Voter Registration and Technology in Ségou, the capital of the Bambara Empire

With successful presidential elections followed by parliamentary elections in 2013, Mali still has many challenges to overcome, including finding an acceptable voter registration process that would systematically take into account new voters.

From May 12 -15, 2014, the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) organized the third of a series of BRIDGE trainings, this time on voter registration and electoral technology. As part of a larger technical assistance program funded by USAID, IFES is one of the very few international organizations currently providing direct capacity building services to Malian electoral management bodies.

Participants to the training included members of the three electoral management bodies, namely the Malian National Independent Electoral Commission (CENI), the National Electoral Directorate (DGE) and the Ministry of Territorial Administration. Representatives from the International Republican Institute (IRI), the UN mission to Mali (MINUSMA), the African Union Sahel Mission (MISAHEL), local officials from the Ségou region and political parties also took active part in the training activities and discussions.

The training offered a great platform for participants to come up with a series of recommendations on the usage of technology in the Malian context as well as on different methods of updating the voter register on a systematic basis.

As the other two BRIDGE trainings organized by IFES in Mali, this workshop was welcome with great enthusiasm and saw the participation of the Governor of the Ségou region who made us the honor of opening and closing the training which was facilitated by Mr. Sidi Diawara, IFES Country Director in Mali and Workshop facilitator, as well as Kamissa Camara, Expert Facilitator and international consultant.