European Centre For Election Support (ECES) 3086 views

ECES is a member of the European Partnership for Democracy (EPD) and is part of its Board of Directors. EPD is a network of European civil and political society organisations working on democracy assistance.  EPD advocates for a stronger presence of democracy support on the European Union’s agenda and facilitates the exchange of knowledge and best practices in democratic transformations around the world.  The other partners are : Club de Madrid, Netherlands Institute for Multiparty Democracy, DEMO Finland, Eastern European Studies Centre, People in Need, Universidade Catolica Portugesa, European Association for Local Democracy, Elbarlament, AWEPA, Netherlands Helsinki Committee, One World, Westminster Foundation for Democracy and the French Media Cooperation Agency.

Accompanying the growing attention to the field of electoral assistance from both the international community and from the beneficiary countries organizing their electoral events regularly, a number of dedicated and skilled professionals, identified the need to create an European-Brussels based operational centre of excellence to deliver electoral support.ECES began its first real large endeavours at the beginning of 2012 by delivering face-to-face and distance training to the 10 electoral management bodies of the ECCAS (Economic Community of Central African States) and by supporting the local elections processes in Libya. Since then, ECES signed more than 70 projects in support of transparent, credible and cost-effective electoral processes and the strengthening of democratic institutions in more than 35 countries mainly, but not exclusively, in Africa and Middle East. In addition to that, the founders and personnel of ECES have acquired extensive field experience and, taken together, ECES can count on a specific knowledge and a well-established network in over 70 countries around the world as indicated in the map below.

ECES works in the context of European Framework Contract Beneficiaries (FWC) for the period 2013-2017, being part of the consortiums of the consortium of LOT 7 and LOT 12 to provide short-term expertise in the field of electoral observation and electoral assistance.Furthermore, ECES, also, collaborates closely with several regional electoral networks, such as: the RECEF (the Electoral Knowledge Network of the French Speaking countries worldwide), the ECF-SADC (Electoral Commission Forum of the Southern African Development Community), the ECONEC (the Economic Community of West African States), the National Electoral Commissions of ECOWAS, the Electoral Knwoledge Network of the Central African States (RESEAC) and the SADC Electoral Support Network that comprises the platforms of  the Civil Society Organisations dealing with Election Observation in the SADC countries.ECES has a Management Board and a Management Unit with the Board supervising and setting the strategy and goals of the Management Unit. Fabio Bargiacchi is the  member of the Management Board and since the beginning, August 2011, he also serves as Executive Director of the Management Unit. The Executive Director is supported in his tasks by a Coordination Cell composed by Eva Palmans (Head of Programmes), Jose Lambiza (Head of Finance & Administration) Camille Rouaud  (Programmes Coordinator) and Victoria Florinder (Electoral Conflict Management Advisor).