GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana-based Caribbean Neighborhood (CARICOM) Secretariat says it’s enhancing the abilities of Caribbean international locations in electoral remark and strengthening their function in selling secure, inclusive, and credible electoral processes.
The Secretariat famous that 11 regional international locations will maintain elections this 12 months, “marking a crucial alternative for strengthening democracies and inclusive participation throughout the area.”
Because of this, representatives from CARICOM electoral administration our bodies participated in a two-day workshop that ended right here on Thursday and was organized by the CARICOM Secretariat, the United Nations Division for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (UN DPPA), and the United Nations Improvement Programme (UNDP).
The Secretariat mentioned the workshop, “Electoral Remark and Roundtable Dialogue on Gender and Elections within the Caribbean,” follows the world’s most complete methodology for coaching electoral stakeholders, particularly BRIDGE—Constructing Assets in Democracy, Governance, and Elections.
“That is the primary time in eight years that BRIDGE has been applied within the Caribbean, constructing on comparable experiences held in 2016 and 2018,” the Secretariat mentioned, noting that the workshop was supported by the Spanish Company for Worldwide Improvement Cooperation (AECID) and included participation from the Organisation of American States (OAS) and the African Union (AU).
Assistant Secretary-Common for International and Neighborhood Relations Elizabeth Solomon emphasised the workshop’s timeliness given the numerous variety of elections occurring throughout the area this 12 months.
“We’re at a crucial juncture as we navigate an more and more advanced world panorama, marked by evolving challenges to democratic norms. It’s opportune that we reinforce our capability to conduct credible and clear elections.
“Electoral remark performs a pivotal function in guaranteeing that these processes are carried out with integrity, fostering public belief and confidence,” Solomon mentioned, including that the workshop coated the electoral course of, together with election methods, remark methodologies, authorized frameworks, voting and tabulation procedures, and importantly, the gender dimensions of elections.
Solomon spoke of girls’s important function in all features of the electoral course of, stating that the Neighborhood “acknowledges and values the numerous contribution of girls in guaranteeing honest and inclusive democracies.”
She counseled the CARICOM-UNDP-UNDPPA partnership, saying it underscores the area’s “collective dedication to strengthening the foundations of democratic governance.
“The collaboration is a cornerstone of our shared mission to uphold democratic ideas within the area, permitting for the steadiness, prosperity, and well-being of our nationals,” Solomon mentioned.
The appearing UN Resident Coordinator in Guyana, Nicolas Pron, mentioned the workshop is a testomony to the shared dedication to upholding the ideas of secure, inclusive, and credible elections. “This occasion outcomes from a longstanding and productive cooperation between CARICOM and the United Nations,” Pron mentioned.
“The United Nations strongly helps the declaration of ideas for worldwide election observations. The UN can be happy to supply assist in facilitating exchanges of its experiences and good practices in electoral observations amongst regional organizations, as demonstrated at this occasion right now,” the UN consultant mentioned.
