPA now signed, ECES begins a new four-year chapter of cooperation with the European Union — building on sixteen years of experience while looking firmly towards the future of European support to electoral and political processes.
A European Response. A global partnership. A shared commitment to democratic resilience.
