The NEC Goes to Georgia! The 7th Annual Meeting of Election Management Bodies

Georgia CEC Chairperson Tamar Zhvania (left) and NEC Director of Administration and International Affairs Kim Bum-jin

The NEC Goes to Georgia! The 7th Annual Meeting of Election Management Bodies

Last week the NEC had the privilege of attending the 7^th Annual Meeting of Election Management Bodies hosted by our friends and partners the Central Election Commission (CEC) of Georgia. Many people outside the election management family may not be aware the conferences and forums comprising of some of the world’s top experts in our field happen fairly regularly and they are a vital part of the continued sharing of knowledge between those involved in election management. So let’s dive into the details and take a look at what an election management conference looks like and what the NEC does to contribute to important international conferences and forums like this one.

The CEC of Georgia has been a very active international partner in the field of election management for many years now. As an organization they are a member of the Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB), which is based here in Korea and is a key partner to the NEC, and the CEC has worked very closely with other organizations such as the International Center for Parliamentary Studies (ICPS) and the International Federation of Electoral Systems (IFES) in training election staff in Georgia and boosting female participation in politics.

NEC Director of Administration and International Affairs
Kim Bum-jin speaks

Part of their international efforts is the Annual Meeting of Election Management Bodies hosted in partnership with ICPS and IFES. Every year election officials and experts come together in Georgia to discuss what they are doing in their work, the important issues they are facing and the unique solutions they have developed to solve these problems. The NEC have been delighted to participate in this event over the years and we were once again happy to be part of this year’s meeting.

Representing the NEC for 7^th Annual Meeting of Election Management Bodies was Director of the Administration and International Affairs Division Kim Bum-jin with two members of staff in support. They were joined by just over 100 other participants from election management and international organizations alike. Director Kim gave a presentation on the upcoming 2017 Seoul International Forum on Elections, and event we will introduce on are blog in the near future and you can find more about on our website.

The Goal of International Conferences

The goal of these conferences is to share experience and discuss the key issues surrounding election management, and is of particular use to election management bodies like the NEC. Presentations by election management bodies focus on particular issues they have faced on policies they have implemented, spreading any unique solutions to their peers and spreading different solutions to various difficult problems. Meanwhile international organizations undertaking research, holding training programs or working in the field itself through country programs are able to talk about the work they do and offer their expertise on the issues facing election management on the ground. The general philosophy of conferences like this is that there is a solution out there for an issue you may not even know about yet.

The room for the conference before the opening session

This conference for example included some interesting presentations from experts and election officials alike. For example, Alexander Shlyk, the Head of the Election Department at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), gave an informative lecture on technology and elections and the lessons learned from his experience within the OSCE. He spoke in particular about the sustainability of ICT in elections, and how staff must maintain any equipment introduced in elections to ensure it is credible.

In addition, Ahmed Sulaiman, Chairperson of the Maldives Election Commission, spoke about how a new result processing system revolutionized elections in his country. Previously, results and ballot boxes had to be sent to a central office, no easy feat for a country of more than 1,000 coral islands. The system was at the mercy of poor weather and difficult seas sometimes delaying election results. However, the introduction of an electronic result transmission system has vastly improved election management and is an example of how a small change in election management can change trust in elections.

Building Networks

The beautiful view of the Georgian landscape

Networking between organizations and election management bodies is also a vital part of these conferences. The NEC has built extensive partnerships with other management bodies such as the CEC of Georgia and international bodies such as the International IDEA at major international events and this has led to the NEC gathering important research for consideration in its own policies and the opportunity for us to share our experiences to transitional democracies worldwide.

Although nearly all the trip to Georgia was taken up by the two-day 7^th Annual Meeting of Election Management Bodies, The CEC also gave participants an opportunity to experience a taste of Georgian culture during the trip. There was an amazing opening dinner including some Georgian folk dancing, delicious traditional food and a drop of wine made in the Georgia, one of the oldest wine producing nations in world. The last afternoon the day after the forum was also spent visiting a church with stunning views and descending down to the deep caves to sample some of beautiful nature unique to the country.

We would like to thank the CEC of Georgia, especially Chairperson Tamar Zhvania, for their excellent hospitality over the four days. The Annual Meeting of Election Management Bodies has become on the major events on the election management international calendar and we hope to be invited to next year’s conference!