On March 1st – 2nd, ECES was honoured to deliver an intensive two-day Coaching Training to the Members of Parliament of the EAC Legislative Assembly (EALA) on Election Observation and Assistance.
This marked the second activity implemented under the Innov-Elections project, which is financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Innov-Elections was developed by ECES and Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies of Pisa (SSSA) and is being implemented with the support of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR).
This Coaching Training aimed to share ECES expertise on electoral assistance and facilitate the exchange of real experiences and good practises between ECES Trainers and the Honourable Members of EALA, with a specific focus on:
undertaking effective observation of elections at higher professional standards, acting impartially;
collecting accurate information;
detecting electoral irregularities;
and drafting objective and pertinent conclusions and recommendations.
The event kicked off with initial remarks from ECES Head of Programmes and Resources Mobilisation and Senior Electoral Expert, Eva Palmans, followed by the opening speeches of the Deputy Rector of School of Advanced Studies “Sant’Anna”, Professor Andrea de Guttry and of the Principal Political Affairs Officer of EAC, David Michael Onen.
During the training, the Honourable Members of EALA shared with us some thoughts about this experience:
“I would like to thank the moderator, the speakers and, first and foremost, the European Centre for Electoral Support, which has recently celebrated the anniversary of its creation. […] I have appreciated the attention and support of this training and of the Innov-Elections project as a whole, to the role of women and gender equality in electoral missions. I hope there will be further opportunities for training with ECES. […] I am confident that after this training we will do a good job as observers”
Hon. Francoise UWUMUKIZA
“I would like to thank ECES Trainers for their presentations. They were very educative as they helped us understand more about specific procedures and technical documents, for instance how to report efficiently and by respecting regional, national and international standards.”
Hon. Fatuma NDAGIZA
“I appreciated ECES Trainers’ presentations, as they opened up my mind and well reflected real situations I have experienced during election observation missions.”
Hon. Ann Itto Leonardo
Training sessions covered all aspects of the Election Observation process, involving ECES Senior Electoral Experts:
Day 1.
- Introduction to Election Observation – Adolfo Cayuso, ECES Senior Electoral Expert;
- Political context – Rindai Vava and Zefanias Matsimbe, ECES Senior Electoral Expert;
- Legal context – Eirini Maria Gounari, ECES Senior Electoral and Legal Expert;
- Establishing an Observation Mission - Adolfo Cayuso, ECES Senior Electoral Expert.
Day 2.
- Media monitoring, institutional communication, fake news, disinformation and social media – Hamza Fassi-Fihri and Wilson Manji, ECES Senior Electoral Experts;
- Reporting forms / Observation checklists – Daria Prapocka, ECES Senior Electoral Experts
- Data tabulation analysis and reporting of Election Day – Daria Prapocka, ECES Senior Electoral Experts
