TRAINING OF ELECTION OFFICIALS IN THE COMMONWEALTH
AUSTRALIA’S LEAD IN THE
Left: Participants in the Commonwealth Junior Election Professionals (JEP) Initiative. Images: Commonwealth Secretariat.
strengthening the independence of EMBs.
The close and long-standing relationship which the Commonwealth Secretariat enjoys
hosted under the auspices of the JEP in Africa, Asia (twice in India), the Caribbean and the Pacific. Almost 90 junior election professionals have completed JEP training programmes, including 39 men and 49 women, from 42 national EMBs in Commonwealth member states. Based on these successes, Australia has decided to continue with the initiative for a second three year phase. The announcement by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on 28 November 2015 at CHOGM in Malta confirmed Australia’s willingness to provide an additional grant of AUD$ 1 million to support the initiative’s second phase.
Since its inception the initiative recognised the importance which
Commonwealth member states collectively and individually attach to free and fair elections as a cornerstone of democracy. During the second phase it will therefore remain the initiative’s principal aim to continue to meet and support stable and effective electoral processes that will regularly culminate in successful democratic elections. It is widely recognised that the successful planning and conduct of any electoral process is dependent on sustained preparation between elections. In this regard EMBs are considered
not only as vital partners in advancing the success rate of democratic processes, but also as custodians of the Commonwealth’s fundamental democratic values and beliefs. Training programmes have in the past exposed significant variances in the needs and requirements that exist across the Commonwealth permanent EMBs on the one hand, and non-permanent and micro- EMBs on the other. Building on the lessons learned during the first phase, the JEP initiative phase two will consequently continue to implement a model of regional, principles-based capacity building events targeting these two distinct groups.
Some of the unique challenges faced by non- permanent and micro- EMBs in the Commonwealth Pacific and Caribbean
regions reside in their difficulties accessing and applying best practice principles. With this in mind, phase two will continue to build and adapt training
The Parliamentarian | 2016: Issue One | 65
interventions to equip those junior election professionals, deployed in the absence of a permanent EMB, with an understanding of the principles of effective electoral administration.
Delivery of the JEP training initiative has also demonstrated the large degree of convergence between the challenges faced by Commonwealth permanent EMBs. The training programmes being developed for this target group during the next phase will consolidate the successful ‘principles-based’ training approach that has already been established while providing more in-depth treatment of topics such as political party and campaign financing, managing the power of incumbency, and
with EMBs put it in a unique position to consult and jointly identify the key training needs of Commonwealth junior election professionals. The Secretariat will accordingly continue to lead in the planning and implementation of the next phase of the initiative in close consultation and cooperation with regional and other bodies already active in this field. Australia is proud to remain associated with the JEP initiative and will continue to support the evolution of its second phase to consolidate the gains already achieved and to expand the reach and depth of this important network of young professionals in the Commonwealth.
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