BRIDGE COURSE used as an induction tool for Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of Kenya

BRIDGE COURSE used as an induction tool for Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of Kenya

As part of its commitment to support credible, transparent and peaceful elections and to foster institutional capacity improvement of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the UNDP sponsored a three-day special BRIDGE training for the newly appointed members of the IEBC. This training formed part of a week-long induction programme for the new Commissioners which seek to equip them with the requisite skills they need to prepare for the delivery of a credible and peaceful elections on 8 August 2017.

The workshop was officially opened and closed by the UNDP Chief Technical Advisor and the IEBC Chairperson. They encouraged the participants to be committed and utilise the opportunity to discuss pertinent developments on Kenya’s electoral processes.

Two BRIDGE facilitators participated in the delivery of the each workshop. The Lead Faciltator was Rindai Chipfunde Vava and Joram Rukambe-UNDP Chief Technical Advisor was the Co-facilitator. The facilitators exhibited a combination of professional experience, diverse background and expertise. Presentations were selected and conducted according to the focus agreed upon by IEBC and facilitators.

The facilitation team provided a positive environment and established a good professional relationship with the participants and the positive spirit was maintained throughout the course. The course covered a range of topics like free and fair elections criteria, international standards, guiding principles of election management bodies, types of EMBs, building relationships with stakeholders, voter education and information, voter registration, polling, counting and results, electoral disputes resolution and sustainability.

The 24 participants including 7 Commissioners, 1 Chief Elections Officer, 2 Deputy Chief Elections Officer,9 Directors and 5 managers. The high level participation made the workshop deliberate on key critical issues as well as a sign of   commitment at the highest level. The experience, content knowledge, commitment and enthusiasm demonstrated by all participants throughout the workshop contributed to the achievement of the aims of the training. The mixture of different hierarchies, organisational experiences and expertise contributed to the success of the workshop.

Below are some of the comments by participants on their impression of the course:

• An excellent session

• I enjoyed and learnt a lot

• Very enlightening and useful

• Very useful needed more time

• Very informative and educative

• Icebreakers improved the bonding of Secretariat and new Commissioners

• Excellent Facilitation

• Knowledge and skills extremely relevant to IEBC planning and sustainability

• Practical, informative and self-awakening workshop

• Excellent resource persons

• Well organised, prepared and educative-thanks to UNDP

• Very useful though time was too short