| Capacity Building Program for Middle Level Electoral Officials |
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| Last updated 2016-04-19 |
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(Belarus, Bhutan, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Indonesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Taiwan, Thailand)
The second Capacity Building Program for Middle-Level Electoral Officials took place from April 7th to 16th of this year. Under the theme of "Developing Strategies for Voting and Counting Management" 20 participants from 10 A-WEB member countries convened in Incheon. Throughout the program the 20th Korean National Assembly Elections were the focal point of all seminars and discussions and participants were given the chance to observe the Korean voting and counting process first-hand.
(Introducing the electoral system of the Republic of Korea)
(Hands-on experience of mock early voting ①)
(Hands-on experience of mock early voting ②)
(Country report)
On the first day of the program participants attended a lecture introducing A-WEB and its partners followed by an extensive introduction of the Korean election system as well as the early voting process. To deepen their understanding of the latter, participants were guided to a mock early voting station where they voted and experienced counting first-hand. Participants were especially interested in the ballot paper printer for early voting and the Optical Scanner for counting. The afternoon session focused on "Challenges on Voting and Counting Systems of Participating Countries', which were presented by each country's speaker.
(Visit to a Polling Station for early voting, Ihwa-dong, Jongno-gu)
(Seoul International Forum on Elections, Shilla Hotel Seoul)
(Visit to a No.7 polling station, Yeonsong Elementary school, Song-do 2-dong, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon)
(Visit to a counting centre, Seonhak Gymnasium, Yeonsu-Gu)
On April 9th, participants observed the actual early voting process at an early voting polling station in Ihwadong, Jongno, Seoul. They were led through the voting process for both district and out-of-district voters and could thus compare the differences between the two. On April 12th, participants attended the Seoul International Forum on Elections (SIFE) at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul and participated in the following three seminars: Influence of ICT on Elections, Role of Citizens in the Development of Democracy and Ways to Promote Women’s Participation in Politics. On April 13th, Election Day in Korea, participants visited a polling station in Songdo and in the evening also had the chance to observe a counting centre in Incheon.
(Seminar on 'Hands-on Experience in Election ICT with a Case Study of Election ICT in Kyrgyz Parliamentary Elections')
(Seminar on 'Strategies for Marginalized Voters to Engage in Elections')
(Seminar on 'Strategies and methods for improvement of professionalism in electoral management')
In addition, the PCOS (Precinct-Count Optical Scanner), used in Kyrgyz Parliamentary Elections, was introduced to the participants and used as an example to emphasize the role of ICT in elections. On the remaining days of the program seminars on 'Strategies for Marginalized Voters to Engage in Elections' and 'Strategies and methods for improvement of professionalism in electoral management' were held and participants presented solutions to the challenges their countries face on the very last day of the program.
(Visit to National Election Commission)
(Visit to the Korean National Assembly)
(Visit to a Special Exhibition on the History of Contemporary Korean Elections)
(Cheonggye Stream)
Additionally, participants visited the National Election Commission and National Assembly of Korea and also went to a special exhibition on the history of Korean elections through which they were not only able to see the development of democratic elections but also the history of election management in Korea. Afterwards participants rounded off the culture tour of the day with a visit to Election promotion event at the Cheonggye Stream.
(Closing Ceremony)
The activities provided by this Capacity Building Program for Mid-Level Electoral Officials are hoped to inspire participants to use their expert knowledge to improve voting and counting mechanisms and foster democratic elections.
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