Two workshops are planned to run from 4-8 September and 11-15 September 2023 for youth and CSOs in Liberia. Ahead of the October 2023 presidential and national assembly elections, National Electoral Commission (NEC ) in Liberia has broadened its operational partnerships with local and international organizations to sensitize and encourage Liberians to participate in the forthcoming elections. For example, it partners with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to establish civic and voter education (CVE) cells in all electoral districts and train its ad-hoc members on how to effectively carry out CVE. However, in order to utilize CVE as a tool to adequately encourage participation, reduce polarization, foster accountability, and prevent election fraud, the efforts of NEC must be complemented by similar engagements carried out by CSOs and political parties to mitigate challenges associated with CVE programming in the country.

CSOs and political parties have important roles to play at distinct phases of the electoral cycle to support NEC to promote seamless voter education interventions. Building their capacity to engage in voter education programs is crucial in Liberia for a variety of reasons. First, it will help to promote informed decision-making among citizens when choosing their leaders. Voter education programs provide accurate and unbiased information on electoral processes, candidates, and issues, allowing citizens to make informed decisions based on their interests and values. 

To this end, the EPSAO (ECOWAS Peace & Security Architecture and Operations) project will support Naymote Partners for Democratic Development to organise a 5-day BRIDGE training on voter information and education for CSOs and political parties in Liberia. This training module will also equip actors with conventional strategies for electoral education to promote electoral accountability. The training specifically targets youth, in line with the project’s commitment to support ECOWAS’ agenda on the promotion of increased youth participation in the electoral process in West Africa. The EPSAO project is co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ GmbH).