The Electoral Commission (EC) says it is determined to ensure that electoral stakeholders discharge their duties in a professional manner for a free and fair election.
EC commissioner, Gloria Chingota, said this on Tuesday when she opened a two-week Bridge Train the Facilitators Trainers Course in Blantyre. The trainees include representatives from the National Initiative for Civic Education (Nice) and civil society organisations (CSOs).
“The course will have a multiplier effect in that the participants will acquire knowledge and skills in elections training. The participants will be accredited to train colleagues within and outside their organisations, thereby increasing a pool of elections practitioners,” she said.
She observed that there will be need for many trainers to ensure that there is a pool of resource persons who can deliver elections training, including civic and voter education services.
One of the participants, election practitioner Aloisious Nthenda, said the training will assist them as leaders in electoral matters so that they train other service providers, mostly those organisations that have been accredited by the EC.
“This training will be able to give us the necessary standardised information so that we are on the same footing as regards outreach programmes to people that will participate in the electoral process,” Nthenda said.
Chingota hoped that the training would address some of the recurring challenges, including null-and-void votes, voter apathy and inadequate civic and voter education messages.
