The Commonwealth will hold its latest training event for junior election professionals in Gaborone from 10-15 August 2015.
The Commonwealth will hold its latest training event for junior election professionals in Gaborone from 10-15 August 2015. The event is organised in partnership with the Independent Electoral Commission of Botswana.
The training will explore ways in which electoral democracy can be strengthened within the Commonwealth Africa region. The workshop will be attended by junior election professionals from 17 regional Commonwealth election management bodies, namely Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana, Lesotho, Kenya, Nigeria, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zanzibar.
"This initiative is a tangible illustration of how important well-managed and credible elections are to the Commonwealth, which has democracy as one of its core values,” said Linford Andrews, Political Adviser at the Commonwealth, in his speech opening the event.
He added: "The quest for electoral democracy is never a completed task. Our hope, therefore, is that this workshop will help your respective electoral commissions build capacity to deliver more transparent, credible, and inclusive elections across the Commonwealth Africa region."
The Commonwealth Junior Election Professionals Initiative is part of the Commonwealth Electoral Network, which was launched in 2010 with the aim of promoting best practices among Commonwealth election management bodies.
The initiative is funded by the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and is designed to respond to the needs of the Electoral Network. This is achieved through the delivery of a capacity-building programme to nurture the next generation of Commonwealth electoral administrators.
The initiative creates opportunities for junior election professionals to network within the family of Commonwealth election management bodies. The aim is to share knowledge and experience, thereby advancing their common goal of delivering credible and inclusive elections.
Mr Tiro Seeletso, Secretary to the Independent Election Commission of Botswana, welcomed the training workshop as, “an important event toward building the capacity of electoral organisations in the region, as well as providing a space for electoral professionals to network and exchange ideas and practices.”
Mr Seeletso said: "This is a unique opportunity for colleagues from across the Commonwealth Africa region to come together and discuss the issues and challenges we face in our work. I wish you every success in your discussions and future careers.”
Following a pilot workshop in New Delhi in October 2013, the Junior Election Professionals Initiative has organised a series of regional events: a Pacific region workshop was held in Canberra, Australia, in March 2014; a Caribbean and Americas workshop was held in Kingston, Jamaica in September 2014; and an Asia region workshop was held in New Delhi, India, in March 2015.
Following the Africa region workshop in Gaborone, the Initiative will have trained over 90 junior election professionals from 41 Commonwealth member states in electoral best practice.
