| [A-WEB Secretariat] The A-WEB Secretariat and ANFREL discussed the result of AESF 5 |
|---|
| Last updated 2021-12-02 |
|
The A-WEB Secretariat and the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) met in Bangkok to have a joint evaluation session of the 5th Asian Electoral Stakeholders Forum (AESF 5), which was co-hosted by the two organizations. They also discussed possible cooperation opportunities in capacity building and election observation programs, and other areas. The AESF 5, under the theme of “Lessons Learned: The Way Forward for Elections in Asia Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic”, was held last month after three months of preparation. The representatives of both organizations agreed in the joint evaluation that the forum was successfully held with high-quality panelist presentations and fruitful discussions joined by around 4,000 audiences, considering that the forum was held online for the first time since 2012. The A-WEB Secretariat and ANFREL identified the following factors as the keys to the success of the AESF 5: 1) a high level of participation from a variety of election stakeholders’ groups, including Election Management Bodies (EMBs), international organizations/agencies, civil society organizations (CSOs) on both regional and national levels; 2) active cooperation between the host organizations, including eight preliminary meetings and a series of communications; 3) completion in a timely manner of all tasks discussed during the preliminary meetings; 4) the professionalism shown by moderators, debaters and panelists; and 5) only few technical errors that occurred throughout the three working group sessions and the forum. They also shared ideas on how to further collaborate in the future and discussed the possibilities of 1) a joint capacity building program on elections and media; 2) a joint election observation program targeting both EMBs and CSOs, and 3) ANFREL’s participation in A-WEB meetings scheduled in 2022.
|
