Customized Introduction to Electoral Administration for NEC

Electoral Administration Course for the National Electoral Commission staff, Women Wings from Political Parties and CSOs in Hargeisa

The Netherlands Institute for Multi-party Democracy (NIMD) implemented a five-day course on Electoral Administration for National Electoral Commission staff, women from Women Wings of the three (3) main political parties and Civil society representatives in Somaliland. Twenty-seven participants (all females) attended the workshop.

The workshop was conducted in Hargeisa from February 15^th  to 19^th  February 2025. It was led by BRIDGE facilitators one based in Somaliland,  Abdijalil Tahr Korshel and accrediting-level facilitators, Rindai Chipfunde Vava from Zimbabwe and Wellingtone Katantha of Malawi Electoral Commission as well a national resource person Muhyadiin Yousuf Ibrahim from the Political Party Registration office in Somaliland.

The workshop was aimed at providing participants with an understanding of electoral administration, focussing on accepted international standards and fundamental obligations. Furthermore, it also equipped participants with the principles, and management techniques necessary for effective electoral practices. It equipped the participants with knowledge on the electoral cycle and other key electoral processes such as boundary delimitation, voter registration, candidate nomination, voting, counting, and result management. The main emphasis was to ensure that these processes are transparent, accurate, and credible. Additionally, the workshop covered sessions to enhance participants’ ability to appreciate the necessary and adequate operational planning, promotion of accountability, inclusion, and risk mitigation in election management. The choice of participants took into account their role as stakeholders in the electoral processes, that they have a key role in providing checks and balances to ensure that electoral administration processes are implemented with due regard to the electoral law and international best practices.

The workshop was opened by the NIMD Country Director Abdijalil Korshel who encouraged the participants to be committed and urged active participation by participants as this was a rare opportunity to participate in such courses.

Participants enjoyed the workshop, learning methodology and training techniques. They provided feedback at the end of each day on the content as well as the conduct of the workshop through verbal and written evaluations.

The end of course evaluation revealed the overall satisfaction of the participants on the active participation and interaction between participants and facilitators. The methodology and techniques used by the facilitators were well-received, described as engaging, enjoyable, and educational. The content was assessed as being well administered and the application was appropriate. They also valued sharing of case-studies from other countries. Participants performed well with an elevated level of professionalism and enthusiasm throughout the course. The main comments from the oral evaluation revealed that participants were satisfied with the course content, methodology, facilitation and customisation of the course.

Participants found sessions on the electoral cycle and international principles of elections management highly informative, with many appreciating the practical application of these principles and how they could guide election management bodies (EMBs) in avoiding past errors and improving election administration. Topics such as cyber security, electoral management guiding principles, voter education and voter registration were noted as relevant and very useful. Participants recommended extending more similar courses to more participants in the main political parties and also having more workshops with a mix of participants with the National Electoral Commission (NEC) commissioners and staff as well as from civic organisations for constructive dialogues and exchanges. Some of the participants expressed enthusiasm towards attaining facilitation status so that they could contribute as trainers in democracy, governance and elections.