Customised introduction to electoral administration module workshop for Zambia Provincial and District Electoral Officers

The Electoral Commission of Zambia (ECZ) in partnership with the Zambia Election Support project of the United National Development Programme (UNDP) supported a BRIDGE workshop on Introduction to Election Administration from 11^th to 15^th December 2023 in Lusaka, Zambia. The Workshop was aimed at enhancing the capacity of the Commission’s Provincial and District Electoral Officers in readiness for the conduct of various electoral activities leading to the 2026 General Election.

The workshop was graced by the presence of one of the ECZ Commissioners, Major General Vincent Mukanda (Rtd),  who officially opened the workshop but remained in attendance throughout the whole duration of the workshop. The Commissioner, in his opening remarks encouraged the participants to be committed and ensure they actively participated in all sessions.

Twenty seven (4 women and 23 men) ECZ staff participated in the workshop held in Lusaka, facilitated by the TtF Complete level facilitators, Mataa Sikota and Anna Mulenga Nkaka and Accrediting-level facilitator, Rindai Chipfunde Vava. 

Participants demonstrated enthusiasm and creativity during implementation of various activities of the Agenda. In addition, participants expressed their commitment to apply electoral management strategies that will support the inclusion of minority groups in their districts. During the feedback sessions, some mentioned that the concepts and knowledge acquired from the workshop provoked latent ideas that they will actively explore in developing and implementing electoral programmes for the benefit of the electorate. ‘The facilitators were well-organised, knowledgeable and created a conducive learning environment, with interesting activities, which brought out the best from all of us’, remarked one of the participants.

The workshop ended on day five and in his closing remarks Major General Vincent Mukanda, thanked the funding partners (UNDP), facilitators and participants for the successful delivery of the workshop.  He encouraged participants to apply the knowledge gained from the workshop in order to promote international and regional standards of administering elections.

The end of course evaluation revealed an overall satisfaction of the participants on the content delivery of the module through the use of various methods and electoral skills resulting in participants’ enhanced knowledge in electoral administration.