BRIDGE workshop in introduction to electoral administration

The workshop explored principles of introduction to electoral administration and electoral systems and investigated different types of electoral systems. It developed planning and design skills, increase electoral knowledge from observation point of view.

This professional development and networking enables skilled and committed staff to apply BRIDGE learning in their important observation work in preparation for the future Election Observation Missions.

In their evaluations, the participants expressed their overall satisfaction with the course and emphasized the need for more BRIDGE training, also targeting more modules related to the short and long-term observation missions.

The customization of the module allowed participants to discuss in-depth the importance of elections, international standards, electoral cycle, different types of electoral systems, polling day simulation, voters’ information and registration. The facilitators used in full length and very efficiently BRIDGE facilitation techniques to foster participative discussions and exercises. Icebreakers and Energizers kept participants engaged and interested along the days. Topics were assertive and targeting quite well the needs and the workshop aim. Participants’ expectation met at the end of the workshop.

There was a great deal of appreciation from participants for opportunities to work with elections and support the Electoral Affairs Department newly established within the League of Arab States. Participants were willing to contribute and to share information from their own experience.

Workshop participants have positively evaluated the workshop in terms of content and methodology. Day after day, the participants’ appreciation of the BRIDGE interactive approach was growing and showing through their motivated involvement and interest in the workshop activities.

Among key comments participants mentioned regarding BRIDGE is the distinguished and unique BRIDGE interactive methodology, value of their own experiences, and respect of their opinion

The workshop gender balance of (12 Males, 12 Females) from different Departments in LAS and nine Arab nationalities.

At the end of the workshop, conclusion was reached by the participants through the following recommendations:

• Consistency of organizing training courses on BRIDGE methodology, and the expansion in this regard to include the 24 modules of BRIDGE which covers all fields related to elections;
• Electoral Architecture: Elections Legal Framework, Boundary Delimitation, Electoral Systems, Electoral Management Design, Political Financing.
• Electoral Operations: Voter Registration, Pre-Election activities, Electoral Training, Polling-Counting and Results, External Voting, Electoral Security.
• Working on the full accreditation of more facilitators from the League of Arab States, which will enable LAS to have a Team of facilitators that could be depended on in the future Training courses delivered to LAS employees and concerned authorities in member states.
• Foster cooperation with pioneer International and Regional organizations in the elections field, as well as providing trainings which included different stages of electoral process, as well as the legation of some of LAS employees to these organizations to work in their Long Term Observation Missions.
• The development of Electoral Affairs Department to be a specialized body with an independent budget.
• Working on the formation of a Core Team of experts which includes (Legal Analyst- Media Analyst – Electoral Analyst) and working on training them for the above mentioned future missions.
• Hold periodical meetings between LAS officials (Electoral affairs Department) and their counter parts in other organizations to exchange experiences and views in related fields.