PROMOTING TRANSPARENCY AND DEMOCRACY ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES FOR ELECTORAL PROCESSES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD: MoU BETWEEN SANT’ANNA SCHOOL, EU ECES AND IEC JORDAN
A Memorandum of Understanding signatory ceremony took place in Pisa between Sant’Anna School, ECES (the European Centre for Electoral Support) and IEC (the Independent Election Commission, a Jordanian organization that conducts the democratic elections). ECES President Monica Frassoni, IEC President Khaled Kalaldeh and Sant’Anna School Rector Pierdomenico Perata have signed the agreement aimed at promoting transparency, accountability and quality in elections and to provide advisory services and operational support for a sustainable democratic development.
The MoU provided an opportunity to enhance cooperation on capacity building initiatives, including technical support to electoral management bodies through the implementation of quality management systems, disseminating knowledge and promoting democratic practices.
The IEC commission was created in 2012 to maintain the highest levels of transparency and integrity in the management of Jordan electoral processes. ECES, a not for profit private foundation headquartered in Brussels, promotes sustainable democratic development through democracy assistance activities that are consistent with European values and EU policies. Sant’Anna School can boast a highly qualified academic staff able to offer technical education and training on electoral and democratic processes. Professor Andrea de Guttry, director of the Sant’Anna Diroplis (Law, Politics, Development) Institute, has a wealth of experience in providing the highest standard of education also through the Master online in Electoral Policy and Administration (MEPA).
Sant’Anna School, ECES and IEC identify, through this MoU, innovative delivery mechanisms to implement election observation missions for the overall improvement of electoral processes and democratic culture and adopt an inclusive approach towards electoral stakeholders in order to ensure sustainable actions and manage electoral related conflicts.
The EU funded programme “EU Support to Jordanian Democratic Institutions and Development, EU–JDID” aimed at supporting Jordan's reform process towards consolidation of democracy and at promoting inclusiveness of national policy and decision-making processes, provided a sound basis for the MoU. Following this trilateral agreement, the partners and IEC Jordan will cooperate to maintain the transparency, integrity and accountability in the management of Jordan and Saudi Arabia electoral processes to ensure continued democratization and stability.
