The Secretariat of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB, headquartered in the Republic of Korea) hosted a webinar on Election Management during COVID-19 on 3 June at 8:00 am in local time with an audience of its member organizations and partners in Latin America.

The webinar started with an opening speech of Mr. Jonghyun Choe, Secretary General of A-WEB. Mr. Choe, in his remarks, stressed the importance of A-WEB as a network among EMBs to support and cooperate with each other, especially in times of challenge.

During the webinar, Dr. Daniel Zovatto, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean of International IDEA, delivered a presentation on democracy and elections in times of pandemic in the region. Dr. Zovatto addressed the Latin American context and strongly suggested EMBs make concrete plans before they decide whether to postpone their elections or not.

Three officials of the National Election Commission of the Republic of Korea (NEC ROK) shared their experiences in managing the 21st National Assembly Elections in April when South Korea struggled to contain the Corona virus. They explained the COVID-19 related measures taken in the elections in South Korea and answered the pre-gathered questions from EMBs in Latin America. They pointed out that it is important to make both voters and polling station workers feel safe in polling stations.

The challenges facing EMBs in Latin America and the Caribbean were delivered by Mr. Salvador Romero, President of TSE Bolivia and Mr. Alexander Vega Rocha, National Registrar of RNEC Colombia, and Mr. Carlos Pimentel, Director of the Dominican Republic Chapter of Transparency International.
 
About five thousand attendees worldwide joined this webinar to get ideas on Election Management during COVID-19.  

So far the A-WEB Secretariat has organized and participated in webinars under the theme of election management in times of pandemic with its global partners such as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Arab EMBs, and the Association of European Election Officials (ACEEEO).

A-WEB, the world’s largest international organization in the field of election management, will continue to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and good practices among its members in successfully managing elections in the midst of a pandemic.

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