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Result Area 1: Conflict Prevention

 

 

Activity 1.1: The AAEA General Assembly and 9th Annual Continental Forum of EMBs

 

After the successful holding of the 8th continental forum of EMBs and the AAEA General Assembly in Cotonou, Benin – with the support of the 2nd phase of the project - the AAEA resolved to convene the next General Assembly and the 9th continental forum of EMBs in 2024. It will gather an average of 100 participants from AU Member states, including representatives of African EMBs and other electoral stakeholders. Beyond the promotion of a common culture of prevention of electoral violence, the success of this upcoming event will help build a community of EMB leaders who share common values, jointly work towards the consolidation of integrity in elections and support each other especially when facing challenges related to their offices.

 

 

Activity 1.2: Peer technical support missions to EMBs in selected countries holding elections (Namibia, Ghana)

 

“Peer technical support missions” to countries that have undergone unconstitutional changes in the past years and will face elections in the project implementation period. The missions will support EMBs ahead and immediately after elections in the aforementioned selected countries holding elections in 2024/2025 by deploying a team of peers from sister EMBs. The selected countries represent the most important elections in Central, Southern, Eastern and Western Africa. Peer support missions conducted in the project in the past year have highlighted the importance and relevance of such exchanges, allowing for key exchanges on best practices and lessons learnt.

The missions will be organized by the AAEA in collaboration with the AUC and composed of a group of 5 EMB chairpersons from Africa. They will support chairpersons of sister EMBs during the last stages of the election and provide them with external technical perspectives, peer-to-peer interaction and advice and moral support. These missions will be deployed over an everage period of 7 days. In particular, those missions have already been completed:

  • AAEA Peer Support Solidarity Mission to Namibia. Commissioners from Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Togo, Uganda and Zanzibar arrived in Namibia to join the Association of African Election Authorities (AAEA) Solidarity Mission, which took place from November 25 to 29 in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. The mission aimed to explore Namibia's political landscape and recent developments, as well as the legal and operational framework of the elections, in order to support the Chairperson of the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN), Dr. Elsie T. Nghikembua.  Field support was offered by the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) and the African Union (AU).
  • AAEA Peer Support Solidarity Mission to Ghana. A delegation od EMBs part of the AAEA went to Accra, Republic of Ghana on the country’s General Elections scheduled for 07 December 2024. Field support was offered by the European Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) and the African Union (AU).

 

Activity 1.3: Capacity building training in election observation

 

In order to enhance its capacity in election observation, the project will support the AU in organising 3 four-day trainings in English, French, Arabic and Portuguese for cohorts of core team members, with 30 participants for each training. This will enable the AUC DEAU to strengthen its database of expert observers with specialized skills in legal, political media, gender and electoral administration expertise.

This activity will also build on ECES extensive experience in providing capacity building trainings across the electoral cycle. It is in this context that in 2008 together with Jareth Merz7 and Urban Republic8 ECES produced the documentary entitled “An African Election”. The film follows the 2008 presidential elections in Ghana, and looks behind the scenes at the complex, political machinery of a democracy struggling to legitimize itself to its first-world contemporaries.

In 2022, ECES with the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) of Kenya and Jareth Merz develop a documentary on Kenya’s 2022 election experience: “Kenya's Democratic Journey”. The documentary serves as an important lessons-learned resource following the successful conclusion of the August 2022 General Elections, the declaration of winners and the transition into a new administration. This documentary will be used together with “An African Election” to promote the following during trainings:

  • Develop a well-documented peace promotion resource for election stakeholders.
  • Promote peace messaging by all key actors of the electoral process.
  • Engage key political actors towards reinforcing their roles in deepening democratic practices in Kenya and beyond.
  • Highlight the challenges all stakeholders face in holding peaceful and credible elections in Kenya, Africa, and beyond.

 

 

Activity 1.4. Technical assistance tailored to the needs of the EMB

 

In order to support the EMBs staff and institution in the pre-electoral period, 7 technical support missions will be organized in the framework of the project. Technical support in the pre and post electoral period is an important tool to have at disposal for an electoral management body. This activity will involve the provision of a specialized team of experts to the selected EMB. The support and composition of the technical experts of the team will be customized to the needs and specific requirements of each commission, ensuring a collaborative and integrated approach. The engagement is designed to be intensive and interactive, with the expert team working in close coordination with the EMB personnel for a predetermined period leading up to the elections.

The identification of the EMBs to receive the technical support will be done in liaison with the Italian ministry of foreign affairs to identify the countries that are a considered priority for Italy. Furthermore, experts from ECES’s as well as the African Union's (AU) roster will be deployed to assist the mission. This strategic deployment is designed to ensure that the mission benefits from specialized knowledge and skills, enhancing the effectiveness of the support provided to the Electoral Management Body.

 

 

Activity 1.5 Development and approval of ACDEG Material

 

When it comes to the ACDEG strategy, the AU intends to finalize and disseminate educative material both for the teachers and the learners for each level of education (pre-school and primary school; secondary schools; university). The 13 documents produced during the first two phases of the Project will be approved by the AU Member States, RECs, RMs and AU Organs level.

Documents produced in the first two phases of the project will be approved as a first activity of this third phase of the project.

Once the documents are approved at the level of RECs, Member States, RMs and AU organs the drafting and planning of the dissemination pilot phase will start. A series of meetings will be conducted to plan and disseminate the material produced. The pilot phase will start in the framework of the proposed phase of the project.

 

 

Result Area 2: Post-Conflict Peace-Building (C)/ (NAMS)

 

 

Activity 2.1 Continental support to the African Union on Transitional Justice.

 

The African Union conducts several important activities on transitional justice. The Continental Forum is an annual multi-stakeholder platform aimed at reviewing the state of Transitional Justice (TJ) in Africa with the goal of strengthening TJ mechanisms and practices. At the heart of this review is the identification of emerging issues that present new opportunities for transitional justice theory, practice, and policy interventions.

The AUTJP is a continental framework that provides guidance to African Union member states on how to recover from protracted violent conflicts while in the process building peace, strengthening democratic governance, and advancing socio-economic development.

The project will support the organisation of the next forum, in addition, the project will continue its support to the Woman forum for transitional justice and the Youth focused forums on Transitional justice. This support will allow to have a brother and deeper knowledge of transitional justice not only among experts and professors, but most importantly among citizens that are the grassroot of Transitional Justice.