The European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) took part in the Planning Workshop of the Plurinational Electoral Body (OEP), held on 7 and 8 January 2026 in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra. This strategic space brought together members of the Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE), presidents and members of the Departmental Electoral Tribunals (TEDs), as well as technical authorities of the Electoral Body.
The objective of the workshop was to strengthen inter-institutional coordination between the TSE and the TEDs, establish harmonised criteria in the jurisdictional, administrative and technical spheres, and identify key priorities and risks of the subnational electoral process, with a view to ensuring that the March 2026 elections are conducted in line with the highest standards of integrity, transparency and efficiency.
Representing ECES were Carolina Floru, Senior Expert on Electoral Observation and Civil Society, and Katia Uriona, Senior Expert on Gender and Parity. Their participation helped to further strengthen the professional and cooperation ties between the OEP and ECES, as an international organisation specialised in supporting the organisation, planning, observation and follow-up of electoral processes in diverse contexts worldwide.
During the workshop, important agreements were reached regarding follow-up and technical support to the OEP in the framework of the subnational elections, in key areas such as strategic planning, electoral risk management, institutional communication, the prevention of disinformation, and the strengthening of cross-cutting approaches to gender, parity and inclusion.
The workshop featured notable interventions by national and departmental electoral authorities, who agreed that the subnational elections represent a highly complex organisational challenge requiring institutional unity, technical rigour and permanent coordination among the different levels of the Electoral Body. Likewise, the OEP reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, legal certainty and the strict observance of the electoral calendar.
Among the strategic priorities identified were the strengthening of the Preliminary Results System (SIREPRE), practical and didactic training for polling station officials, the optimisation of departmental tallying processes, and the need to address disinformation in a comprehensive manner by combining technical, regulatory and communication-based responses. In this context, the strategic role of the Intercultural Service for the Strengthening of Democracy (SIFDE) in civic education was underscored.
ECES positively valued the methodological approach of the workshop, structured around induction sessions, exchanges of criteria and joint planning, as well as the clarity achieved in defining tasks and responsibilities just weeks ahead of election day. ECES’s participation reaffirms its commitment to accompanying the OEP and Bolivian electoral institutions in strengthening credible, inclusive electoral processes aligned with international standards.
Thanks to the generous financial support of the European Union and the Foreign Policy Instruments (FPI), the European Centre for Electoral Support will continue to provide technical assistance and strategic accompaniment to the Plurinational Electoral Body throughout the 2026 Subnational Elections cycle, in coordination with electoral authorities and key actors of Bolivia’s democratic system.
