Pro-Electoral Integrity is funded under the Italian-African Peace Facility (IAPF), the cooperation framework established between Italy and the African Union in 2007 to support peace, security, and conflict prevention across the continent. It is the instrument through which this long-standing partnership is applied specifically to electoral and democratic governance.

The project is built on a clear division of roles. The AUC-PAPS leads the cooperation and sets its priorities, ensuring continental ownership and legitimacy, while ECES provides electoral expertise, project management, and operational support. This model allows the project to accompany the African Union, the African Electoral Management Bodies and their regional networks.

Since 2022, the cooperation has been delivered in three successive phases, each organised around two areas of work of the Italian-African Peace Facility: 

conflict prevention and post-conflict peace-building.

This phased approach gives the project the continuity to build on past results while remaining flexible enough to respond to the African Union's evolving priorities and to Africa's demanding electoral calendar.

At the heart of the project is a commitment to African-led, peer-to-peer cooperation. Pro-Electoral Integrity creates the conditions for electoral authorities to learn directly from one another, exchange comparative experience, and support each other through shared challenges — building a continental community of practice grounded in common standards and institutional resilience.