Antananarivo, 03 October 2016: The African Union Commission (AUC) Department of Political Affairs through its Democracy and Electoral Assistance Unit in partnership with International IDEA has commenced a five-day Capacity Building Training program on Electoral Administration in Madagascar, using the BRIDGE (Building Resources for Democracy, Governance and Elections) curriculum.

The training forms part of the AUC’s program of follow-up on recommendations of the African Union election observation missions, and aims to help Member States implement recommendations through capacity building and electoral reforms. The objective of the training in Madagascar is to enhance the capacity of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s district-level staff in the preparations of upcoming elections. Some of the topics to be covered during the 5-day training are: Electoral Administration, Legal Framework, Voter Education and Voter Register, among others. This is the second training that the AU and International IDEA is organizing jointly in Madagascar this year – the first took place in May and targeted INEC commissioners and senior-level staff.  

In her opening remarks, H.E. Mrs Hawa Youssouf Ahmed, Head of African Union Liaison Office in Madagascar (AU-LOM), expressed the AUC’s commitment to support the Madagascar Electoral Commission to enhance their capacities in anticipation of the 2018 elections.

On his part, the INEC Chairperson, Mr Herinirina Rakotomanana, expressed profound gratitude to the African Union Commission and International IDEA for the continuous support to the INEC in particular and to the Republic of Madagascar in general. He called on participants to show dedication and commitment during the course and used their skills to help entrench democracy in the Republic of Madagascar.

The training which begun today will end on Friday, 07 October 2016 and is funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).

For more information, contact:
 

Guy Cyrille Tapoko: tapokog@africa-union.org

Democracy and Electoral Assistance Unit
Department of Political Affairs
African Union Commission

Mette Bakken: M.Bakken@idea.int

Programme Officer

Africa and West Asia Programme

International IDEA – Addis Ababa Office