Introduction to Electoral Administration

The United Nations Integrated Electoral Assistance Team (IEAT) in South Sudan implemented a 4-day BRIDGE modular workshop, Introduction to Electoral Administration, for staff members of National Election Commission (NEC) of South Sudan and other electoral stakeholders.

The workshop, conducted in Juba, South Sudan from April 29th to May 3rd, 2024, was led by BRIDGE facilitators Natia Kashakashvili and Shalva Tskhakaya, with support from Taona Mwanyisa. Twenty-nine participants (14 female and 15 male) representing the NEC, CSOs, and UN agencies attended the workshop.

The workshop aimed to enhance broad understanding of key standards, principles and election management techniques that are fundamental to effective electoral practice throughout the electoral cycle. The workshop learning objectives were:

• To explore electoral standards and the significance of international obligations and good practices.
• To explore the nature and purpose of the legal framework and how it is applied in the electoral context.
• To introduce the main principles of electoral system design.
• To explore various models of EMBs, their functions and guiding principles.
• To explore opportunities for promoting equal access to electoral processes.
• To introduce concepts and methodologies of electoral operational planning as a management tool.
• To discuss rationale and importance of voter and civic education programmes.

The workshop was opened and participants welcomed by the UN IEAT Senior Electoral Officer, Evelina Krinickaite. The workshop introduced participants to the basic concepts of various electoral topics, including key international obligations of elections, the legal framework of elections, principles of electoral system design, electoral management body models/powers/functions, stakeholder relationships, access to electoral processes, electoral operational planning, and civic and voter education programme rationale.

Participants enjoyed the BRIDGE learning methodology and training techniques. Participants provided their feedback at the end of each day on the content and the conduct of the workshop through verbal and written evaluations. In these, participants praised the systematic training approach and sessions, emphasizing the ability of the facilitators to explain concepts in simple language and relate them to the local context, which enhanced understanding and engagement. The use of group work and presentations was highlighted as highly effective for long-term knowledge retention, with participants noting the informative nature of the presentations and the opportunity to learn from electoral administration practices of other countries. They appreciated the interactive approach, which allowed for active participation and knowledge sharing amongst participants. Some felt that more time to cover the extensive information would be valuable, and despite the thorough coverage of topics such as voter education and electoral operational planning, participants suggested that additional workshops from BRIDGE would be beneficial. Overall, participants found the training immensely valuable to their roles as electoral practitioners and commended the facilitators for a well-planned and engaging training that successfully met its objectives, with some describing it as the best learning experience they had ever had.

At the end of the workshop all participants were awarded the certificates of completion of the modular workshop.