Post Election Activities BRIDGE Workshop in Sagana, Kenya 19th-21st September 2018

“.. I never understood what IEBC does in between election…… thought they wait for five years…. We more enlighten on the electoral cycle and sustainability.”

Remarks by a participant after a three-day BRIDGE workshop on Post Elections Activities held in September 19^th to 21^st 2018 in Sagana Kenya.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) held its second 2018 BRIDGE Workshop Series in Sagana Kenya. The workshop was organised by IEBC and funded by IFES Kenya. A total of 23 participants drawn from IEBC and various stakeholders who include government department and Civil Society attended the workshop. Eleven of the participants were male while twelve were female representing fifty-two percent. This is a phenomenal achievement of gender balance with over 52% participants representing women.

This was the first workshop organised by IEBC with internal facilitators which is part of the long term strategy to have internal capacity and embrace BRIDGE as a training methodology across the Commission. Interestingly the objectives of this module on Post-Election Activities resonated with the long term plan by the Commission to have internal capacity of Accrediting BRIDGE facilitators.

The workshop, is part of a series of BRIDGE modules to be run in Kenya, aimed to:

1. To enhance skills of the selected staff and key stakeholders using the BRIDGE professional development methodology.
2. To emphasize the importance of the post-election period as the opportune moment for reflection and forward planning.
3. To explore all aspects of sustainability as related to elections.
4. To have fun!!!!

The participants were alert throughout the workshop as demonstrated by the experience shared. facilitators and resource persons were very resourceful and knowledgeable. Participants appreciated the BRIDGE methodology as it made all session interactive throughout the workshop.

During the last session of the workshop, t participants discussed the way forward using the sustainability pillars, In the course of discussions two additional pillars were identified namely; political goodwill and leadership. It was noted that these two additional pillars are at the heart of sustainability in Kenya. They also underscored the need for IEBC to engage stakeholders during the post-election period long before the political environment became polarized. IEBC is expected to complete its post-election evaluation in the coming month.

The facilitators for the course were Immaculate Kassait as the lead, assisted by Anne Nderitu and Gogo Nguma.