| Election Management Capacity Building Program |
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| Last updated 2018-08-17 |
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The Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) organized The 4th Election Management Capacity Building Program (CBP) from July 31st to August 19th in Songdo, Incheon with 20 participants coming from the Dominican Republic, Gambia, Kosovo, Palestine, Taiwan, Zanzibar, and Sri Lanka. The CBP of August focused on the increasing political participation of marginalized group. The participants shared the status of voting groups and their election systems in each country, and established strategies to strengthen the political participation of marginalized groups during the lectures and action plan activities.
After the orientation, the participants have introduced electoral policies and election management of each country, and have presented current measures being taken to increase the political participation of marginalized groups in their countries.
(Prof. Kyung-bae Park from Central Officials Training Institute of Korea is explaining about the action plan activities to the participants)
Professor Kyung-bae Park from Central Officials Training Institute of Korea explained to the participants the action plan activities to establish strategies for increasing the political participation of the marginalized groups. Professor Park emphasized selecting specific group among the marginalized group in each country and setting concrete statistics and goals in increasing political participation.
(Prof. Indra Kesuma Nasution from the University of North Sumatra is giving his lecture to the participants)
Professor Indra Kesuma Nasution from the University of North Sumatra gave a special lecture on “Role of Ethnicity in Political Participation.” He introduced the various groups of marginalized voters in the North Sumatra Medan region of Indonesia and to discuss with the participants about the efforts needed to increase their political participation. He emphasized that it is necessary to bring about effective change through the cooperation of various organizations by establishing a social network.
(Ms. Uyanga Batzorigt from the General Election Commission of Mongolia is giving her lecture to the participants)
On the following day, Ms. Uyanga Batzorigt from the General Election Commission of Mongolia gave a lecture to the participants on the subject of “Inclusion of Marginalized Voters in Mongolia.” She explained the groups of marginalized voters in Mongolia including nomadic people and introduced various measures to increase political participation in Mongolia, such as registering voters through a visit and setting up Ger polling stations. The participants discussed the significance of the measures to increase the political participation of marginalized voters in Mongolia and how they could be changed and applied to their home countries.
(Prof. Seong-hoon Jang from Korea Civic Education Institute for Democracy is giving his lecture to the participants)
In the afternoon session, Professor Seong-hoon Jang from Korea Civic Education Institute for Democracy gave a lecture on the subject of “Political Participation of Marginalized Groups in Korea.” He introduced Korea’s marginalized groups including overseas Koreans and North Korean defectors and explained the electoral systems that are being implemented to encourage voting of marginalized groups such as mail-in voting, early voting, and shipboard voting. He also introduced devices and systems to assist direct voting of people with disabilities (PWD), and participants showed great interest in the electoral policies and system designed to increase political participation of marginalized voters in Korea, followed by many questions and discussions.
(Group photo at Gyeongbokgung Palace with A-WEB staffs)
(Ms. Valmire Selmani from Central Election Commission of Republic of Kosovo and Mr. Juma Sanifu Sheha from Zanzibar Electoral Commission of United Republic of Tanzania. They wrote their name in Korean at the Sejong and Chungmugong Story Exhibition Hall)
On the day of culture tour, the participants visited the places of Gyeongbokgung Palace, N Seoul Tower, the War Memorial of Korea, and Gwanghwamun to experience Korean culture and learn about Korean history. The participants said that it was meaningful to learn about the background of how Korea became to be divided into two Koreas (North and South) while listening to the explanation about the Korean War at the War Memorial of Korea. At the Sejong and Chungmugong Story Exhibition Hall near Gwanghwamun, the participants had an enjoyable time while learning their name in Hangul and try writing their name in Korean.
(Mr. Maxim Sansour, a Communications Advisor of Development Alternatives Incorporated, is giving his lecture to the participants) In the morning session of the 7th day, Mr. Maxim Sansour, Communications Advisor of Development Alternatives Incorporated, gave a lecture on the subject of “Participation of Marginalized Groups in Elections in Arab countries.” He introduced examples of ways to increase political participation of marginalized groups in various countries such as Tunisia, Libya, Jordan, Yemen, and Lebanon, thereby enhancing the understanding of participants’ electoral systems in Arab countries.
(Mr. Junhan Lee from Incheon National University is giving his lecture to the participants)
In the afternoon session, Professor Junhan Lee from Incheon National University gave a lecture on “Women’s Participation in Electoral Processes.” He covered the history of women’s political rights and of women’s suffrage, and he discussed the status of women’s seats in parliament around the world with participants. Especially, he led an in-depth discussion about the gender quota system and helped participants to think and share about ways to increase women’s substantial political participation in their respective countries.
(Participants are listening to the explanation of Hana, tour guide, about DMZ at the DMZ exhibition center)
On the 8th day, participants visited the demilitarized zone of Korea (DMZ). The participants went into the third tunnel and also went to the Dorasan observatory to take a look at the North Korean side. They listened to the explanation about the relationship between North and South Korea, the lives of North Korean citizens, and the separated family.
(Mr. Gwang-il Park from National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea is giving his lecture to the participants) In the 9th day morning session, Mr. Gwang-il Park from National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea gave a lecture on “NEC of Korea’s international Electoral Support: Upgrade of IT Infrastructure through ODA Projects.” He introduced the NEC’s ODA programs and explained Korea’s election management equipment and technologies including data centers, election information systems, voting machines, and optical scanners. In particular, participants discussed whether online voting could lead to an increase of political participation of the marginalized groups and what resources may be needed for implementing such strategy.
(Mr. Don Thilina Ishan Wickramarathna from The Election Commission of Sri Lanka is presenting the action plan for increasing political participation of marginalized groups in Sri Lanka)
(Mr. Ahmadou Taal from Independent Electoral Commission of the Gambia is replying to questions about the action plan of Gambia)
On the 10th day, an action plan of each participant country was presented under the guidance of Professor Kyung-bae Park from Central Officials Training Institute of Korea. During the program period, participants gathered ideas from lectures and discussions with other participants and they developed strategies to increase political participation of marginalized groups in their respective country with their colleagues. Through the action plan activity, participants could present concrete, detailed goals and measures to increase political participation of marginalized groups, exchange opinions with other participants, and develop a feasible plan to implement in their countries.
(Group photo at the closing ceremony)
On August 10, 2018, the 4th Election Management Capacity Building Program was concluded with the farewell speech and the conferment of a certificate of completion by the A-WEB Secretary General Yong-Hi Kim. The Secretary-General emphasized the need to increase the political participation of marginalized voters who are less likely to get attention in society. The active participation and enthusiasm of the participants have been shining throughout this program, and the A-WEB will continue to lead the exchanges of experiences and expertise among the election management bodies in order to strengthen the electoral democracy around the world.
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