BRIDGE Workshop on Introduction to Electoral Administration in Nepal

The Election Commission of Nepal (ECN) successfully completed a three-day (8-10 December 2018) Workshop on Introduction to Electoral Administration with support from the UNDP Electoral Support Project (ESP) and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES). The workshop was conducted at the Electoral Education and Information Centre (EEIC) on the premises of the Election Commission in Kathmandu.

The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Ayodhee Prasad Yadav, Chief Election Commissioner, in the presence of four Commissioners and Joint Secretaries. In his opening remarks, the Chief Election Commissioner encouraged the participants to bring a positive attitude and openness to behavioral changes along with the readiness to enhanced their knowledge and acquire new skills in the training. He also used the occasion to extend a formal welcomed to staff that recently joined the Commission.

The objective of the workshop was to provide new ECN staff with introductory electoral knowledge that is essential for managing and conducting elections. There was a total of 24 participants (including 7 women) of which 23 were ECN staff and one from IFES. The level of ECN participants ranged from Under-Secretary to junior Assistant. The workshop was tailored to the needs of the ECN staff and curriculums were customized for the Nepalese context following the BRIDGE methodology.

This was a post-electoral activity after the conduct of local, provincial and national level elections in 2017. Following the completion of these elections, many ECN staff were transferred to other public institutions and succeeded by new staff. It was imperative for these to familiarize themselves with the global concepts and procedures of electoral administration with special reference to Nepal.

The workshop was divided into various thematic sessions which covered basic topics relating to electoral administration such as: the basis for free, fair and credible elections; internationally accepted guiding principles of electoral management; electoral cycle and processes; electoral system families; legal framework and EDR mechanisms; principles of voters list and use of ICT; polling, counting and announcement of results; as well as a review of the 2017 elections in Nepal.

The workshop adopted a mixture of highly interactive and participatory activities such as: group discussion, role play, quiz, case studies and plenary discussions. Ice breakers and energizers were conducted in between sessions. The participants appreciated the methodology and actively participated in the program. The evaluation of the participants for the workshop was very good. Positive feedback from all participants indicated their expectations had been met and they had developed understandings about the national and global electoral arenas. They expressed their interest to involve in next BRIDGE module.

The team of facilitators included:

• Kundan Das Shrestha – Lead Facilitator
• Surya Prasad Aryal – Accrediting level BRIDGE Facilitator
• Radhika Regmi – Accrediting level BRIDGE Facilitator
• Nikila Shrestha – Accrediting level BRIDGE Facilitator
• Chandra Bahadur Shiwakoti – Workshop level BRIDGE Facilitator
• Shree Kumar Rai – Facilitator (TtF completed)
• Ram Krishna Aryal – Facilitator (TtF completed)

The program was concluded on 12 December 2018. The Chief Commissioner distributed the certificates to the participants.