This project aims to enhance election integrity and increase citizens’ trust in the electoral process by strengthening the capacities of the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina (CEC BiH).
It focuses on professionalising the election administration, enhancing its capacity, and developing voter education programmes, with a focus on vulnerable groups. Additionally, the project will work to improve media monitoring and reporting on electoral processes during election campaigns in line with Council of Europe and other international standards.
This project is implemented under the Council of Europe Action Plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2022-2025 and funded through voluntary contributions.
01 December 2024 – 30 November 2026
What are the goals and objectives of the action?
The project has been designed to support the BiH Central Election Commission and electoral stakeholders to address current and emerging challenges to improve the electoral process, bolster the integrity and inclusivity of the elections, and promote the public’s trust and participation by:
establishing a permanent, modern, dynamic, and flexible Centre for Education to enhance the professionalisation and independence of the election administration,
Strengthening the capacity and professional skills of CEC staff members, including those in the audit, procurement, IT, and legal departments,
Expanding the CEC’s information and education and communication capacities, with a particular focus on vulnerable groups,
Raising awareness among first-time voters, minorities, and women, including increasing women’s participation in politics,
Enhancing the monitoring and reporting capacity on elections and electoral processes of the media and independent journalists.
Who benefits from the action?
The key project partner is the Central Election Commission of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Specific groups targeted by our activities, and beneficiaries, include inter alia: CEC members and staff, election administration and officials at all levels, media professionals, civil society organisations, as well as national minorities, women, and youth, especially first-time voters.
How does the action work?
The project will build on the successful achievements and experiences from previous Council of Europe activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina concerning electoral processes.
Our key focus will be on the following aspects:
Technical support to the BiH Central Election Commission in designing the structure of the new Centre for Education, along with the methodology and education strategies,
Organising roundtables, conferences, workshops, and trainings on topics relevant to the project, and engaging electoral stakeholders in decision-making,
Technical assistance to the Central Election Commission in drafting bylaws to strengthen its institutional and professional capacities,
Using post-electoral period as an opportunity to expand the scope of civic education campaigns, particularly for national minorities, women, young and first-time voters,
Developing guidelines and empowering women candidates and political parties regarding the participation and role of women in the elections,
Developing strategic documents and guidelines for the CEC on voter education and conducting activities (conferences, debates) to increase the awareness of youth, minorities, and women in elections and electoral process in general,
Providing support to media professionals in strengthening their knowledge on election process monitoring and reporting in line with international standards.
What do we expect to achieve?
The project aims to strengthen the Central Election Commission’s capacity, as well as the transparency, integrity, and inclusiveness of the election process in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Upon the project’s conclusion, we hope to see increased institutional and professional capacities of the Central Election Commission with:
the establishment of the Centre for Education with its structure and rules of procedure in place, as well as a developed education strategy and training methodology for each level commission, including e-learning,
the Central Election Commission staff empowered to improve its knowledge and capacity, and
the Central Election Commission’s bylaws reviewed to align with international standards.
We further expect to see improved media coverage and reporting on the electoral processes, including:
enhanced knowledge and capacity of media professionals to monitor and report on elections in line with international standards, including knowledge towards prevention of hate and inflammatory speech, as well as sexism and gender-based violence during electoral campaigns.
Finally, we aim to bolster civic education and inclusive election participation through increased public awareness when it comes to the role of minorities, women, and youth groups in the electoral process.
What is the budget of the action?
The total budget of the action is 600,000 EUR.
Reference documents:
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Publish date : 2025-01-14 01:58:00
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